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/ 

REV.  DANIEL  A.  CLARK. 

EDITED  BY  HIS   SOX, 

KEY.  FREDERICK  G.  CLARK,  D.  D. 

WITH 

A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

AND   AN   ESTIMATE   OF   HIS   POWEKS    AS   A   PREACHER, 

BY 

Kev.  GEOKGE  SHEPAED,  D.  D., 

LATE  PROFESSOR  OP  SACRED   RHETORIC,  BANGOR   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 


COMPLETE   IN    ONE   VOLUME. 
SEVENTH    EDITION. 


NEW    YORK: 
IVISON,    BLAKEMAN,    TAYLOR    &    CO., 

No.  138  &  140  GRAND   ST  RE  El. 

1872. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1812,  by 

J.  HENRY  CLARK,  M.D., 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States.  f»r  the 

Southern  District  of  New-YorK. 


THIS  PAGE 

IS  IN 

AFFECTIONATE  REMEMBRANCE 

OP 

JAMES     HENRY     CLARK,    M.D., 

ELDEST  SON    OP 

Rev.    DANIEL    A.    CLARK: 
INSPIRED   BY   FILIAL   LOVE   AND   PRIDE, 

HE  EDITED  THE  PREVIOUS   EDITIONS  OP  THIS  WORE, 

AND  WAS  CALLED  FROM  EARTH 

MARCH    6th,    186  9, 

IN    THE    FIFTY-FIFTH    YEAR    OF    HIS    AGE. 


EDITORIAL    NOTE. 


It  is  not  far  from  fifty  years  since  some  of  these  sermons  were  first  pub- 
lished. They  were  recei  ved  at  that  time,  as  ever  since,  with  marked  appre- 
ciation. It  is  notable  what  slight  effect  half  a  century  produces  in  the  esti- 
mate of  writing's  charged  with  thought  and  fervor.  These  volumes  have 
passed  through  many  editions,  neither  of  which  was  less  welcomed  by  the 
public  than  its  predecessor.  Owing  to  the  protracted  illness  and  death  of 
the  original  editor,  my  brother,  James  Henry  Clark,  M.  D.,  this  work  has  been 
a  long  time  out  of  print.  Inquiries  for  it  have  nevertheless  continued  to  be 
made,  and  orders  have  come  from  distant  places  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe.  It  is  believed  that  these  Sermons  have  yet  an  important  mission 
to  fulfill,  in  the  hands  of  theological  students  as  well  as  of  general  reader?. 

They  afford  a  wholesome  contrast  to  the  sensational  mania  of  the  pulpit. 
They  also  encourage  young  preachers  to  rely  on  what  Professor  Shepard 
calls  the  "  clear,  straight,  and  strong,"  rather  than  upon  the  questionable 
expedients  of  modern  popularity. 

My  brother,  Hon.  Horace  F.  Clark,  who  owns  the  stereotyped  plates,  has 
placed  them  at  my  service  for  this  new  edition  :  it  being  our  aim  to  keep 
alive  our  father's  influence,  not  only  by  offering  this  work  anew  to  the  pub- 
lic, but  by  an  arrangement  to  donate  copies  to  the  students  in  several  of  our 
theological  seminaries. 

The  Christian  public,  I  trust,  will  kindly  welcome  this  edition  of  my 
father's  works.  His  children.*  at  least,  take  great  satisfaction  in  thus  giving 
new  effect  to  a  life  and  ministry  which  they  know  to  have  been  devoted  to 
man's  good  and  God's  glory. 

FREDERICK  G.  CLARK. 

New  York,  April,  1872. 

*  The  children  of  Rev.  Daniel  A.  Clark  are  :  James  Henry,  who  died  aged  55; 
Horace  Francis;  Edward  Payson;  Frederick  Gorhain  ;  Elizabeth  Moore,  who  died  in 
infancy ;  Elizabeth  Moore  (2d),  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Mary  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Kev. 
Livingston  Willard ;  and  Sereno  Barker. 


INTRODUCTORY  COMMENDATIONS. 


LETTER  FROM  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  B.  SPRAG.UE,  D.D. 

Albany,  May  22,  1854, 
J.  Henry  Clark,  M.D. 
Newark,  2ST.  J. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  am  glad  to  learn  that  you  are  about  to  publish  a 
new  edition  of  the  Sermons  of  your  honored  father.  I  have  always 
considered  them  as  possessing  characteristics  which  fairly  entitle  them 
not  only  to  an  enduring  existence,  but  to  a  wider  circulation  than  they 
have  ever  yet  gained. 

My  knowledge  of  your  father's  mode  of  sermonizing  is  derived 
chiefly  from  reading  these  volumes,  as  I  do  not  remember  to  have 
heard  him  preach  more  than  twice.  A  week  or  two  after  I  graduated 
at  Yale  College,  in  1815,  I  stopped  at  New  Haven  to  pass  a  night  on 
my  way  to  Virginia.  As  I  was  conversing  with  some  of  my  friends, 
the  bell  of  Dr.  Taylor's  church  announced  that  there  was  to  be  religi- 
ous service  that  evening ;  and  without  knowing  who  was  to  be  the 
preacher,  we  immediately  determined  to  attend  it.  A  stranger  arose 
in  the  pulpit,  and  by  his  very  first  utterance  impressed  me  with  the 
idea  that  he  was  no  common  man.  There  was  little  of  grace  in  his 
manner,  but  there  was  something  that  no  one  could  have  mistaken  for 
anything  else  than  power.  His  devotional  service  was  striking  and 
original ;  while  yet  it  was  evidently  the  simple  working  of  a  highly 
gifted  mind  and  apparently  devout  spirit.  I  wondered  what  bright 
star  it  was  that  had  so  unexpectedly  appeared  before  us,  and  I  even 
went  so  far  as  to  whisper  an  enquiry  in  the  ear  of  my  nearest  neigh- 
bor, who  it  could  be,  but  I  found  him  as  ignorant  and  as  curious  as 
myself.  From  the  beginning  of  the  sermon  to  the  end  of  it,  I  listened 
with  the  most  intense  interest,  though  the  question  would  keep  obtrud- 
ing itself  upon  me,  what  giant  of  the  pulpit  it  was  that  I  was  hearing? 
and  I  had  little  doubt  that  it  would  turn  out  that  he  was  one  of  the 


VI  INTRODUCTORY  COMMENDATIONS. 

most  celebrated  preachers  in  the  country.  Judge  then  what  was  my 
surprise,  when,  on  i,r<>ing  out  of  the  church,  instead  of  hearing  that  it 
was  some  illustrious  man  whose  name  and  fame  were  known  to  every 
body,  I  learned  that  it  was  Mr.  Clark,  the  minister  of  Southbury,  a 
town  some  twenty  miles  from  New  Haven.  It  is  due  to  candor  to 
say,  that  tin-  sermon  which  I  heard  from  him  that  evening  was  one  of 
his  ablest  efforts — no  other  than  the,  celebrated  sermon  entitled  "  The 
Church  Safe,"  which  has  since  been  so  widely  circulated  from  tho 
press,  and  which,  of  itself,  is  enough  to  immortalize  the  mind  that 
could  produce  it. 

The  only  other  instance  in  which  I  ever  heard  your  father  preach, 
was  at  Amherst,  Mass.,  on  the  occasion  of  an  ordinary  Sabbath  day 
service.  The  sermon  had  the  same  general  qualities  with  the  one 
already  referred  to,  except  that  it  was  of  a  less  cheerful  and  glowing 
character,  and  was  therefore  less  adapted  to  please  the  popular  ear. 

I  well  remember  that  it  made  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  look  naked  and 
glittering  beyond  what  I  had  almost  ever  witnessed.  In  reading  his 
sermons  I  have  often  been  struck  with  a  resemblance  between  them 
and  many  of  Dr.  Griffon's ;  though  there  was,  perhaps,  this  difference 
between  them,  that  the  Doctor's  were  more  splendid  and  imaginative, 
your  fat  tier's  were  direct  and  overwhelmingly  pungent. 

It  would  ill  become  me  to  express  in  detail  my  views  of  your  father's 
character  as  a  preacher,  after  the  admirable,  and,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
perfect  estimate  of  him  in  this  respect,  which  has  long  since  been  given 
to  the  world  by  Professor  Shepard.  I  cannot  think  that  that  esti- 
mate, high  as  it  is,  is  at  all  exaggerated  ;  nor  do  I  believe  that  the 
reading  of  the  sermons  will  disappoint  any  whose  expectations  con- 
cerning them  have  been  based  upon  it.  And  I  cannot  forbear  to  add, 
that  I  regard  them  as  well  fitted  to  supply  or  suggest  an  antidote  to 
what  seems  to  me  certain  growing  tendencies  of  the  American  pulpit 
to  exhibitions  of  high  intellectual  culture  rather  than  of  those  simple, 
evangelical  truths,  in  which  the  power  of  God  pre-eminently  resides. 

II  seems  to  me  that  they  may  lie  read  with  great  advantage,  especially 
by  theological  stud. aits  and  young  ministers;  and  if  any  should  find 
that  there  is  less  of  intellectual  refinement  than  suits  their  taste,  they 
will  at  least  acknowledge  that  they  are  models  in  respect  to  intel. 
lectual  and  moral  power. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  faithfully  yours, 

W.  B.  Sprague. 


INTRODUCTORY  COMMENDATIONS.  vii 


FROM  REV.  THOMAS  H.  SKINNER,  D.D., 

PROFESSOR  OF  SACRED  RHETORIC!  AND  PASTORAL  THEOLOGT,  IN  THE  UNION 
THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  OF  NEW  YORK!. 

The  Sermons  of  the  Reverend  Daniel  A.  Clark  are  among  the  very- 
best  that  the  American  pulpit  has  produced.  Indeed,  few  volumes 
of  sermons  have  appeared — none  I  think  since  his  were  first  published, 
— that  deserve  to  be  put  into  a  higher  rank.  Comprehensive,  various, 
and  eminently  evangelical  in  matter  ;  lucid,  simple,  striking  in  plan  ; 
perspicuous,  animated,  fluent,  energetic,  pungent  in  style;  close  and 
intensely  earnest  in  application ;  masterly  and  powerful  in  their  en- 
tire execution,  they  are  entitled  to  no  inferior  place  among  models  in 
homoletical  literature.  I  am  not  surprised  that  there  is  a  demand 
for  another  edition  of  these  admirable  discourses.  They  deserve,  and 
I  hope  will  have,  a  wide  circulation,  and  be  blest  to  the  salvation  of 
many  souls.  Thomas  H.  Skinner. 

New  York,   Dec.  30th,  1854. 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  INTRODUCTION  TO  A  FORMER  EDITION 
BY  REV.  WILLIAM  PATTON,  D.D. 

*******  jt  jjas  keen  jadge(j  desirable  to  retain  the 
name  of  "  Short  Sermons"  for  the  plan  of  sermons,  some  of  which 
were  published  during  the  lifetime  of  Mr.  Clark.  They  furnish  valu- 
able hints,  as  well  as  instruction,  in  the  art  of  planning  sermons.  Con- 
cerning the  Miscellaneous  matter,  it  is  proper  to  remark,  that  many 
of  the  pieces  first  appeared  in  the  periodical  press,  and  at  the  time 
awakened  considerable  interest.  Such  as  are  here  collected  and  re- 
published, are  pieces  of  permanent  value.  They  illustrate  one  trait 
in  his  character,  the  seizing  upon  passing  incidents,  and  vividly  im- 
pressing the  mind  with  some  great  moral  principle.  Some  of  the 
Miscellaneous  matter  will  be  ranked  among  the  happiest  efforts  of 
his  pen.     ******* 


viii  INTRODUCTORY   COMMENDATIONS. 

EXTRACT   FROM  TUE   PREFACE   TO   A  VOLUME   OF  SERMONS 
PUBLISHED   IN    1826. 

*******  Many  excellent  volumes  have  been  pub- 
lished, and  have  edified  the  churches,  and  have  helped  mature  for 
heaven  a  multitude  of  believers,  but  which,  from  their  occasional, 
metaphysical,  or  exclusively  doctrinal  character,  are  judged  unsuita- 
ble to  be  read  in  evening  meetings,  to  which  so  often  even  good  men 
bring  a  mind  as  well  as  a  body  worn  out  with  fiitigue,  and  need  for 
their  edification  some  repast  that  can  hold  their  powers  waking.  Dis- 
courses adapted  to  such  an  occasion,  which  must  often  be  read  badly 
to  a  dull  audience,  must  have  poured  into  them  all  the  novelty,  viva- 
city, force  and  pungency  possible.  The  truth  should  be  condensed, 
and  the  doctrines  exhibited  in  that  practical  shape  that  will  tend  to 
keep  up,  through  every  paragraph,  a  deep  and  lively  interest.  *    *    * 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  PREFACE  TO  THREE  VOLUMES  OF  SERMONS 
PUBLISHED   IN   1836. 

The  author's  conviction  is  that  writings  are  often  spoiled  by  too 
much  smoothing  and  polishing.  These  volumes  are  therefore  per 
mittcd  to  go  forth  without  remodeling,  with  their  occasional  rough- 
ness, which,  it  is  hoped,  may  not  give  offence,  but  simply  stir  up 
thoughts,  and  arouse  proper  feeling.  He  would  suggest  a  thought 
with  regard  to  the  manner  of  reading,  especially  sermons.  It  would 
heighten  the  impression  if  one  read  aloud  for  the  benefit  of  the  family, 
after  preparing  himself  to  read  with  due  emphasis  and  feeling.  As  a 
general  rule,  read  aloud  when  alone,  remembering  that  impressions 
made  at  once  on  the  ear  and  eye  reach  the  heart  with  double  force. 
Let  this  course  be  prayerfully  adopted,  and  sermons,  and  essays,  and 
even  the  precious  Bible  itself,  would  not  so  often  be  regarded  as  dull 
compositions,  but  their  perusal  would  be  accompanied  with  power 
from  on  high.     *     *     *     *     *     * 


CONTENTS. 


TAGR 

Dedication,        ---------        -        -     iii 

Editorial  Note, iv 

Introductory  Commendations,    --------v 

Preface  to  a  Volume  of  Sermons  published  in  1826,         -  vii 

Introduction  to  three  Volumes  of  Sermons  published  in  1836,       -        -    viii 
Biography  of  the  Author,       --------         xv 


SERMONS. 

I.— The  Church  Safe, 41 

II. — Nothing  safe  but  the  Church,            -  56 

III. — Perdition  a  Dark  Spot  in  the  Moral  Landscape,  68 

IV.— The  Sanctuary,       - 78 

V. — Mirror  of  Human  Nature,    ------  92 

VI.— The  Son  of  God  must  be  Reverenced,       -        -        -  104 

VII. — The  two  Champions  Contrasted,           -        -        -        -  112 

VIII.— The  Soul  reluctantly  made  fast  to  Earth,           -         -  124 

IX. — A  Likeness  taken  in  the  Field,     -----  138 

X.— The  Perfected  Good  Man,          -                                     -  150 

XL— The  Perfected  Good  Man,  No.  II.,         -        -        -        -  159 

XII. — Iniquity  Finished,  -        -        -         -  167 

XIII. — Obedience  the  Practical  test  of  Affection,     -         -         -  1  79 

XIV.— The  Christian's  Sheet  Anchor,          ...        -        -  188 

XV.— Heavenly  Fellowship, -198 

XVI.— The  Wise  Builder, 205 

XVII.— The  Controversy  Settled, 220 

XVIIL— The  Burning  Bush,          ------  232 

XIX.— The  True  God  a  Sure  Defence, 241 

XX.— The  True  God  a  Sure  Defence,  No.  IL,  -        -        -  247 
XXI. — The  Mysteries  of  Providence,        ----- 


x  CONTENTS. 

TAGE 

XX  IT.— The  Ways  of  God  Unfolded, 2G5 

XXILT. — The  Loiterer  at  the  Vineyard, 275 

\  xi  V. — Christ  must  have  his  own  Place  in  his  Gospel,           -  286 

XXV. — The  Law  and  the  Gospel  conjointly  sustained,       -         -  298 

XXVL — Impenitent  Men  destitute  of  Holiness,      -  308 

XXVII.— Only  one  true  God,       ...        -                -        -  318 

XXVLTL— The  Index  Sure, 329 

XXIX.— The  Index  Sure,  No.  II.,     ------  338 

XXX. — The  Wise  Man  wise  for  Futurity,    -  346 

XXXI.— The  Desperate  Effort,          ------  362 

XXXII.— Concio  ad  Clerum, 372 

XXX I II. — The  Mercies  of  God  not  obediently  reciprocated,  -        -  383 

XXXIV — The  Industrious  Young  Prophets,    -        -        -        -  397 

XXXV. — The  Nature  and  Results  of  Sanctification,      -         -         -  414 

XXXVI. — The  Means  of  Sanctification, 421 

XXXVII.— The  Great  Physician, 427 

XXX  V  HI—  The  Man  of  God  Developed, 434 

XXXIX.— Man  his  Brother's  Keeper,   ------  447 

XL— Man  his  Brother's  Keeper,  No.  II.,           -  457 

XLI. — True  Piety  peacefully  Pleasant,    -----  474 

XLI  I. — The  Enemies  of  the  Church  made  to  promote  her  interests,  481 

XLI II. — Wrath  conquered  by  love,    ------  500 

XLI  V.— A  brand  plucked  from  the  fire,          -         -         -         -  511 

XL V.— The  Father  the  prototype  of  the  Son,    -        -        -        -  520 

XLVL— The  Honest  and  Faithful  Ministry,  -        -        -        -  52S 

XL VI I. — The  Wealthy  Christian  ready  to  contribute,  -         -         -  545 

XLVIII. — The  Enlightened  Conscience  Unbending,           -        -  554 

XLIX. — The  Enlightened  Conscience  Unbending,  No.  II.,           -  562 

L.  —The  Concentrated  Results  of  the  Gospel,            -        -  570 

LI.— The  Bridgeless  Gulf,    -        -        -        -        -        -        -  5S0 

LIL— The  presence  of  God  the  glory  and  guide  of  his  people,  592 

LILT.— The  Gospel  Recluse,    -                608 

LIV. — The  Evening  of  Life  sorrowful,         -  626 

LV. — Heaven's  Cure  for  the  Plagues  of  Sin,  -        -  634 

LVL— Heaven's  Cure  for  the  Plagues  of  Sin,  No.  II.,           -  645 

I.VIL— Christ  conducts  to  Heaven  a  Holy  People,    -        -        -  654 

LVIIL— Gospel  Truth  Distinguished,    -----  665 

LIX. — The  Christian's  best  friend  aggrieved,    -         -         -  685 

LX. — Terms  of  Divine  Acceptance,   -----  097 

LXI.     Salvation  Made  Sun-,           - 710 

LXIL— The  Desires  of  the  Wirkcd  Inadmissible,           -         -  719 

LXHL— The  Christian's  Review,      ------  730 

LXIV.— The  Infallible  Companion, U2 

LXV.— Kept  of  God, 750 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

SHORT  SERMONS,  OR  OUTLINES  OF  DISCOURSES. 

PAGE 

1. — Jeremiah  iii.  5.     Behold,  thou  hast  spoken  and  done  evil  things 

as  thou  couldest,        --------         759 

2. — 2  Chron.  vii.  14.  If  my  people,  which  are  called  by  my  name, 
shall  humble  themselves,  and  pray,  and  seek  my  face,  and  turn 
from  their  wicked  ways;  then  will  I  hear  from  heaven,  and 
will  forgive  their  sin,  and  will  heal  their  land,  -  7G9 

3. — Jeremiah  ix.  5.     They  weary  themselves  to  commit  iniquity,  773 

4. — Luke  x.  11.     Notwithstanding,  be  ye  sure  of  this,  that  the  king- 
dom of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you,         -----     777 

5.— Ezekiel  xviii.  31.     Why  will  ye  die  ?  -        -        -        -         780 

6. — Psalm  l.  21.  Thou  thoughtest  that  I  was  altogether  such  a  one 
as  thyself;  but  I  will  reprove  thee,  and  set  them  in  order  be- 
fore thine  eyes,      ---------     783 

7. — Jeremiah  viii.  22.  Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead  ?  Is  there  no 
physician  there  ?  Why  then  is  not  the  health  of  the  daughter 
of  my  people  recovered  ?----.---         785 

8. — Isaiah  ii.  22.     Cease  ye  from  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils ; 

for  wherein  is  he  to  be  accounted  of  ?     -----     788 

9. — Hebrews  x.  31.     It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 

living  God,        ---------         790 

10. — Galatians  iv.  15.     Where  is  then  the  blessedness  ye  spake  of?     792 

11. — Psalm  xlv.  10,  11.  Hearken,  O  daughter^  and  consider,  and 
incline  thine  ear  ;  forget  also  thine  own  people  and  thy  father's 
house  :  so  shall  the  King  greatly  desire  thy  beauty,  for  he  is 
thy  Lord,  and  worship  thou  him,     ------     795 

12. — Jeremiah  iii.  15.     I  will  give  you   pastors   according  to  mine 

heart,  which  shall  feed  you  with  knowledge  and  understanding,     798 

13. — 1  Peter  iv.  18.     And  if  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where 

shall  the  ungodly  and  sinner  appear?  -  802 

14. — Genesis  xxviii.  20-22.  And  Jacob  vowed  a  vow,  saying,  if  God 
will  be  with  me,  and  will  keep  me  in  this- way  that  I  go,  and 
will  give  me  bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on,  so  that  I 
come  again  to  my  father's  house  in  peace ;  then  shall  the  Lord 
be  my  God :  And  this  stone  which  I  have  set  for  a  pillar,  shall 
be  God's  house;  and  of  all  that  thou  shalt  give  me,  I  will 
surely  give  the  tenth  unto  thee,      ------    804 

15. — Matthew  xxii.  3G,  37,  38.  Master,  which  is  the  great  com- 
mandment in  the  law?  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  mind:  this  is  the  first  and  great  commandment,  807 


XH  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

16. — Psalm  cii.  1.     ITear  my  prayer,  0  Lord,  and  let  my  cry  come 

unto  thee,         ---------         809 

]  7. — Luke  xviii.  13.     God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner,       -  811 

18. — John  iii.  14.  And  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilder- 
ness, even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  -        -  813 

19. — Matthew  xxv.  41.     Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting 

fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,        -  814 

20. — Matthew  viii.  34.     And  when  they  saw  him,  they  besought  him 

that  he  would  depart  out  of  their  coasts,     -  817 

2 1. — Proverbs  iv.  18.    But  the  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light, 

that  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day,    -  819 

22. — Genesis  xxvii.  22.     The  voice  is  Jacob's  voice,  but  the  hands  are 

the  hands  of  Esau,     --------         821 

23. — Ecclesiastes  viii.  11.  Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is 
not  executed  speedily,  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men 
is  fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil,  ____--     823 

24. — 1  JonN  iii.  3.     And  every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him,  puri- 

fieth  himself,  even  as  he  is  pure,         -----         825 

25. — Numbers  xxiii.  10.     Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and 

let  my  last  end  be  like  his,     -------    827 

2G. — Acts  xvii.  30.     And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at; 

but  now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent,       -        -    829 

27. — Jeremiah  xvii.  5-6.  Thus  saith  the  Lord ;  cursed  be  the  man 
that  trusteth  in  man,  and  maketh  flesh  his  arm,  and  whose 
heart  departeth  from  the  Lord ;  for  he  shall  be  like  the  heath 
in  the  desert,  and  sliall  not  see  when  good  cometh ;  but  shall 
inhabit  the  parched  places  in  the  wilderness,  in  a  salt  land  and 
not  inhabited,  --------         831 

28. — 2  Corinthians  vi.  2.     Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time ;  behold, 

now  is  the  day  of  salvation,     -------     833 

29. — Psalm  exxxvii.  5,  6.  If  I  forget  thee,  0  Jerusalem,  let  my 
right  hand  forget  her  cunning.  If  I  do  not  remember  thee,  let 
my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  if  I  prefer  not 
Jerusalem  above  my  chief  joy,   ------  834 

30. — John  xvii.  4.     I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou   gayest  me 

to  do, -        -        -        -    837 

31. — Romans  xii.  12.     Continuing  instant  in  prayer,        -        _        -        839 

•  !'-. — Matthew  v.  5.     Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they  shall  inherit  the 

earth, ------     840 

33. — 1  Corinthians  xvi.  22.      If  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus 

Christ,  lit,  him  be  anathema  maranatha,  -  843 

34.—  Psalm  li.  It.  Deliver  me  from  blood-guiltiness,  0  God,  thou 
God  of  my  salvation  :  and  my  tongue  shall  sing  aloud  of  thy 
righteousness,        _.__-----    844 


CONTEXTS. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


PAGE 

The  Syrian  Captive,          -        - 847 

Worlds  sent  out  to  illustrate  the  path  that  minds  should  take,        -  853 

Can  thine  Heart  endure  and  thine  Hands  be  strong  ?          -  858 

A  better  Church  will  make  a  better  World,  -----  861 

If  we  had  a  better  Church  we  should  have  a  better  World,        -        -  865 

"  Fifteen  Minutes  before  the  time,"       ------  8G7 

Gospel  Politeness  the  Ally  of  Heaven,       ------  870 

Duplicity, 873 

The  Return  Token, 876 

A  Dirge  of  the  Sanctuary,    --------  877 

A  Wondrous  Beggar,        ---------  878 

Dirge  for  the  Fourth  of  July,  1834,        - 880 

The  Children's  Grove  Song, 881 

The  influence  of  a  good  taste  upon  the  Moral  Affections,         -        -  882 
An  Exposition  of  1  John,  iv.  19.     We  love  him  because  he  first  loved 

us, 897 

A  Plea  for  the  Scriptures,    --------  903 


BIOGRAPHY. 


Daniel  A.  Clakk  was  born  in  Rahway,  New  Jersey,  on  March  1st,  i779. 
His  father  was  David  Clark,  a  relative  of  Abraham  Clark,  whose  name 
appears  among  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  was  a 
warm  Whig,  and  his  property  was  sacrificed,  and  his  life  brought  into 
jeopardy  often,  in  consequence  of  his  patriotic  exertions.  In  reference  to 
these  trying  scenes,  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  accustomed  to  say,  that 
lie  "was  cradled  in  a  whirlwind."  His  mother,  Elizabeth  Moore,  was  l-a 
mother  in  Israel."  She  seems  to  have  been  a  woman  of  great  strength  and 
decision  of  character.  She  was  remarkable  for  plain  dealing  and  Christian 
faithfulness  toward  her  children,  and  those  under  her  care;  it  was  a  some- 
what austere  and  uncompromising  faithfulness,  partaking  of  an  age  of  more 
rigid  authority  than  our  own.  She  was  alone  in  her  efforts  for  the  religious 
training  and  the  eternal  welfare  of  her  children,  for  the  father  did  not  exert 
any  religious  influence.  Perhaps  this  double  share  of  responsibility  weighed 
so  heavy,  as  to  induce  a  double  vigilance  and  energy  in  her  own  spirit,  for 
the  saving  of  her  house. 

The  following  is  his  own  language,  descriptive  of  her  influence  over 
himself. 

"A  child  of  prayer,  he  knew  a  mother's  worth, 
Knew  well  the  silken  cords  she  round  him  flung. 
To  hold  him  back  from  crime,  and  woe,  and  death." 

He  pays,  in  another  connection,  a  more  extended  tribute  to  her  influence 
and  her  worth  : 

"She  wonderfully  succeeded  in  attaching  herself  to  the  people  of  the 
saints  of  the  most  high  God.  In  her  eyes,  the  pious  were  ever  honorable; 
and  through  her  persevering  influence,  she  had  many  a  kind  word  dropped 
in  the  ears  of  her  family,  by  one  and  another  that  had  received  the  hospi- 
tality of  her  house  and  table.  In  the  earliest  times,  she  surrounded  herself 
with  a  kind  of  hallucination  that  threw  around  her  a  savor  of  heaven.  She 
had  the  entire  confidence  of  all  that  feared  God  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
often  consulted  with  them  when  she  knew  of  any  iniquity  that  was  about 
to  be  practised  ;  especially,  if  by  her  influence  the  children  of  her  neighbors 
and  of  the  covenant  could  be  kept  from  vice." 

In  the  "  Maternal  Contrast,"  a  small  volume  recently  prepared  from  his 


XVI  BIOGKAPnT 

papers,  is  (band  a  full  history  of  her  character,  and  an  extended  tribute  to 
her  memory.     In  that  little  volume,  he  Bays,  speaking  directly  of  his  mother, 

"It  seemed  to  me,  sometimes,  that  heaven  told  her  all  my  history — and 
she  never  forgot  my  -ins.  She  would  remember  some  act  of  waywardness 
many  moons,  if  T  kept  from  her  presence,  and  she  had  no  opportunity  to 
judge  me.  If  the  testimony  was  not  fall,  she  knew  how  to  secure  a  con- 
fession  ;  and  if  not,  she  prayed  for  me,  and  turned  me  over  to  the  judgment 
of  the  great  day." 

"We  have  still  another  tribute  to  his  mother's  faith  fulness,  in  the  account 
of  his  conversion,  which  is  given  in  his  own  words. 

Andover,  Mass.,  Thursday,  Feb.  14,  1811. 

"Born  in  1779, 1  lived  a  wicked  and  a  thoughtless  life,  until  I  was  ten  or 
twelve  years  old.  I  presume  that  I  had,  in  that  time,  many  fears  of  death, 
and  of  hell,  but  I  have  no  definite  recollection  of  them.  My  dear  mother 
bad  instructed  me  in  the  Bible,  and  catechism,  but  had  made  but  little  pro- 
gress in  bringing  me  to  repentance.  I  hated  her  instructions,  and  longed  to 
be  from  under  her  control.  As  often  as  possible,  I  absented  myself  from 
her  kind  instructions.  I  hated  to  hear  so  much  about  sin  and  hell.  I  loved 
play  better  than  truth.  My  mother,  however,  would  pursue  me,  and  re- 
mind me  of  my  danger,  and  press  me  to  my  Bible;  but  it  was  like  urging 
the  ox  to  the  place  of  slaughter.  She  would  have  found  her  work  much 
easier,  had  my  dear  father  yielded  her  that  assistance  which  be  should  have 
done.  1  shonid  then  have  been  easily  governed.  But  my  father  would 
Bometimes  allow  me  to  disobey  my  mother.  This  did  me  great  injury.  1 
felt  my  mother's  word  to  be  law;  and  a  law  it  was  which  I  seldom  dared 
to  break.  If  she  gave  me  any  commands  which  were  grievous,  I  used  to 
try  t'>  have  her  repeal  the  law  she  had  made.  If  she  would  not,  I  tried  to 
have  my  father  say  I  need  not  mind  her.  If  he  would  not  do  this,  my  con- 
science constrained  me  to  obey.  I  often  kept  out  of  her  sight,  for  fear  she 
would  forbid  me  some  gratification  on  which  my  heart  was  set.  1  often 
wished  that  God  had  given  me  such  a  mother  as  the  other  boys  had,  ono 
who  would  indulge  me  more.     Thus  I  haled  her  for  her  kindness. 

"  When  aboul  twelve  years  of  aire.  I  went  with  some  of  the  children  of  the 

village,  and  one  wicked  boy  from  New- York,  by  the  name  of  S ,  to  the 

creek,  for  the  purpose  of  crabbing.  On  the  way  our  city-comrade  advised  us 
to  kill  a  fowl  which  we  saw  by  a  barn,  and  use  it  for  bait.  Bj  his  persuasion 
and  assistance  we  did,  <  >n  our  return,  we  saw,  near  the  same  place,  a  flock 
of  turkeys;  these  we  stoned  until  we  killed  several  of  them,  and  went  to 
Bhaking  off  apples  for  our  amusement.  The  man  who  owned  the  orchard 
saw  us  and  came  to  forbid  us.  He  did  not  discover  that  we  had  killed 
the  turkeys,  for  which  reason  we  escaped. 

"  <  >n  returning  home  I  was  much  alarmed  to  think  of  what  we  had  done. 
I  never  bad  1»  fore  engaged  in  such  a  piece  of  villany,  nor  should  I  then 
have  dmie  it  had  1  doI  been  led  on,  For  some  time  I  feared  the  man  would 
find  us  out.  and  would  have  us  punished.  I  was  during  some  months  in 
OOnstant  agitation. 


OF     TIIE     AUTHOR.  X  Vli 

"Thus  I  began  a  bold  career  of  wickedness.  Nor  did  I  begin  only,  for  I 
made  daily  progress.  My  mother  now  found  it  difficult  to  manage  ine.  I 
began  to  break  over  every  restraint;  but  still  was  afraid  to  disobey  her. 
She  remembered  it,  if  I  did,  and  would  reprove  me,  or  correct  me,  the  lat- 
ter of  which  I  preferred.  I  dreaded  her  reproofs.  Now  it  was  that  my 
father  should  have  used  his  authority,  but  he  let  me  run  on,  in  my  despe- 
rate course. 

"  When  about  fifteen  years  old,  I  began  to  wish  to  attend  halls  ;  but  here, 
my  mother  could  give  me  no  indulgence.  There  was  no  way  that  I  could 
get  to  one,  without  keeping  it  a  secret,  or  disobeying  her.  Her  restraints 
now  rendered  me  desperate,  and  I  resolved  to  disobey  One  night,  when 
there  was  a  ball  in  the  neighborhood,  I  went  to  bed,  where  I  lay  till  my 
mother  was  asleep;  I  then  rose ;  carried  my  clothes  into  the  field  ;  there  1 
dressed  me;  I  then  took  my  father's  horse  and  went  to  the  ball.  But  my 
conscience  so  disturbed  me,  that  I  had  no  comfort.  After  staying  till  abont 
11  o'clock,  in  constant  agony,  1  returned,  put  all  things  right  again,  and 
went  to  bed.  Now  it  was  that  I  felt  a  part  of  hell  in  my  bosom.  I  could 
not  sleep.  My  whole  system  was  agitated,  so  that  at  length  the  bedstead 
shook.  I  began  to  think  that  God  would  bear  with  me  no  longer,  but  would 
cut  me  off  for  my  sins.  I  at  length  thought  that  I  was  struck  with  death  ; 
but  resolved  to  die  alone.  I  was  afraid  to  tell  any  one  the  reason  of  my 
distress,  and  knew  no  one  who  could  relieve  me.  I  thought  my  hell  had 
begun.     I  expected  before  morning  to  be  among  devils. 

"I  forget  whether  I  finally  fell  asleep  or  not,  but  I  believe  that  toward 
morning  I  did;  probably  through  excessive  fatigue.  During  my  distress  I 
tried  to  pray,  but  found  it  hard  work. 

"  In  a  few  days  I  forgot  all  this  distress,  and  went  on  with  as  high  a  hand 
as  ever.  I  was  desirous,  above  all  things,  to  attend  balls.  Once  I  remem- 
ber going  to  a  great  distance  to  attend  one,  but  came  home  much  more  un- 
happy than  I  went;  this,  however,  was  always  the  case. 

"  About  this  time  there  was  a  ball  appointed  in  the  neighborhood,  of  which 
I  became  a  party.  The  landlady,  being  professedly  pious,  informed  my 
mother  that  I  was  there,  and  engaged  in  the  dance.  Like  an  Israelite  in- 
deed, she  sent  for  me  honi9.  I  refused  to  go.  She  then  came  herself,  and 
ordered  me  home.  Now  I  knew  not  what  to  do.  I  had  waited  upon  a 
young  lady  to  the  ball,  and  could  not  leave  her  there,  and  dared  ool  stay 
myself.  I  very  soon  invited  the  young  lady  to  go  home,  and  thus  made 
my  retreat. 

"  1  have  often  doubted  if  my  mother  acted  wisely  in  this  matter.  She 
reduced  me  to  desperation.  I  felt,  the  next  day,  ashamed  of  my  very  exist- 
ence.  I  wished  my  mother  dead.  I  wished  for  anything  which  mighl  free 
me  from  restraint.  In  my  heart  I  cursed  that  dear  mother,  who  loved  mo 
bo  tenderly  that  she  would  have  done  anything  possible  for  my  temporal  or 
eternal  good. 

'Now  if  my  father  bad  done  his  duty,  I  might  have  been  slopped  in 
my  course.     Alas!   he  stood  silent  by.      Now  it  was  that  my  mother 


IV111  BIOGRArUY 

led  for  my  Boul.     T  used  to  see  her  come  from  lier  closet  in  tears,  and  often 
used  to  overhear  her  prayers. 

M  My  lather  began  to  think  of  putting  me  to  business.  The  man  with 
whom  he  wished  me  to  live  was  very  wicked.  He  -was,  however,  called  a 
smart  man,  which  induced  my  father  to  propose  my  living  with  him.  I 
began  to  long  for  the  time  when  I  should  leave  home,  intending  then  to  take 
my  full  of  sinful  pleasure.  But  God  had  otherwise  determined.  My  dear 
mother  continued  to  pray,  and  God  resolved  to  hear.  Before  the  time  had 
come  when  I  was  to  leave  home,  there  was,  in  Elizabethtown,  some  atten- 
tion to  religion.  The  preaching  of  Rev.  David  Austen  was  hlessed  to  the 
hopeful  conversion  of  some,  although  he  was  at  that  time  becoming  wild 
in  many  of  his  notions.  It  was,  on  the  whole,  a  very  solemn  time.  Many 
seemed  anxious  about  their  souls.     On  the  first  day  of  May,  the  sacrament 

>  be  administered  at  Elizabethtown,  and  several  were  to  be  added  to 
the  Church.  I  had  my  doubts  in  the  morning  whether  I  would  go  to  Eliza- 
bethtown, or  Rahway,  but  some  of  my  companions  inviting  me,  I  went  with 
them  to  Elizabethtown.  The  day  was  warm.  Our  walk,  of  three  miles, 
having  fatigued  me,  I  resolved  to  fix  myself  in  a  corner  of  the  pew,  and  dur- 
ing the  sermon  to  take  a  nap.  I  took  my  seat,  but  as  soon  as  Mr.  Austen 
had  i  aken  his  text,  my  feelings  seemed  very  much  awakened.  I  resolved  to 
listen  to  the  discourse.     The  text  was,  Jer.  1.  4,  5.     "In  those  days  and  in 

me,  saith  the  Lord,  the  children  of  Israel  shall  come,  they  and  the 
children  of  Judah  together,  going  and  weeping;  they  shall  go  and  seek  the 
Lord  their  God.  They  shall  ask  the  way  to  Zion,  with  their  faces  thither- 
ward, saying,  Come,  and  let  us  join  ourselves  to  the  Lord  in  a  p?rpetual  co- 
venant, that  Bhall  not  be  forgotten."  The  sermon  seemed  directed  to  me.  I 
melted  under  the  word.  It  was  the  first  sermon  to  which  I  ever  gave  good 
attention,  and  I  humbly  hope  the  Lord  set  it  home  by  his  Spirit.     Thirteen 

that  day  added  to  the  Church.  I  was  much  impressed  while  I  saw 
them  come  and  join  themselves  to  the  Lord.  I  longed  to  be  with  them.  I 
thought  I  loved  them  as  I  never  loved  any  human  being  before.  I  sat  in  my 
corner  seat  till  the  sacrament  was  over,  pouring  out  one  constant  flood  of 
I  then  sought  to  hide  from  my  merry  companions,  with  whom  I  felt 
that  I  could  never  again  have  communion,  unless  they  were  regenerated.  I 
retired  in  the  intermission  of  Divine  service,  to  a  lonely  grove,  where,  for  the 
fust  time.  I  poured  out  my  heart  to  God  in  prayer.  It  seemed  to  me  that 
Cod  was  on  my  right  hand  and  on  my  left.  I  never  had  felt  that  he  was 
everywhere,  before.  My  lirst  anxious  prayer  was,  that  I  might  hold  out 
to  the  end.  When  I  came  home  from  meeting,  I  found  my  father's  family 
all  absenl — they  having  gone  to  a  conference,  I  retired  to  my  chamber, 
and  falling  on  my  knees,  attempted  again  to  pray.  In  the  evening  I  went  to 
the  conference,  anxious  to  hear  Divine  truth.  Thus  was  spent  that  first 
pleasanl  day  of  my  life. 

"  Whether  I  was  that  day  regenerated,  T  dare  not  say:  I  think  this  was 

36.  I  bad  very  little  previous  distress.  During  the  preceding  week  1 
bad  been  alarmed,  by  a  solemn  account  in  the  Connecticut  Evangelical 
Magazine^  of  a   young  hilly,  who,  having  her  heart  set  on  attending  a  ball, 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  XU 

had  one  appointed  at  her  request,  but  Avas  herself  buried  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed for  the  ball.  This  account  touched  my  case,  and  drove  me  to  a  form 
of  prayer.  But  I  had  no  convictions,  nor  was  my  heart  at  al  in  my  prayers. 
I  prayed  because  1  was  afraid  I  should  be  damned.  I  one  day  felt  while  I  re- 
tired to  pray,  that  if  I  had  power  enough  to  pull  God  from  his  throne,  I 
would  not  pray.  I  had,  however,  resolved  to  keep  up  a  form  of  prayer  as  long 
as  I  lived.  In  this  resolve  I  slnuld  certainly  have  failed,  had  not  God,  as  I 
humbly  hope,  given  me  a  new  heart. 

"  My  knowledge  of  gospel  truth,  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of  my 
mother,  was  at  this  time  very  small.  I  certainly  did  not  know  enough  to 
be  a  comfortable  believer.  During  a  whole  year  I  obtained  no  satisfactory 
hope  that  my  heart  was  renewed.  I  took  much  pleasure  in  the  company 
and  conversation  of  God's  people.  They  seemed  to  me  the  excellent  of  the 
earth.  I  sometimes  went  six  or  seven  miles  to  meet  with  them  in  confer- 
ence. I  put  too  much  dependence  on  meetings.  I  felt  as  if  they  were  ne- 
cessary to  keep  alive  my  religion.  I  almost  worshiped  the  man  who  was 
the  instrument  of  arousing  me.  Natural  affections  were  very  much  sub- 
stituted for  religion.  I  have  often  thought,  that  if  I  had  any  religion  during 
this  first  year,  it  was  as  a  drop  in  the  ocean. 

"Very  soon  after  being  awakened,  I  felt  the  need  of  a  companion;  and 
God  seemed  to  give  me  one.  A  young  man  in  my  neighborhood,  and  one 
whom  I  had  long  enjoyed  as  a  companion  in  vice,  was  awakened  at  a  con- 
ference, attended  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  C .     Immediately  after  the  meeting, 

he  sent  me  a  line,  in  which  he  opened  his  mind  to  me,  and  gave  me  great 
joy.  I  flew  to  his  embrace,  and,  I  suppose,  felt  proud  that  God  had  an- 
swered my  prayer.  He  seemed  so  deeply  impressed,  and  came  out  so 
boldly  from  the  world,  that  he  made  me  doubt  whether  I  had  met  with  a 
saving  change.  For  about  two  weeks,  we  spent  almost  all  our  time  to- 
gether, in  prayer  and  conversation.  He  then  began  to  be  less  fond  of  my 
company,  and  soon  entirely  forsook  me.  Thus  the  gourd  that  had  grown 
up  in  a  night,  withered  in  a  day.  I  suppose  God  designed,  by  this  afllicting 
stroke,  to  wean  me  from  man,  and  bring  me  to  himself.  I  felt  more  than 
ever  the  importance  of  having  a  religion  which  would  live  without  any 
support  but  from  heaven.  To  convince  me  still  more  thoroughly  (if  this 
important  truth,  God  so  ordered  it  in  his  providence,  that  I  should  go  into 
the  employ  of  that  man  whom  I  have  already  brought  into  view.  In  this 
thing  I  think  my  father  was  wrong.  He  ought  now  to  have  provided  for 
my  groAvth  in  grace.  This  new  situation,  in  which  my  rebellious  heart 
had  formerly  anticipated  much  delight,  was  now  very  unpleasant.  I  lived 
in  the  midst  of  oaths  and  curses.  They  laughed  at  my  seriousness,  and 
tried  many  ways  to  make  me  dishonor  religion.  And,  0,  my  soul,  too  often 
they  succeeded!  I  had  now  very  little  opportunity  to  read,  or  attend  reli- 
gious conference.  All  this  tended  to  drive  me  into  retirement,  where  ! 
might  pray.  Many  times  in  the  day  I  used  to  leave  the  wicked  throng 
which  surrounded  me,  that  I  might  spend  a  few  moments  alone.  Many  of 
my  evenings  were  spent  in  tears.  My  life  was  gloomy  as  death.  I  spout 
much  of  my  leisure  time  in  reading  the  Bible.     Having  a  Bible  of  small 


XX  BIOGRAPHY 

print,  and  Betting  up  to  read  it  until  late  at  night,  I  found  at  length  tnai  1 
had  almost  ruined  my  eyes.  They  became  so  weak,  that  for  several  years 
afterward  I  could  not  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  with  any  comfort.  This 
also  tended  to  make  me  feel  that  I  must  have  a  religion  which  came  from 
God  only,  and  which  he  would  nourish  by  his  Spirit. 

"During  the  first  year  of  my  seriousness,  1  had  a  very  bad  opinion  of  my 
Heart,  till  at  length  I  concluded  that  I  had  no  religion.  I  Avas  distressed, 
for  fear  that  I  had  never  been  acquainted  with  Christ.  I  certainly  was 
very  ignorant  of  his  character.  Sometime  in  the  latter  part  of  the  winter,  I 
happened  to  discover  in  the  house  where  I  lived,  an  old,  dirty  pamphlet; 
which,  on  examining,  I  found  to  contain  two  sermons  of  Doctor  Hopkins, 
one  on  the  law,  and  the  other  on  the  gospel.  The  text  of  the  latter  sermon 
was,  "Which  were  born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of 
the  will  df  man,  but  of  God."  These  sermons  suited  my  case.  They  con- 
vinced me  that  I  wras  very  ignorant  of  Christ,  and  threw  me  into  great 
distress,  which  continued  many  months.  During  this  time,  I  felt  as  if  I 
could  not  pray.  There  seemed  to  be  a  cloud  of  brass  between  me  and  God. 
Sometime  in  April,  my  distress,  one  Sabbath  morning,  arose  so  high,  that  I 
thought  I  could  not  live.  I  took  my  hymn-book  and  walked  the  fields. 
Every  tiling  I  saw  seemed  as  gloomy  as  death.  I  several  times  fell  on  my 
face,  and  despaired  of  mercy.  I  tried  to  pray,  and  could  not.  The  whole 
day  was  dark  and  dismal.  In  the  evening  I  attended  a  conference,  and  all 
was  dark  yet.  After  the  conference,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chapman,  (who  was 
then  my  minister,  and  who  felt  very  anxious  for  me,  and  had  already,  at 
my  request,  propounded  me  to  the  church,)  inquired  of  my  feelings.  1 
told  him,  "  Gloomy  as  death."  He  immediately  pointed  me  to  Christ.  J 
told  him  that  I  was  afraid  I  had  never  found  the  Savior.  He  told  me 
then,  that  my  religion  was  vain.  His  conversation  was  the  means,  I  hope, 
of  bringing  m?  to  be  better  acquainted  with  Christ,  and  of  dispersing  my 
darkness.  !  hat!  a  charming  evening  and  night,  almost  all  of  which  I  spent 
in  the  same  fields  where  1  had  despaired  in  the  morning.  My  cloud  of 
orass  now  seemed  to  he  penetrable.  I  thought  I  had  near  access  to  God. 
I  continued  mere  eomfortarjle,  until,  on  the  first  day  of  May,  (just  one  year 
from  the  time  ol  my  first  feeling  the  change,)  I  joined  the  church,  and  took 
my  -eat  among  the  followers  of  the  Lamb." 

He  soon  after  formed  the  purpose  of  preparing  for  the  ministry;  and  in 
1S02,  commenced  Ins  academical  studies,  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Dr.  Finley 
of  Baskenridge.  In  .March,  1S05,  he  was  summoned  home  to  see  his 
mother  die.  She  had  no  anxiety  but  for  the  souls  of  her  children.  He 
heard  herspcatt  of  God's  goodness,  of  her  joy  in  the  light  of  his  countenance, 
and  her  readiness  to  depart :  he  saw  her  depart  in  peace,  and  in  the  clear 
hope  of  a  glorious  immortality.  The  loss  of  such  a  mother  affected  him 
deeply. 

He  entered  Princeton  College  in  1805,  and  graduated  in  1  SOS,  with  so 
high  a  reputation  foi  scholarship,  that  the  proffer  of  a  tutorship  was  made 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  XXI 

lo  him,  which,  however,  he  declined,  that  he  might  eater  at  once  upon 
his  professional  studies. 

The  following  letter  to  his  uncle  and  aunt,  written  in  the  latter  part  of 
his  college  life,  is  interesting  for  the  sentiments  it  contains,  and  the  pious 
spirit  which  it  breathes. 

"  Princeton,  N.  J.,  Jan.  10,  1808. 
"  My  Dear  Uncle  and  Aunt : 

"  I  take  it  for  granted  that  you  are  so  much  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
all  your  friends,  as  to  wish  to  hear  from  them.  I  regret  that  so  wide  a 
space  parts  us,  as  to  forbid  our  intercourse.  Since  the  dissolution  of  my  fa- 
ther's family,  I  feel  more  interested  than  before  in  the  smiles  of  my  other 
friends.  How  good  is  God  in  this!  that  when  one  of  the  streams  that  con- 
vey satisfaction  and  delight  to  our  minds  dries  up,  he  allows  tbe  same 
sweets  to  reach  us  by  other  channels.  His  mercy  forbids,  or  the  days  of 
mourning  would  be  protracted  to  the  grave.  This  is  a  world  full  of  chang- 
es, and  as  full  of  disappointments.  We  often  forget  on  what  we  lean  until 
it  gives  way,  and  exposes  us  to  a  fall.  Friends  often  lean  on  friends,  instead 
of  an  Almighty  arm,  and  provoke  God  to  cut  them  off  by  death,  that  they 
may  return  and  put  their  trust  in  him.  Since  my  very  agreeable  visit  to 
your  country,  I  have  felt  greatly  interested  in  the  welfare  of  your  family.  I 
often  picture  you,  in  my  imagination,  standing  on  the  border  of  Canaan, 
looking  forward  with  joy  to  the  fields  of  light,  and  hailing  the  inviting  dawn 
of  the  resurrection  morning  :  and,  at  the  same  time  looking  backward  with 
no.  less  delight,  to  see  your  children  walking  in  that  blessed  path,  that  must 
terminate  at  the  gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  O,  how  great  is  the  portion 
of  the  Christian  !  He  possesses  either  the  reality,  or  the  certain  promise  of 
every  good.  He  walks  through  every  danger  without  hurt,  and  shall  at 
last  stand  on  the  ashes  of  the  universe  and  triumphantly  say,  I  have  lost 
nothing.  My  dearest  friends,  let  a  young  pilgrim  admonish  you  to  keep 
your  eyes  fixed  upon  your  ascended  Redeemer.  Your  only  hope,  you  know, 
is  in  him;  your  only  safety  in  him.  If  he  smile  on  you,  ten  thousand  hells 
could  not  hurt  you — but  if  he  frown,  as  many  Gabriels  of  light  could  not 
administer  a  drop  of  joy.  To  serve  Christ  is  the  whole  business  of  life,  and 
and  if  we  refuse  to  serve  him,  we  ought  to  be  generous  enough  to  leave  the 
world  he  made  for  that  purpose.  He  intended  to  be  served  here  when  he 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth  ;  and  the  sons  of  God  looking:  forward  to  the 
glory  of  his  kingdom,  shouted  for  joy.  1  hear  with  joy  that  Christ  is  making 
daily  encroachments  upon  the  kingdom  of  the  prince  of  darkness.  Newark 
and  Elizabethtown  witness,  at  present,  some  of  the  most  interesting  scenes 
that  ever  passed  in  review  before  the  eyes  of  men.  The  stoutest  hearts 
yield  to  invitations  of  the  gospel.  The  child  of  eight  years  and  the  sire  of 
ninety,  unite  their  harmonious  songs  to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  and  has 
redeemed  them  unto  himself  by  his  blood.  From  this  town  I  have  no  good 
news  to  tell  you,  unless  it  be  that  upwards  of  twenty-five,  are  here  prepar- 
ing to  blow  the  gospel  trump.  But  what  God  will  do  with  this  people  I 
know  not,  for  they  are  nearly  all  asleep  upon  the  brink  of  death.     I  know 


Xxii  BIOGRAPHY 

oot  of  a  worse  evil  that  can  happen  to  any  people,  than  that  of  being  for- 
saken by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

"  Uncle  will  see  in  the  printed  sheet  which  accompanies  this  letter,  the 
happy  state  of  the  College,  which  he  will  please  make  as  public  as  possible. 

'•  Yours,  very  affectionately,  Daniel  A.  Clark." 

Some  of  his  contributions  to  periodicals,  during  his  College  course,  evince 
much  thought,  and  maturity  of  intellect. 

Mr.  Clark  commenced  his  theological  studies  under  the  direction  of  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York.  In  May,  1809,  he  left  Newark,  in  company  with 
Dr.  Grillin,  for  Andover:  the  latter  to  be  a  teacher  in  that  then  infant  Sem- 
inary, the  former  a  student.  His  residence  at  Andover  was  from  one  to 
two  years,  he  having  entered  the  second  (middle)  class.  This  was  the 
third  class  formed  in  that  Seminary,  which  left  in  1811. 

In  the  course  of  Mr.  Clark's  residence  at  Andover,  the  place  was  favored 
with  a  revival  of  religion,  in  which  he  was  very  deeply  interested,  and  for 
the  promotion  of  which  he  labored  with  great  zeal  and  success.  Some 
account  of  this  work,  and  of  his  own  exercises  in  view  of  it,  is  found  among 
his  papers.  The  following  extracts  from  his  diary  may  not  be  uninteresting, 
as  indicating  his  spiritual  state  while  in  a  course  of  theological  study. 

"  Andover,  Mass.,  Sabbath,  October  loth,  1S09. 

"  Again  somewhat  unwell.  The  day  is  dull,  and  the  preaching  poor.  The 
week  past,  however,  has  been  pleasant,  because  the  Lord  was  among  us.  O, 
how  good  is  it  to  see  sinnners  inquire  the  way  to  Zion,  with  their  faces 
thitherward  !  It  seems  to  make  us  forget  that  we  are  in  a  wretched  world, 
and  we  begin  to  (eel  ourselves  blest.  And  truly  they  are  blest,  whom  the 
Lord  permits  to  rejoice  in  the  displays  of  his  Sovereign  grace.  They  seem 
to  sit  around  where  Jesus  is,  and  to  feel  a  part  of  heaven. 

"  Evening. — Spent  with  the  Misses  E ,  and  two  of  my  brethren,  con- 
versing about  Christ,  the  Savior  of  sinners.  I  hope  Christ  was  there. 
Blessed  be  his  name,  for  meliorating  the  woes  of  this  sublunary  scene,  by 
setting  up  a  Church  in  it,  and  giving  his  people  to  see  the  displays  of  his 
grace  in  the  salvation  of  sinners.  What  shall  we  render  to  the  Lord  for  all 
his  benefits  ?     How  shall  his  poor  people  make  him  any  return  : 

For  all  they  are  ami  all  they  have  is  God's. 

He  saw  them  weltering  in  their  blood  ;  cast  out 

Ami  lying  in  the  open  field,  forlorn, 

Without  an  eye  to  pity,  or  an  arm 

To  help ;  nor  was  there  found  in  heaven,  or  earth, 

Or  in  the  world  of  woe,  a  heart  to  feci, 

Save  His  who  felt  (moved  by  the  sinner's  pains, 

Or  rather  by  his  own  eternal  love,) 

And  flew  from  heaven  to  save,  and  snatch  them  thence, 

And  healed  their  wounds  and  made  their  hearts  rejoice. 

Yes,  all  they  have  is  His,  and  His  are  they. 

They  love  to  serve  their  King,  and  shout  his  praise, 

^  'i.  gladly  would  they  burn  with  seraph's  flame 

Until  the  sacred  fire  had  made  them  pure. 


OF     TIIE     AUTHOR.  XX1U 

"  Wednesday,  November  20,  1809. 
"  Our  brother  dies* — and  why  is  God  dealing  with  us  so  early  in  wrath  ? 
What  is  God  saying  to  us  in  all  this?     He  is  in  heaven,  and  we  on  the 
earth,  and  our  words  must  be  few.     I  am  to  prepare  an  address  on  the  occa- 
sion.    But  I  know  not  what  to  say.    May  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  direct  me." 

"  Andover,  Sabbath  Morning,  July  1st,  1810. 
"I  perceive  that  I  have  neglected  my  diary  for  two  months.  A  part  of 
that  time  I  have  spent  very  agreeably  in  Beverly,  where  the  Lord  is  shed- 
ding down  his  showers  of  grace.  It  was  sweet  to  be  there.  How  pleasant 
to  stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of  God  !  To  see  the  sinner  melt  under 
the  word,  and  hear  him  inquire,  what  he  shall  do  to  be  saved  ? — this  is  de- 
lightful. I  remember  to  have  often  prayed,  that  God  would  cast  my  lot 
where  he  was  pouring  out  his  Holy  Spirit.  1  have  now  spent  six  weeks  in 
such  a  place,  and  hope  I  have  received  some  advantage.  I  think  that  I 
long  to  be  always  in  such  a  place— to  be  always  where  God  reveals  his  gra- 
cious name.  I  long  now  to  live  near  to  him,  to  have  every  day  some  view 
of  his  face,  to  feel  every  morning  and  evening  the  same  fervent  glow  of  af- 
fection. Must  my  soul  ever  again  leave  my  God  ?  Upon  what  object  can 
it  fix,  if  it  should  act  so  unwise  a  part  ?  Will  it  try  again  to  be  pleased 
with  earthly  objects,  and  fix  its  hopes  on  sublunary  good  ?  Oh,  no!  these 
have  all  been  tried.  I  have  found  by  long  and  painful  experience,  that 
earth  has  no  one  charm  for  my  soul.  It  may  play  for  a  moment  around 
some  painted  earthly  object,  but  it  soon  remembers  its  home,  and  begins  to 
mourn.  Hills  and  groves  sometimes  delight  it  a  moment,  but  soon  it  feels  a 
longing  desire  after  an  acquaintance  with  the  God  who  founded  and  painted 
them.  Imagination  soon  leaves  the  scenery,  and  bears  me  to  the  fields  of 
light,  where  the  redeemed  gaze  for  ever  upon  that  more  lovely  object,  the 
Lamb  of  God.  Oh,  my  God  !  is  not  this  eager  desire  after  a  better  object, 
some  faint  proof  that  my  soul  has  been  renewed  by  thy  Divine  grace  ?  Do 
I  not  love  thee  ?" 

It  appears  from  the  preceding,  that  Mr.  Clark,  at  this  period,  Avas  not 
neglectful  of  his  own  spiritual  interests,  or  of  those  of  others,  but.  watched, 
and  labored,  and  prayed,  that  souls  might  be  saved,  and  Zion  prosper,  and 
Christ  be  honored. 

There  is  other  testimony,  to  the  same  effect.  One  who  was  in  the  same 
original  company  from  Newark,  writes,  under  a  recent  date,  that 

"  His  character  for  devoted  piety  was  eminent  in  the  Seminary.  He  was 
active  and  useful  in  a  season  of  religious  interest,  which  commenced  in  i In- 
south  part  of  the  town,  during  the  fall  vacation  of  1S09  in  the  Seminary." 

Another  respected  minister,  who  came  into  the  Seminary  about  the  time 
Mr.  Clark  left  it,  writes, 

"  My  wife,  who  was  somewhat  acquainted  with  him  while  at  Andover, 
and  who    became  interested  in  religion  during    the  first  revival    at  A., 

•  Mr.  Badger,  a  fellow  student  with  tun  in  Andover  Theological  Seminary. 


Sxiv  BIGGKAPIIY 

in  which  your  father,  with  some  otliers  of  his  classmates,  bore  n  con- 
spicuous part,  remembers  and  speaks  of  him  with  great  affection  ;  and  thinks 
he  was  one  of  the  most  useful  instruments  which  God  was  pleased  to 
employ  in  that  blessed  work— a  work  which  gave  a  new  tone  and  character 
to  the  piety  of  the  church  in  that  place,  and  the  influence  of  which  has 
been  felt  from  that  day  to  this,  among  that  people." 

In  October,  1S10,  before  finally  leaving  Andover,  he  Avas  examined,  and 
licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Jersey. 

In  1811,  he  visited  Portland,  where  a  work  of  grace  was  in  progress,  and 
engaged  in  earnest  labors  for  its  promotion.  He  occupied,  for  several  Aveeks, 
the  pulpit  of  Dr.  Beman,  then  one  of  the  ministers  of  Portland,  and  who  was 
absent,  for  a  season,  in  consequence  of  ill  health. 

On  January  1,  1S12,  he  was  ordained  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  in- 
stalled pastor  of  the  Congregational  Union  Church  of  Braintree  and  Wey- 
mouth. In  June,  of  the  same  year,  he  was  married,  at  Portland,  Maine,  to 
Miss  Eliza  Barker,  daughter  of  Dr.  Jeremiah  Barker,  of  Gorham. 

The  field  in  which  Mr.  Clark  commenced  his  ministry,  was  a  somewhat 
difficult  and  rugged  one;  and  he  seems  to  have  entered  and  continued  in 
it  with  many  trials.  He  complains,  in  a  letter,  that  there  are  but  few  to 
pray  for  a  revival ;  that  many  have  taken  offence  at  his  preaching — some 
because  he  endeavored  to  raise  the  standard  of  piety,  by  which  they  were 
cut  off  from  their  hope  that  they  were  Christians;  others,  because  his 
preaching  was  directed  against  coldness,  covetousness,  balls  and  cards; 
others,  probably,  from  his  heavy  and  demolishing  assaults  of  the  Unitarian 
heresy,  which  he  never  was  in  the  habit  of  sparing. 

The  following  letter,  to  the  parents  of  Mrs.  Clark,  is  instructive,  and  il 
indicates  »i.s  anxiety  for  the  spiritual  good  of  his  relatives. 

"  Weymouth,  March,  12,  1813. 
11  Dear  Parents — We  thank  you  for  your  friendly  letters,  and  regret  that 
we  have  not  expressed  our  gratitude  sooner.  It  always  <jives  us  pleasure 
to  hear  from  you,  but  never  have  we  felt  this  pleasure  to  so  high  a  decree 
as  when  we  received  your  last  communications.  We  can  assure  you  they 
cave  us  joy  that  was  new.  We  now  anticipate  much  pleasure  in  future 
communications  of  feelings,  in  which,  we  humbly  hope,  we  can  mutually 
share.  The  doctrines  upon  which  you  appear  at  last  to  have  founded  your 
hopes,  are,  I  believe,  the  only  sure  foundation.*  We  cannot  open  The  Bible 
but  our  eyes  meet  some  black  line,  bearing  reproach  and  shame  against  hu- 
man nature.  Man  has  corrupted  his  way  before  the  Lord.  The  iniquity 
which  appears  in  his  life,  originates  in  a  heart  at  enmity  with  God,  and  with 
everything  holy.  Such  a  heart  has  rendered  him  unfit  for  the  kingdom  ot 
heaven,  li  must  be  renewed, and  none  can  renew  it  but  God.  A  way  must 
be  contrived  in  which  God  can  consistently  pardon  and  save  the  sinner. 
This  way   was  devised  by  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  and  is  made 

•  This  letter  is  :i  reply  inone  received  from  his  father-in-law  Dr.  J.  Barker,  an. 
nouncing  his  conversion  from  Socinianism  to  orthodoxy. 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  XXV 

known  in  the  gospel.  Christ  must  die,  and  his  blood  become  the  fountain  in 
which  the  sinner  is  cleansed  from  his  guilt,  and  the  price  which  buys  him  a 
pardon.  Blood,  of  such  value,  cannot  be  the  blood  of  a  mere  creature. 
Christ  must  be  the  Jehovah  of  the  Scriptures.  If  God  save  sinners  he 
must  save  all,  or  must  choose  whom  he  will  save,  or  must  find  out  some 
other  way  to  make  the  selection.  No  other  Avay  having  been  discovered, 
and  there  being  wise  reasons  why  he  should  not  save  all,  he  elects  some  to 
everlasting  life,  and  leaves  others  to  reject  the  gospel  and  perish.  Those  who 
perish  are  not  injured,  those  who  are  saved  receive  nothing  but  grace.  Those 
once  lost  can  never  be  saved,  because  they  will  have  no  Savior.  Christ  wil. 
have  gathered  in  his  elect,  and  have  given  up  the  kingdom.  Then  he  that 
is  filthy  must  be  filthy  still.  Thus  is  there  a  concatenation  in  Divine  truth. 
One  acknowledged,  we  must  acknowledge  a//,  or  be  inconsistent.  Destroy 
one  link,  and  the  whole  series  falls  to  the  ground. 

"  It  is,  however,  a  distressing  fact,  that  men  often  become  convinced 
of  these  truths  in  their  understandings,  yet  never  embrace  them  with 
their  hearts  nor  act  them  out  in  their  lives.  Such  were  they  who  are 
accused  by  the  apostle  of  holding  the  truth  in  unrighteousness.  But  I 
have  always  supposed  that  such  men  may  be  easily  known.  We 
shall  see  that  their  lives  do  not  correspond  with  their  doctrines.  They 
will  be  likely  to  neglect  many  important  duties  of  religion.  They  will 
not  be  spiritual  in  their  conversation.  Their  favorite  theme  will  not  be 
the  religion  of  the  heart.  They  will  appear  trifling  in  their  manners. 
They  will  at  least  show,  while  conversing  on  the  truths  of  the  gospel, 
that  these  truths  have  never  made  much  impression  upon  their  hearts. 
You  may  easily  see  that  it  is  their  wish  to  be  esteemed  pious.  They  will 
be  likely  to  tell  you  that  they  have  thought  much  on  these  things.  You  will 
find  ihem  unwilling  to  make  much  sacrifice  for  the  truth.  If  truth  is  not 
very  popular  in  the  company  where  they  chance  to  be,  they  will  either  re- 
main silent,  or  by  some  crouching,  well  directed  sentences,  will  throw  their 
weight  into  the  scale  of  error.  In  this  way  they  will  steer  along,  free  from 
persecution,  will  please  all  parties,  and  offend  none. 

"  0,  how  different  is  this  conduct  from  that  of  the  martyrs  !  They  con- 
fessed ihe  truth,  till  their  tongues  were  stiffened  to  a  coal,  and  would  do 
their  office  no  longer !  May  the  Almighty  God  give  me  this  lot,  rather  than 
the  lot  of  those  who  act  the  coward,  and  betray  their  Master.  Such  time- 
servers  can  never  be  useful.  Half  the  time  they  are  counted  among  the 
friends  of  Zion,  but  the  other  half,  they  swell  the  ranks  of  the  foe.  If  God 
be  God,  we  ought  to  serve  him,  but  if  Baal,  then  let  us  serve  him.  Halt- 
ing between  two  opinions  ruins  the  soul.  I  love  to  see  correct  sentiment, 
but  more  yet  a  holy  life.  Religion  must  bear  fruit.  When  the  Spirit  of 
God  has  taught  a  man  the  truth,  it  is  delightful  to  see  the  effect  it  will  im- 
mediately have  upon  his  life.  Let  a  man  be  savingly  taught  this  one  truth, 
that  sin  has  polluted  his  soul,  and  you  will  immediately  see  the  effect.  If 
morally  polluted,  he  will  feel  that  he  lies  at  uncovenanted  mercy.  This 
will  effect  his  prayers,  his  hopes,  his  fears,  and  his  joys.  He  will  feel  that 
a  polluted  creature  ought   to  be  modest,  humble,  meek,  fearful,  cautious. 


XXVI  BIOGRAPUY 

watchful,  and  thankful.  Every  action  of  such  a  man  will  tell  you  that  he 
has  seen  his  heart.  Every  gospel  truth  will  have  a  similar  effect.  No 
sooner  is  Christ  formed  in  our  heart,  the  hope  of  glory,  than  the  lineaments 
of  that  impression  will  be  drawn  out  in  the  life. 

"  And  then  the  world  will  be  angry.  Real  religion  cannot  appear  in  such 
a  shape  as  to  please  unrenewed  men.  No,  you  might  as  well  join  noon  to 
midnight.  If  unholy  men  are  generally  pleased  with  us,  depend  upon  it  we 
are  not  holy.  The  world  will  love  his  own.  As  soon  as  we  begin  to  follow 
Christ  liny  will  cast  out  our  names  as  evil.  We  shall  be  hated  of  all  men 
for  his  sake.  But  those  who  persevere  are  blessed.  An  inheritance  incor- 
ruptible,  undefined,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,is  reserved  for  them  in  heaven. 

"  My  dear  parents,  excuse  my  freedom.  I  knew  not  what  I  should  write 
when  1  took  my  pen,  but  the  sweet  subject  opened  before  me,  and  I  could 
not  stop.  We  are  all  in  good  health.  We  have  friends  and  enemies.  We 
love  God  so  little  that  we  have  but  little  spiritual  joy.  I  hope,  however, 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  among  us,  and  will  give  us  a  little  reviving  in  our 
bondage.  The  girl  who  lives  with  us  seems  to  be  under  deep  and  solemn 
impressions.  I  really  believe  that  God  is  about  to  bring  her  home  to  him- 
self. We  have  established  an  inquiring  meeting— and  they  are  sweet  meet- 
ings. But  I  must  stop.  The  Lord  bless  and  comfort  you.  Eliza  joins  with 
me  in  assurances  of  affection. 

"  Your  obedient  son,  Daniel  A.  Clakk." 

Mr.  Clark  remained  at  Weymouth,  strongly  and  pointedly  proclaiming 
the  great  truths  of  the  Bible,  till  the  fall  of  1815;  when  the  state  of  his 
wife's  health,  which  demanded  a  milder  climate,  induced  him  to  seek  a 
dismission.  This  he  obtained,  and  removed  to  New  Jersey,  and  labored 
through  the  succeeding  winter  at  Hanover,  amid  scenes  of  religious 
interest. 

In  January,  1S16,  he  was  installed  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church 
in  Southbury,  Connecticut.  Of  his  labors  here,  there  is  no  record  at  hand. 
We  only  learn  that  here,  as  elsewhere,  his  labors  were  blessed.  It  was 
while  at  Southbury  that  he  prepared  and  preached  the  sermon  entitled 
"  The  Church  Safe,"  which  has  been  so  generally  read,  and  so  warmly 
admired. 

Not  only  did  he  perform  the  duties  which  devolved  upon  him  as  a  min- 
ister in  this  field  ;  he  also  taught,  gratuitously,  for  a  considerable  time,  a 
large  school,  that  he  might  raise  the  standard,  and  promote  the  cause  of 
education  in  the  place  and  the  vicinity. 

Upon  determining  to  loave  this  place,  Mr.  Clark  received  invitations 
from  the  churches  in  Waterbury,  and  in  North  Haven,  Connecticut,  and 
from  the  church  in  the  West  Parish,  Amherst,  Mass.,  which  last  he  ac- 
cepted, and  wa<  installed,  Jan.  26,  1S20.  Rev.  Mr.  Porter,  of  Farmington, 
preached  on  the  occasion. 

At  this  time,  Mr.  Clark  was  in  the  maturity  and  full  strength  of  his 
faculties  ;  and  it  was  here  that  he  prepared  and  preached  some  of  his 
ablest  sermons.     Amongst  those  listened  to  with  peculiar  interest,  was  a 


OP     THE     AUTHOR.  XXVii 

series  on  the  text, — "For  if  the  trumpet  give  an  uncertain  sound,  who 
shall  prepare  himself  to  the  battle  ?"  which,  with  many  more  of  his  best 
discourses,  were  unfortunately  lost,  by  being  lent  to  a  clerical  friend. 

There  was  one  season  of  more  than  usual  religious  interest,  during  his 
ministry  at  Amherst,  which  he  watched  over  with  great  solicitude,  and 
labored  most  abundantly  to  promote.  The  work  was  more  in  the  outer 
districts  of  the  parish  than  at  the  centre.  He  sustained  meetings  in  these 
districts,  and  many  of  them  he  describes  as  very  solemn  and  searching. 
Professors  of  religion  were  constrained  to  give  up  their  hopes,  repent, 
and  do  their  first  works,  and  begin  anew  the  Christian  life.  Some  of  the 
dead  in  sin  were  awakened,  and  hopefully  converted  to  God.  The  precise 
number  is  not  known. 

There  was  at  this  time  also  a  revival  in  the  College,  which  acquired 
impulse  and  strength  from  his  bold  and  fervid  preaching.  "As  there 
was  no  church,  and  no  preaching  on  the  Sabbath  in  the  College,"  says 
Dr.  Humphrey,  in  his  account  of  this  revival,  "  the  students  attended  wor- 
ship in  the  village,  and  enjoyed  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Daniel  A.  Clark, 
which  was  well  adapted  to  show  them  'their  guilt  and  danger,  and  which 
seems  to  have  been  very  much  blessed  in  the  conviction  and  conversion 
of  sinners.  Had  the  trumpet,  at  this  critical  juncture,  given  an  uncertain 
sound — had  any  human  voice  cried  '  peace,  peace,'  in  contradiction  to  the 
word  of  God,  which  declares  that  there  is  no  peace  to  the  wicked,  how 
many  might  have  lingered  and  perished  on  the  plain,  who,  it  is  hoped,  fled 
for  refuge  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before  them  in  the  gospel." 

Mr.  Clark  was  dismissed  from  his  pastoral  charge  at  Amherst,  in  February, 
1824.  He  remained,  however,  for  a  season,  and  discharged  his  ministerial 
duties;  and,  amongst  other  things,  prepared  and  published  his  "  Conference 
Sermons" — "  a  volume  of  sermons  to  be  used  in  religious  meetings  where 
there  is  not  present  a  gospel  minister."  This  book  was  very  favorably  re- 
ceived, and  met  with  a  more  extensive  sale  than  the  author  anticipated. 

He  was  among  the  first  in  projecting  and  laying  the  foundation  of  Amherst 
College  ;  gave  largely  of  his  means  for  its  support,  and  spent  some  time  in 
traveling  and  collecting  funds  for  its  permanent  establishment. 

At  length  Mr.  Clark  withdrew  from  Amherst,  in  acceptance  of  a  call  to 
tbe  church  in  Bennington,  Yt.,  where  he  was  installed,  June  14,  1826.  His 
early  friend  and  teacher,  Dr.  Griffin,  was  a  member  of  the  Council,  and 
preached  the  sermon  on  the  occasion.  It  was  a  peculiar  satisfaction  to  him 
to  be  in  the  vicinity  of  that  venerable  man,  to  whom  he  owed  so  much,  and 
whom  he  loved  so  well.  Dr.  Griffin  was  often  at  his  house,  and  in  pleasant 
familiarity  would  pat  him  on  his  shoulder,  and  call  him  his  boy. 

Hia  ministry  here  seems  to  have  been  a  laborious  and  successful  one.  As 
heretofore,  he  proclaimed  the  truth,  and  assailed  wickedness  with  great  faith- 
fulness and  boldness;  and  the  Spirit  gave  it  efficacy,  and  stubborn  wills  were 
bowed  beneath  it.  But  while  some  submitted,  others  were  excited  to  bitter- 
ness. The  following  instance  of  threatening  hostility,  with  its  rerrarkable 
result,  used  to  be  related  by  himself  with  peculiar  emotion--'. 

"A  few  fellows,  in  their  desperation,  banded  together  violently  to  break 


XXV1U  BIOGRAPHY 

up  an  inquiry  meeting,  held  at  the  Court  House.  They  armed  themselves 
with  Btones,  and  proceeded  to  the  place.  When  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
they  were  met  by  a  power  they  had  not  thought  of.  The  stones  fell 
from  their  hands,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  went  reverently  in,  and  sub- 
mitted their  minds  to  the  instructions  and  influences,  which,  just  before,  in 
their  hatred,  th.y  meant  to  abolish." 

The  following  paper,  from  two  gentlemen,  members  of  the  church  in  Ben- 
nington, gives  other  particulars  of  his  ministry  in  this  place : 

"  Mr.  Clark  being  the  only  pastor  of  our  denomination  in  the  town,  em- 
bracing a  population  of  nearly  four  thousand,  there  being,  also,  several  small 
villages  remote  from  each  other,  his  labors  were  necessarily  severe.  Enjoy- 
ing good  health,  he  spared  no  pains  to  do  everything  in  his  power  for  the 
benefit  of  his  people.  In  addition  to  preaching  three  times  on  the  Sabbath, 
he  held  several  other  meetings  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  and  a  stated 
weekly  meeting  at  the  factory  village  of  Hinsdillville.  At  this  latter  place, 
early  in  the  fall,  a  precious  revival  commenced,  and  spread  with  surprising 
power  to  the  other  parts  of  the  town.  A  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  was 
now  appointed.  One  of  the  large  factory  buildings  was  prepared  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  people,  and  probably  a  larger  concourse  of  persons 
came  together  on  that  occasion  than  had  ever  before  assembled  in  the  town. 
An  occasion  like  this  could  not  fail  of  eliciting  Mr.  Clark's  best  powers.  The 
truth  fell  from  his  lips  with  overwhelming  power  and  energy,  and  being  ac- 
companied, as  was  very  manifest,  by  the  Spirit's  agency,  it  cut  its  way,  like 
waves  of  fire,  to  the  sinner's  inmost  soul.  A  considerable  number,  on  the 
si  >nt.  were  convicted  of  sin,  and  it  is  believed  were  converted  to  God.  The 
cloud  which  had  been  hanging  over  us,  now  seemed  to  burst,  and  to  deluge, 
as  it  were,  with  salvation,  the  whole  town.  The  Church,  fearing  that  Mr. 
C.  would  sink  under  his  multiplied  labors,  called  at  this  time  to  his  aid  a 
faithful  brother  in  the  ministry.  Meetings  were  now  held  every  evening  in 
different  parts  of  the  town,  in  connection  with  the  general  meeting  once  a 
held  at  the  centre  village.  The  work  went  on  with  great  power  and 
Steadiness,  ami  continued  through  the  winter,  and  resulted  in  bringing  more 
than  one  hundred  converts  into  the  Church,  most  of  whom  have  done  honor 
to  their  profession,  and  many,  we  trust,  are  now  enjoying  the  society  of  their 
beloved  pastor,  in  that  bright  world  where  they  have  met,  to  part  no  more 
for  ever.  We  have  lived  to  see  many  revivals,  but  never  have  we  witnessed 
one  of  more  thrilling  interest  than  this,  or  when  the  power  of  God  was  more 
disceri 

'•  Mr.  C.  was  happy,  in  devising  means  for  blessing  the  dear  people  of  his 
s.  The  revival  had  no  sooner  subsided,  than  he  began  to  contemplate, 
with  a  melancholy  interest,  the  ravages  which  Intemperance  had  made,  and 
was  still  making,  in  the  town.  At  that  time  his  people  had  not  the  light 
which  has  been  Bhed  by  the  present  Temperance  Reform,  to  guide  them. 
Even  gnnd  men  had  labored  hitherto  under  the  mistaken  notion,  that  a  mod- 
erate use  "f  alcoholic  drinks  is  not  only  not  hurtful,  but  beneficial  Mr.  C. 
''ell,  however,  that  something  could,  and  must  be  done,  to  stay  the  ravages 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  Xxix 

of  the  destroyer.  He  came  forward  with  this  proposition,  'Let  the  name 
of  every  individual  in  the  town  be  obtained,  who  is  willing  to  report  faith- 
fully, what  amount  of  distilled  liquor  he  has  used  in  his  family  during  tlte 
current  year.1  Strange  as  it  may  seem  uow,  only  twenty -five  persons,  among 
a  population  of  about  four  thousand,  could  be  induced  to  go  even  that  length. 
As  loose,  however,  as  this  compact  was,  it  still  resulted  in  great  good,  for  it 
demonstrated,  what  had  not  yet  been  found  out  among  this  people,  that  total 
abstinence  from  ardent  spirit  was  a  practicable  thing.  The  year  came  round. 
None/  was  appended  to  the  names  of  eight  out  of  twenty-five.  This  result 
was  both  surprising  and  encouraging.  The  second  annual  report  was  still 
more  gratifying.  The  Society  now  numbered  more  than  one  hundred  mem- 
bers, most  of  whom  had  wholly  abstained  from  the  use  of  distilled  liquors. 
The  sale  of  liquors  in  the  town  had  been  reduced  nearly  one-half.  At  this 
meeting  the  Society  ventured  to  advance  another  step.  It  was  accordingly 
resolved  to  practice  total  abstinence  from  distilled  spirit.  This,  at  that  time, 
was  thought  to  be  a  very  ultra  measure,  and  stirred  up  the  united  wrath  of 
the  rum-drinkers  and  rum-sellers  of  the  place.  But  this  only  served  to  in- 
spire Mr.  Clark  with  increased  zeal  and  energy  in  carrying  forward  the  cause 
of  his  Master.  The  Society  went  steadily  forward,  increasing  in  numbers 
and  in  usefulness:  It  has  now  adopted  the  total  abstinence  pledge,  and 
numbers  over  twelve  hundred  members,  and  is  one  of  the  most  thorough 
and  efficient  societies  that  we  are  acquainted  with  in  any  part  of  the  coun- 
try. With  all  this  before  us,  we  cannot  help  remarking,  that  the  day  of 
small  things  is  not  to  be  despised. 

"  One  fact,  in  connection  with  the  Temperance  Reform  in  Bennington, 
we  cannot  refrain  from  stating,  as  it  is  an  illustration  of  Mr.  Clark's  manner 
of  unmasking  error,  and  of  his  boldness  in  preaching  the  truth.  The  tem- 
perance cause  having  advanced  so  far  as  to  admit  of  a  question  whether 
professors  of  religion  ought  to  be  engaged  in  the  traffic  or  not,  a  Church 
meeting  was  called  to  discuss  the  subject.  At  that  time  we  had  a  vrvy 
worthy  Deacon  who  was  trafficking  in  the  poison,  who  came  forward,  and 
in  a  labored  argument,  tried  to  convince  the  Church  that,  as  the  sale  would 
go  on,  it  had  better  be  confined  to  conscientious  persons,  who  would  be 
more  decent  about  it  than  others.  The  Deacon  had  no  sooner  resumed  his 
seat,  than  Mr.  Clark  arose,  and  replied  in  substance,  as  follows:  "Strange 
doctrine  this  I  The  argument  of  my  brother  goes  too  far.  It  would  prove 
that  all  the  theatres,  and  brothels,  should  be  kept  by  conscientious  men, 
that  sinners  might  be  guided  down  to  hell  the  more  decently.  No!  no!  If 
it  must  be  sold,  I  would  place  at  the  tap  the  same  old  lying  serpent  that 
handed  Eve  the  apple,  that  it  might  appear  to  be  the  very  infernal  traffic 
that  it  is.' 

"  The  Bible  was  a  precious  book  to  our  beloved  pastor.     He  was  not  only 
himself  a  diligent  student  of  it,  but  was  unwearied  in  his  efforts  to  promoto 
in  others  a  knowledge  of  the  -acre-!  word.     During  a  considers 
of  the  time  while  he  resided  at  Bennington,  he  superintended  thn  e  \ 
Bible  classes,  in   different  parts  of  the  town — the  one  on  the  Sabbath,  at 


XXX  BIOGRAPHY. 

intermission,  he  called  his  '  Bibliary,'  to  which  all  the  congregation  -were 
invited.  These,  many  can  testify,  and  ourselves  among  the  number,  were 
seasons  of  great  profit  and  interest.  It  was  a  source  of  high  satisfaction  to 
him,  to  impart  from  his  great  and  well-stored  mind,  the  results  of  his  deep 
research  and  profound  reflections  upon  Divine  truth. 

"  Mr.  Clark  was  not  only  indefatigable  in  his  efforts  to  promote  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Scriptures,  but  he  was,  also,  a  warm  patron  and  supporter  of 
schools  and  lyceums.  As  evidence  of  this  we  will  state,  that  as  one  of  ua 
was  engaged,  during  our  whole  residence  in  Bennington,  in  conducting  a 
high  school,  if  we  were  at  all  successful  in  that  labor,  (and  the  public  must 
now  judge  to  what  extent  we  were,)  we  owe  that  success  more  to  his 
counsel  and  hearty  support,  than  to  any  other  cause. 

"A  spirited  Lyceum,  through  his  influence,  was  established,  and  sup- 
ported with  ability,  while  it  had  his  presence  to  encourage  and  stimulate 
its  members,  and  the  benefit  of  his  lectures. 

"  Mr.  Clark,  as  a  preacher,  was  bold,  original,  pungent,  direct.  No  one 
could  listen  to  him  during  a  single  discourse,  without  feeling  that  he  was 
in  the  presence  of  a  great  and  master  spirit.  He  wielded  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  like  some  mighty  giant,  tearing,  as  it  were,  the  stubborn  oaks  up  by 
the  roots,  and  sweeping  away  the  refuge  of  lies,  dashing  in  pieces  the  false 
hopes  of  the  Church,  giving  no  quarter  to  sin,  in  any  shape  or  form,  in  high 
places  or  low.  No  difficulty  nor  trials  could  daunt  him,  or  divert  bim  a 
moment  from  his  purpose.  Whatever  was  truth,  he  would  advocate  it,  no 
matter  what  the  opposition.  Surrounded  as  he  was  with  a  mass  of  infi- 
delity and  ungodliness,  it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  his  bold  and  fearless 
course  would  awaken  no  hostile  feelings.  Very  soon  after  the  great  revival 
of  which  we  have  spoken,  the  elements  of  wrath  began  to  combine.  His 
exposures  of  iniquity,  both  out  of  the  church  and  in,  were  too  glaring  to  be 
endured  in  silence.  Nevertheless,  so  great  was  the  charm  that  accom- 
panied his  preaching,  that  some  of  his  bitterest  enemies  never  failed  to  be 
among  his  auditors,  although  they  would  curse  him  the  moment  they  left 
the  sanctuary.  And  some  of  them,  so  great  was  their  desire  to  hear  him, 
— and  they  were  not  willing  to  do  it  in  an  open  manner, — were  found  in 
secret  places,  as  they  thought,  unobserved,  listening  to  the  truth  as  it  fell 
from  his  lips,  and  yet  would  not  come  to  Christ,  that  they  might  have  life. 
Infidelity  was  struck  dumb  before  his  powerful  arguments,  and  some  of  the 
most  learned  and  able  of  all  the  sceptics  in  that  place  were  brought  to 
embrace  the  Savior  during  his  ministry. 

"  The  above  account,  we  are  sensible,  does  but  slender  justice  to  the 
faithful,  talented,  and  devoted  ministry  of  your  honored  and  lamented  father 
in  Bennington.  The  revelation  of  secret  things  only,  we  believe,  will  fully 
unfold  all  the  beneficial  results  of  his  untiring  labors  among  that  people." 

Mr.  Clark  received  a  dismission  from  his  charge  here,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1830,  win!  to  Troy,  X.  T.,  and  again  occupied  the  pulpit  of  Dr.  Beman, 
who  found  it  necessary  to  travel  to  the  south,  on  account  of  ill  health.     He 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  XXXI 

appears  to  have  entered  upon  this  field  with  great  earnestness;    and  during 
his  stay,  to  have  performed  a  vast  amount  of  labor. 

The  following  brief  sketch  of  his  labors  in  this  city,  is  given  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Beman : 

"  Your  father  commenced  his  labors  in  the  first  Presbyterian  Church,  in 
the  Autumn  of  1830.  My  own  health  had  been  for  sonie  time  impaired, 
and  I  had  concluded,  by  the  advice  of  friends,  to  spend  the  approaching 
winter  in  the  southern  States.  It  was  a  great  object  with  my  congregation 
and  myself,  to  procure  a  suitable  and  efficient  supply  for  my  pulpit,  during 
my  absence.  My  thoughts  were  first  directed  to  your  father,  from  the  fact, 
that  I  had  known  him  intimately  in  early  life.  He  had  supplied  my  pulpit, 
during  a  temporary  illness  on  my  part,  in  Portland,  Maine,  in  1811 ;  and  I 
was  at  that  time  much  interested  in  his  preaching.  I  had  been  informed, 
before  I  recommended  him  to  my  congregation,  in  Troy,  that  he  would  pro- 
bably be  willing  to  leave  Bennington,  if  a  promising  field  of  labor  were  to 
present  itself. 

"  He  accepted  the  invitation  given  to  him  by  the  Session  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  after  being  dismissed  from  his  pastoral  charge,  he 
commenced  his  labors  in  Troy,  in  the  fall  of  1830,  soon  after  my  departure 
for  the  south.  In  this  station,  Mr.  Clark  was  acceptable  as  a  preacher,  and 
the  Church  and  congregation  were  kept  together,  and  increased  under  his 
ministry. 

"About  the  close  of  the  year  1S30,  after  mutual  consultation  and  advice, 
Mr.  C.  and  the  Session  of  the  Church  appointed  what,  with  perhaps  a  sin- 
gle exception,  was  a  new  thing  in  this  part  of  the  country — 'a  four  days 
meeting.'  As  the  time  approached  the  responsibility  of  the  undertaking 
seemed  to  increase,  and  they  all  felt  it  deeply.  They  betook  themselves  to 
the  throne  of  grace,  and  resolved  to  repose  their  trust  in  God,  and  meet  the 
occasion.  They  did  so.  Mr.  C.  enjoyed  the  labors  of  some  faithful  breth- 
ren in  the  ministry,  and  a  deep  impression  was  made  during  the  meeting. 
Many  were  convicted.  Some  '  who  came  to  scoff,  remained  to  pray.'  All 
before  had  been  as  quiet  as  death.  The  Churches  in  the  city  and  neighbor- 
hood had  been,  for  some  time,  in  a  state  of  religious  declension ;  but  a 
blessed  revival  now  commenced,  which  spread  through  the  city,  and  ex- 
tended to  several  Churches  in  the  country. 

"  In  the  congregation  to  which  Mr.  C.  ministered,  the  shower  of  mercy  was 
extensive  and  refreshing.  The  revival  continued,  with  greater  or  less  pow- 
er, through  the  winter.  The  Church  was  much  engaged,  and  many  who 
had  lived  without  hope  and  without  God  in  the  world,  were  converted. 
The  blessed  fruits  of  this  awakening  are  seen  and  felt  in  the  Church  to  this 
day.  Some  of  the  converts  have  already  gone  in  triumph  to  heaven, 
and  others  are  walking  with  God  on  the  earth.  No  doubt  very  many  will 
feel  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Clark's  labors  and  this  revival,  in  an  endless  eternity. 

"  In  the  month  of  March,  one  hundred  persons  were  received  to  the 
Church,  on  profession  of  their  faith  ;  and  a  number  more,  as  the  fruits  of  this 
revival,  at  subsequent  communions  during  the  vear.     The  Church,  to  tins 


XXXii  BIOGRAPHY 

dav,  look  back  to  this  time  of  refreshing,  as  one  of  the  most  blessed  they 
have  ever  enjoyed. 

"  Mr.  Clark  continued,  as  the  supply  of  this  congregation,  till  some  time 
in  the  month  of  June,  when  the  pastor  returned  and  resumed  his  labors. 
His  preaching  was  characterized  by  solemnity,  directness,  and  power.  The 
Church  felt  it — and  sinners  felt  it— and  long  will  the  memory  of  Daniel  A. 
Clark,  as  an  able  and  faithful  servant  of  God,  be  embalmed  in  the  affections 
of  this  people." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  by  an  intelligent  layman,  in 
relation  to  Mr.  Clark's  labors  at  Troy  : 

'•  Whilst  a  degree  of  deadness  seemed  to  pervade  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
the  Church,  fears  were  entertained  that  the  congregation  would  suffer  from 
the  absence  of  their  pastor.  After  laboring  a  few  Sabbaths,  Mr.  Clark  call- 
ed a  meeting  of  the  Session,  and  the  question  was  asked,  what  could  be 
done  to  interest  the  minds  of  the  congregation  on  the  subject  of  their  spirit- 
ual interests;  or,  in  other  words,  most  directly  and  powerfully  to  promote  a 
revival  of  religion  ?  It  was  proposed  that  a  '  four  days  meeting'  should  be 
held,  during  which  the  truth  might  be  constantly  held  up  before  the  minds 
of  the  Church,  and  such  of  the  impenitent  as  might  be  disposed  or  induced 
to  attend.  In  accordance  with  this  plan,  such  a  meeting  was  appointed 
about  the  middle  of  December,  and  this  was  the  first  of  those  assemblages 
in  that  section  of  the  country,  which  have  been  since  denominated,  'Pro- 
tracted Meetings.'  The  blessing  attending  it  exceeded  the  expectation  of 
the  I  hurch,  and  of  those  whose  happy  lot  it  was  to  labor  in  it.  During  this 
meeting  Mr.  C.  was  favored  with  the  assistance  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirk  of  Al- 
bany, and  Mr.  Tracy  of  Nassau;  and  subsequently,  during  a  week,  or  more, 
in  the  month  of  January,  with  that  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Griffin  of  Williams 
College.  .Many  were  convicted  and  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Savior, 
and  a  powerful  revival  extended  throughout  the  city,  and  to  many  places  in 
the  vicinity.  Many  were  added  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Beman's  Church,  and  great 
ions  were  made  to  the  other  Presbyterian  Churches,  and  to  Churches 
of  other  denominations. 

•'  In  adopting  this  novel  measure,  much  solicitude  was  felt  on  the  part  both 
of  Mr.  C.and  the  Church,  and  a  fear  lest  the  blessing  might  be  withheld  led 
them,  no  doubt,  to  cast  themselves  on  God  for  help.  In  Mr.  C,  this  feel 
ing  seemed  manifest  in  addressing  the  assembly  on  one  of  the  first  days  of 
the  meeting.  Early  the  next  morning,  at  a  prayer  meeting  held  at  a  pri 
vate  house,  a  number  of  impenitent  sinners  presented  themselves  to  be  made 
the  subjects  of  prayer.  From  this  period  the  work  progressed  with  interest 
to  the  opening  of  the  spring.  Many  who  labored  with  the  preacher 
through  those  interesting  scenes,  will  ever  remember  the  deep  feeling  and 
the  interest  manifested  by  him  in  behalf  of  inquirers,  lest  they  should  con- 
tinue to  resisl  the  truth,  or  settle  on  some  false  ground  of  hope;  and  in  be- 
half of  com rertS,  lest  they  should  fail  of  deriving  instruction  and  consolation 
from  the  Word,  necessary  to  their  progress  in  the  Christian  race,  and  growth 
in  holiness." 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  XXXlil 

Mr.  Clark's  labors  in  this  place  resulting  as  they  did,  were  of  course 
nighly  appreciated,  and  will  be  remembered  by  many  with  joyful  interest, 
to  the  ages  of  eternity.  He  subsequently  labored  in  Utica  and  vicinity,  in 
places  where  God  was  pouring  out  his  Spirit.  His  preaching  was  much 
sought  after,  and  very  highly  prized  in  these  scenes  of  hallowed  in- 
terest. He  took  up  his  abode  for  a  short  season  in  Utica.  On  his  way  to 
this  place,  on  board  one  of  the  canal  boats,  he  met  with  an  accident  which 
very  sensibly  affected  one  of  his  modes  of  communication  and  address.  He 
broke  the  thumb  of  his  right  hand,  by  which  he  was  rendered  incapable  of 
writing,  except  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  and  then  very  illegibly.  He 
left  Utica  the  latter  part  of  June,  1S32.  He  moved  with  his  family  on 
Thursday:  the  cholera  commenced  its  ravages  three  doors  off,  on  the 
following  Sabbath,  and  before  Wednesday,  it  had  numbered  two  victims  in 
the  very  house  Mr.  Clark  had  left.  Such  Providential  interpositions  he 
always  observed,  and  was  much  affected  by  them. 

On  July  17,  of  this  year,  Mr.  Clark  was  installed  over  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  Adams,  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.  This  was  his  last  charge,  and 
his  labors  were  very  brief;  being  obliged,  by  the  state  of  his  health,  to 
withdraw  at  the  end  of  little  more  than  a  year.  His  iron  constitution, 
which  had  stood  firm  under  the  hardest  labors  and  most  heaving  emotions, 
now  gave  way.  "  The  first  indication  of  the  fatal  change,"  says  one  of  his 
sons,  "  occurred  in  this  way.  He  had  been  laboring  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  a 
town  on  the  lake,  and  returned  on  Saturday  evening,  to  supply  his  own 
pulpit  the  next  day.  On  Monday  morning  early,  a  carriage  was  sent,  with 
the  earnest  entreaty  that  he  would  immediately  return  to  Sackett's  Har- 
bor, as  the  truth  uttered  by  him  on  Saturday,  had  taken  effect.  To  my 
mother's  amazement  he  refused  to  go,  having  ever  showed  the  utmost 
readiness  to  engage  in  such  labors.  On  the  same  day  he  prepared  a  skele- 
ton of  a  sermon,  and  handing  it  to  my  mother,  burst  into  tears,  and  said, 
'  My  dear,  I  am  done — I  cannot  read  that  paper — I  leave  you  a  widow  and 
my  children  orphans.'  Never  shall  I  forget,  to  my  dying  day,  the  manner 
in  which  my  father  received  the  unwelcome  evidence  that  his  disease  had 
assumed  a  fatal  character.  His  great  strength  was  now  gone.  From  thai 
time  he  failed  gradually,  till  God  called  him  home." 

Being  no  longer  equal  to  the  duties  of  a  settled  minister,  he  took  leave 
of  his  people  at  Adams,  and  removed,  in  the  fall  of  1833,  to  New  York, 
where  his  children  resided,  and  were  engaging  in  business.  He  was  attack- 
ed, soon  after  he  came  to  the  city,  with  his  first  stroke  of  paralysis,  which, 
however,  was  so  slight,  that  his  friends  were  not  sure  of  its  nature.  He 
employed  himself,  partly,  in  preparing  contributions  for  religious  periodicals, 
and  in  supplying,  for  a  few  weeks  together,  the  vacant  pulpit  of  some 
neighboring  church.  Another  and  prominent  labor  of  these  days  of  weak- 
ness, was  getting  ready  for  the  press,  and  getting  out,  the  three  volumes 
of  Sermons  which  appeared  m  I83tiand  '7.  His  labor  upon  these  was  doubt- 
less a  relief  to  his  mind,  as  he  intimates  in  the  preface.  "But  since  his 
health  has  failed  and  he  can  no  longer  stand  in  the  holy  place,  rather  than 


XXXIV  BIOGRAPHY 

bear  the  agony  of  living  to  no  purpose,  he  has  decided  to  arrange  and  issue 
these  three  volumes." 

This  "  agony  "  he  felt  upon  receiving,  about  this  time,  an  eligible  call  to 
fettle ;  and  he  wept  that  he  could  not  accept  it.  He  knew  that  a  change 
had  come  over  him,  but  the  nature  of  that  change  he  could  not  understand. 

His  friends  hoped  much  from  a  southern  voyage  and  residence.  In  the 
fall  of  1S34,  he  took  passage  for  Charleston,  S.  C,  where  he  spent  the  win- 
ter, amid  the  hospitality  and  kindness  peculiar  to  that  city.  Though  in  a 
feeble  state  of  health  while  there,  he  used  both  his  voice  and  his  pen.  He 
preached,  occasionally,  with  some  of  his  usual  earnestness  and  energy;  and 
he  contributed  to  the  New  York  Observer  his  "  First  impressions  of  Charles- 
ton," over  the  signature  "A  bird  in  the  air."  He  also  contributed  con- 
siderable matter  to  the  Charleston  Observer.  At  times  his  strength  would 
seem  to  return,  and  he  would  be  capable,  for  a  little  season,  of  great  mental 
effort:  then  again,  his  disease  would  come  back,  and  in  a  moment  change 
all  this  strength  to  utter  feebleness. 

In  the  spring  of  1S35,  he  returned  with  no.  improvement  in  his  health. 
Frequent  depletion  was  resorted  to,  and  contiuued  while  he  lived,  in  order 
to  prevent  the  obstinate  determination  of  blood  to  the  head,  which  was  the 
ever  pressing  symptom. 

In  the  fall  of  1S37,  he  was  removed  with  the  family  to  New  Haven,  in 
the  hope  that  a  more  quiet  residence  might  prove  beneficial  to  him.  Here 
new  scenes,  and  new  friends,  seemed,  at  first,  to  produce  a  change  for  the 
better.  It  was  here  that  he  preached,  with  great  difficulty,  his  last  sermon, 
from  the  words:  "Behold,  thou  hast  spoken  and  done  evil  things  as  thou 
couldst."  Jer.  iii.  5.  He  was  soon  after  seized  with  a  fit  of  paralysis  of  so 
severe  a  character,  as  to  threaten  a  speedy  termination  of  his  life.  His  sons 
were  summonail  from  New  York,  with  the  expectation  that  he  was  then  to 
die;  but  God's  purpose  was  not  so.  The  paralysis  affected  the  right  side, 
and  the  organs  of  speech.  After  this,  he  was  not  able  to  walk  with  ease 
and  take  active  exercise,  as  he  had  before  done.  His  condition,  at  this 
time,  is  prophetically  depicted  by  himself,  on  pp.  G28,  G29. 

In  the  spring  of  1838,  finding  that  the  removal  was  of  no  benefit  to  him, 
the  family  returned  to  New  York.  During  this  year  he  gradually  failed, 
and  was  henceforth  incapable  of  any  mental  effort.  His  disease  came  upon 
him  in  renewed  and  severe  attacks,  till  it  broke  down  the  strong  texture 
of  his  mind.  He  often  expressed  the  wish  that  he  might  die  in  the  full 
possession  of  his  faculties,  and  with  his  hopes  of  heaven  firm  and  bright. 
While  he  was  favored  with  some  seasons  such  as  he  desired,  it  was  often 
his  lot  to  lie  either  spiritually  or  mentally  under  a  cloud.  He  sometimes 
expressed  the  fear  that  he  should  be  lost;  that  he  had  never  been  born  of 
the  Spirit,  and  washed  in  the  Redeemer's  blood.  When  asked,  why  then 
he  attended  meetings  with  so  much  interest,  he  replied,  with  emphasis, 
"  That  he  loved  to  see  the  cause  of  Zion  prosper,  and  souls  brought  in,  even 
if  he  had  no  part  in  those  provisions  himself." 

He  evinced  great  tenderness  of  conscience,  and  said  it  grieved  him  that 


OF    THE    AUTHOR.  XXXV 

he  had  ever  requested  any  one  to  receive  less  than  the  stated  price  for  any 
article.  His  seasons  of  protracted  depression  and  gloom  were  occasionally 
relieved  by  the  pleasing  illusion  that  he  was  surrounded  by  old  and  dear 
friends,  who  had  been  long  dead ;  and  that  two  of  his  sons,  who  were  trav- 
eling in  Europe,  had  returned,  and  were  by  his  side.  In  one  of  his  dark 
hours,  a.friend  said  to  him,  "  The  Lord  says,  '  In  six  troubles  I  will  be  with 
you,  and  in  seven  I  will  not  forsake.' "  He  replied,  that  he  had  no  objection 
to  the  interpretation,  and  appeared  composed  and  soothed  by  the  thought. 
It  was  pleasing  to  his  friends  to  observe,  that  at  those  times  when  the  light 
of  reason  was  dimmed  by  the  thick  and  heavy  darkness  of  his  disease,  there 
were  decisive  indications  of  the  strong  religious  habit  of  his  mind,  and  of 
bis  warm  attachment  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  After  he  had  lost  the  power 
of  speech,  and  even  of  consciousness,  as  it  was  thought,  a  friend  related  in 
his  room  the  particulars  of  a  work  of  grace  then  in  progress  in  Broadway 
Tabernacle,  where  he  loved  to  attend  church  when  he  was  able.  He  re- 
ceived the  intelligence,  aud  it  seemed  to  thrill  his  bosom ;  for  he  cast  forth 
at  the  close  a  beaming  glance,  and  then  burst  into  tears — the  way  he  had 
for  a  long  time  expressed  all  kinds  of  emotion.  Zion,  for  whose  welfare  he 
labored  in  life,  he  appeared  to  love  in  death. 

He  was  faithfully  attended  during  his  protracted  illness  by  his  intimate 
friend,  Dr.  James  C.  Bliss,  of  New  York,  in  whose  skill  his  friends  have 
ever  reposed  the  utmost  confidence.  His  disease  was  one  of  rare  occur- 
rence— the  ossification  of  the  arteries  of  the  brain.  On  the  third  day  of 
March,  1840,  he  was  released  from  suffering,  and  quietly  passed  away. 

His  funeral  was  attended  on  Friday,  the  6th,  by  a  large  number  of  cler- 
gymen and  friends.  The  procession  moved  to  the  Broadway  Tabernacle, 
where  appropriate  exercises  were  performed  by  Rev.  Dr.  Parker,  (who 
delivered  the  address,)  and  by  Rev.  Dr.  Patton  and  Rev.  Dr.  Adams, 
in  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  people.  Solemn  is  the  scene  when  the 
minister  dies,  and  becomes  the  subject  of  the  services  he  had  so  often  per- 
formed over  the  remains  of  others ;  and  preaches,  not  with  the  living  voice 
from  the  pulpit,  but  with  silent  eloquence  from  the  coffin.  On  Saturday, 
his  remains  were  taken  to  New  Haven,  and  after  religious  exercises  in  Rev. 
Henry  G.  Ludlow's  Church,  were  consigned  to  the  family  resting-place,  in 
the  beautiful  cemetery  of  that  city. 

The  remains  of  Mr.  Clark  were  subsequently  removed  to  The  Woodlawn 
Cemetery,  near  New  York,  where  a  fitting  monument  has  been  erected  by 
his  children. 

In  the  social  character  of  Mr.  Clark,  there  was  much  simplicity  and  frank- 
ness. He  was  always  ready  to  express  his  sentiments  with  freedom  and 
independence.  His  moral  courage  was  unlimited.  In  influencing  men,  he 
relied  mainly  upon  the  force  of  truth,  and  very  little  upon  worldly  tact 
and  management.  This  course,  as  might  be  expected,  made  for  him  many 
warm  friends,  and  some  as  warm  enemies. 

His  solicitude  for  the  right  conduct,  and  present  and  future  welfare  of  his 
children,  appears  in  letters  which  he  wrote  to  them  when  absent  from  him. 
The  following  items  of  advice,  to  a  son  in  college,  are  sen  trillions  and  forcible: 


XXXVI  BIOGRAPHY 

"  0  rny  son,  it  is  easy  to  tell  you  how  to  be  happy,  and  I  will  spend  the 
rest  of  this  page  in  telling  you  how.  Set  your  heart  on  God.  Say  to  your- 
self, God  made  me,  and  has  a  right  to  me,  and  shall  have  my  whole  heart. 
Make  it  your  business  to  prepare  to  be  useful.  Do  nothing,  merely  because 
vou  love  to,  unless  it  be  wise,  and  right,  and  good.  Do  nothing,  that  you 
will  have  to  deny  you  did.  Do  nothing  that  you  will  be  ashamed  to  have 
it  known  you  did.     Do  right.     Do  unto  others  as  you  would  have  them  do 

to  you.     Be  the  best  scholar  you  can  be.     Lose  no  time ;  time  is  money 

Read  your  Bible  daily,  and  every  day  pray  for  heavenly  wisdom Refuse 

to  be  fou.id  a  moment  in  the  company  of  vile  men.  Remember  that  char- 
acter is  made  up  of  morsels;  every  look,  and  gesture,  and  word,  and  smile, 

and  frown,  constitutes  each  its  distinct  morsel  of  that  character 0,  my 

son,  you  cannot  cease  to  be,  till  the  sun  goes  out,  and  time  runs  out,  and 
eternity  wears  out,  and  God  shall  cease  to  be.  Now  one  that  must  live  so 
lono-,  and  whose  happiness  through  all  that  long  life,  depends  wholly  on 
character,  cannot  take  too  much  pains  in  forming  that  character  just  right 
I  embrace  religion,  of  course,  in  my  calculations  respecting  character 
What  will  render  us  estimable  in  the  sight  of  God  as  well  as  in  the  sight  of 
men,  is  above  all  price." 

"  Again  hi  another  letter: ...  ."It  will  soon  be  too  late.  The  College 
character  is  fixed  the  first  year;  and  the  character  for  life  fixed  in  College, 
and  the  character  for  eternity,  fixed  in  early  life.  Now  you  must  love  your 
Maker,  or  what  can  you  love?  and  must  care  for  what  he  says,  or  whom 
can  you  care  for,  or  what  ?  How  tremendous  are  the  months  that  are  now 
revolving  over  you— months  that  will  tell  on  your  character  and  destiny 
when  myriads  of  ages  have  rolled  away?" 

He  was  remarkable  throughout  his  whole  life  for  his  industry.  A  gen- 
tleman, who  is  a  member  of  the  Assembly  in  his  native  state,  said  of  him: 
"  He  was  always  busy,  never  lost  any  time,  and  entered  with  all  his  soul 
into  whatever  engaged  his  attention." 

In  his  religions  character,  Mr.  Clark  seems  not  to  have  been  character- 
ized by  the  cheerful  and  hopeful.  In  the  fine  language  of  Robert  Hall,  he 
did  not  so  much  "soar  to  the  heights,  as  sound  the  depths  of  Christian  pie- 
ty." Instead  of  "regaling  himself  with  fruit  from  the  tree  of  life,  he  was 
often  on  the  waves  of  an  impetuous  sea,  doing  business  in  the  mighty  wa- 
ters." With  all  his  experience  of  human  depravity,  and  his  profound  esti- 
m  ne  of  its  malignant  and  dreadful  energies,  he  had  firm  confidence  in  the 
greatness  of  the  atonement,  and  the  greater  energies,  already  pledged  and 
s  ion  to  be  put  forth,  in  the  subjugation  of  a  world  to  Christ.  He  loved  to 
contemplate  God  as  on  the  throne,  the  Almighty  Sovereign  in  the  kingdom 
of  nature  and  of  grace,  achieving  his  benignant  purposes,  bringing  into  ser- 
vice the  wrath  of  his  foes,  securing  the  redemption  of  unnumbered  souls, 
and   the  glory  of  bis  own  great  name. 

1         very  manifest  through  all  the  preceding  narrative,  that  Mr.  Clark 

was  a  great  lover  of  revivals  of  religion,  and  he  showed  this  attachment  by 

the  zeal  and  power  of  his  labors  to  promote  them,  while  preparing  for  the 

y,  and  through  all  his  pastoral  life;  and  after  he  ceas>  d  to  be  a  pastor 


OF     TIIE      AUTHOR.  XXXVU 

his  heart  seemed  full  and  intensely  flowing  when  in  the  midst  of  a  revival 
scene. 

Mr.  Clark  loved  the  sanctuary,  and  the  services  and  ordinances  of  God's 
house.  "  I  would  do,"  he  says,  "  without  a  roof  to  cover  my  head,  and  have 
my  lodging  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks,  but  I  must  go  to  the  house  of  the  Lord 
and  fix  my  dying  grasp  upon  the  horns  of  the  altar."  It  was  strikingly  so;  for 
the  very  last  time  he  ever  went  out,  it  was  to  stagger  to  a  Methodist  Church 
near  his  dwelling,  that  he  might  still  again  worship  God  in  "  the  sanctuary." 

Mr.  Clark  loved  very  ardently  the  cause  of  the  Bible  and  missions,  and 
all  those  operations  which  are  sustained  for  the  saving  of  the  nations,  and 
(he  ushering  in  of  the  day  of  millennial  glory.  No  one,  who  has  read  the 
"  Church  Safe,"  throughout  which  the  heart  seems  to  speak,  can  doubt  Mr. 
Clark's  warm  attachment  to  the  benevolent  doings  of  his  times.  "  When 
the  bosom  of  charity  shall  beat  a  little  stronger,  if  there  shall  be  necessity, 
men  will  sell  houses  or  farms  to  save  the  sinner  from  hell,  and  the  child 
will  sit  down  and  weep,  who  may  not  say,  that  his  father  and  mother  were 
the  friends  of  missions.  And  what  parent  would  entail  such  a  curse  upon 
his  children,  and  prevent  them  from  lifting  up  their  heads  in  the  millenium? 
I  had  rather  leave  mine  toiling  in  the  ditch,  there  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of 
reflecting  that  a  father's  charity  made  them  poor.  Poor !  They  are  poor  who 
cannot  feel  for  the  miseries  of  a  perishing  world,  to  whom  God  has  given 
abundance,  but  who  grudge  to  use  it  for  his  honor.  Teach  your  children 
charity,  and  they  can  never  be  poor." 

Mr.  Clark  loved  and  honored  prayer.  He  seems  to  have  laid  great  stress 
upon  it  as  the  life  and  power  of  all  other  means.  He  sought  it  for  himself 
through  all  his  ministry;  he  sought  it  with  great  earnestness  for  a  dying 
world.  "  The  observance  of  the  first  Monday  in  January  as  a  day  of  prayer 
for  the  conversion  of  the  world,"  writes  the  Rev.  Leicester  A.  Sawyer,  "  was 
first  proposed  by  Rev.  Daniel  A.  Ciark,  to  the  Presbytery  of  Watertown, 
N.  Y.,  at  a  semi-annual  meeting  of  that  body,  held  in  February,  1833.  A 
memorial  was  addressed  by  that  Presbytery  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
same  year,  requesting  the  Assembly  to  take  order  in  favor  of  the  observance 
of  that  concert.  The  memorial  was  favorably  received,  and  led  to  the  re- 
commendation of  the  annual  concert  to  the  numerous  churches  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Assembly.  Mr.  Clark  was  chairman  of  the  committee  which 
reported  the  memorial  above  mentioned,  and  was  the  author  of  that  in- 
teresting document"  Mr.  Clark  prayed  himself  like  a  man  who  was 
accustomed  to  the  exercise.  He  prayed  in  the  sanctuary  with  great  fervor, 
often  with  a  surprising  richness  and  scope  of  sentiment.  His  range  and 
variety  were  indeed  remarkable:  few  men  whom  we  have  heard  in  public 
prayer  exceeded  him  in  these  respects.  He  was  loth  to  cease  praying  with 
others,  even  after  his  faculties  had  become  exceedingly  impaired,  in  his 
clearer  seasons,  he  would  often  call  his  family  around  his  bed,  and  pray 
with  them  ;  and  he  continued  to  do  this,  after  he  had  so  far  lost  the  power 
of  articulation,  that  they  could  not  understand  him.  Entering  by  accident 
a  female  prayer  meeting,  among  the  last  days  he  walked  out.  be  was  sup- 
posed not  to  hear;  and  when  asked  to  take  a  part,  he  at  first  refused,  but 


XXXVW  BIOGRAPHY 

soon  broke  out  in  a  fervent,  heavenly  prayer,  with  an  originality  of  concep- 
tion and  freedom  of  utterance  which  astonished  his  friends.  It  is,  indeed, 
as  the  poet  says, 

Prayer  is  the  Christian's  vital  breath, 
The  Christian's  native  air  ; 
His  watch-word  at  the  gate  of  death — 
He  enters  heaven  by  prayer." 

In  his  professional  career,  Mr.  Clark  was  hearty  and  laborious.  He 
labored,  we  have  seen,  for  the  intellectual  elevation  of  his  people.  He 
labored  for  their  moral  improvement,  for  their  deliverance  from  intempe- 
rance and  all  degrading  vice.  He  labored  more  especially  for  their  conver- 
sion to  God,  and  preparation  for  heaven.  He  sought  this  end  in  pastoral 
visitation.  During  one  whole  winter,  in  one  of  his  most  arduous  fields,  he 
appointed  on  the  Sabbath,  family  visits  for  every  morning  in  the  week;  and 
he  met  the  families  designated,  and  the  neighbors  who  came  in,  making 
sometimes  quite  a  congregation;  and  his  labors  of  this  sort,  were  greatly 
blessed.  He  sought  the  same  great  end  in  his  preaching.  He  loved  to 
preach;  and  he  gratified  this  affection  by  actually  preaching  a  great  deal, 
both  in  season  and  out  of  season.  He  was  accustomed  to  go  out  and  preach 
statedly  in  the  neighborhoods  of  his  society.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  him 
to  preach  three  times  on  the  Sabbath,  and  on  every  evening  in  the  week.  And 
then  when  he  went  from  home,  he  would  preach  as  he  could  find  opportuni- 
ty. Even,  when  on  a  journey,  as  he  stopped  for  a  night  in  a  village,  he 
would  sometimes  make  his  arrangements,  issue  his  notice,  cause  the  bell  to 
be  rung,  and  preach  to  those  who  might  assemble,  and  in  the  morning  go  on 
his  way.  His  repeated  declaration  was,  "  I  must  work  while  the  day  lasts," 
and  he  did  work  with  great  constancy.  His  constitution  was  a  strong  one, 
as  it  must  have  been,  to  sustain  the  earnest  labors  of  twenty-one  years,  with 
the  loss  of  but  a  single  Sabbath  from  ill  health. 

We  here  introduce  extracts  from  two  letters,  written  by  two  clergymen  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  witnesses  of  Mr.  Clark's  labors  at  the  time,  which 
bring  out  still  further  the  traits  of  his  religious  character,  and  professional 
course. 

The  first,  an  esteemed  minister  in  Vermont,  writes: 

"  I  would  speak  first  of  how  much  Mr.  Clark  was  loved  and  admired  as  a 
a  preacher  by  his  friends,  which  were  many.  I  had  the  privilege  of  sitting 
uinler  his  ministry  one  year.  I  have  ever  esteemed  it  one  of  the  most  pre- 
cious years  of  my  life.  I  lived  three  miles  from  the  place  of  worship,  yet  I 
do  not  recollect  that  I  missed  of  hearing  him  a  single  Sabbath.  The  reason 
was,  I  could  not  bear  to  forego  the  luxury  of  attending  ispon  his  preaching. 
I  speak  the  words  of  soberness  when  I  say,  that  during  that  time  1  never 
heard  a  sermon  but  I  was  sorry  when  it  was  done. 

"  The  effect  of  his  eloquence,  of  the  boldness  of  his  conceptions,  of  his 
striking  and  appropriate  figures  upon  his  hearers,  was  often  very  great.  A 
lady  remarked  to  me,  that  at  one  time,  his  eloquence  had  such  an  over- 
5 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  jraVnr 

powering  effect  upon  her,  tha';  she  felt  afiaid  that  she  should  die  if  he  proceeded 
farther.  I  am  conscious  of  having  experienced  feelings  somewhat  similar 
more  than  once,  while  listening  to  him.  We  felt,  when  he  spoke,  that 
there  was  power  —power  of  thought,  power  of  illustration,  accompanied  by 
a  powerful  voice,  whose  deep  tones  seemed  at  times  to  shake  the  founda- 
tions of  the  sanctuary. 

"  Though  Mr.  Clark  prepared  his  two  written  sermons  every  Sabbath, 
still  he  excelled  as  an  extempore  preacher.  This  I  had  abundant  reason 
to  know,  as  he  often  attended  a  third  service,  in  the  chapel  in  our  village. 
One  Sabbath  afternoon,  a  gentleman,  who  was  about  to  go  out  as  a  foreign 
missionary,  preached  for  him,  from  the  words,  "  The  night  is  far  spent,  the 
day  is  at  hand ;  let  us  therefore  cast  off  the  works  of  darkness,"  &c.  In 
the  evening,  Mr.  Clark  came  to  our  chapel,  and  preached  from  the  same 
text  two  full  hours.  During  all  this  time,  every  eye  was  fixed  upon  the 
speaker ;  there  was  not  one  exhibited  weariness.  Many  were  heard 
next  day  to  say,  "  We  were  sorry  Avhen  the  sermon  was  done — we  should 
have  been  willing  to  have  listened  two  hours  longer."  That  sermon  was  a 
topic  of  conversation  in  the  village  for  weeks  after  it  was  delivered.  In- 
deed, his  sermons  Avere  generally  a  topic  of  conversation  in  our  village,  for 
the  week  following.  I  remember  distinctly  feeling  every  hour,  for  more 
than  a  week,  the  impression  that  one  of  his  sermons  made  upon  me,  from 
the  words,  "Wherein  is  he  to  be  accounted  of?"  And  though  ten  years 
have  elapsed  since  the  evening  I  heard  the  sermon,  I  remember  that  he  told 
us  how  the  text  came  to  his  mind,  while  lying  awake  at  the  solemn  hour 
of  midnight,  and  how  the  sentiment  of  the  text  unfolded  to  his  mind  and 
impressed  his  heart. 

"  Mr.  Clark's  sermons  were  filled  with  thought,  often  original,  always 
concisely  and  strikingly  expressed.  I  was  often  impressed  with  this  fact, 
while  a  student  in  the  classical  seminary  at  B.  The  teacher  gave  us  an 
exercise  every  Monday  morning,  to  repeat  one  or  more  thoughts  of  the  ser- 
mons we  had  heard  the  previous  Sabbath.  I  observed  that  we  always 
had  an  abundance  of  them  when  Mr.  Clark  had  been  the  preacher,  some- 
times a  meagre  supply,  when  others  had  preached. 

"The  power  of  God,  as  exhibited  in  governing  a  revolted  world,  a  race 
of  rebels,  seemed  to  have  deeply  impressed  Mr.  Clark's  mind,  and  to  have 
given  shape  and  character  to  his  conceptions.  He  loved  to  dwell  on  the 
text,  "  Thou  shalt  make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  thee,  and  the  remainder 
thereof  thou  shalt  restrain."  He  loved  to  tell  how  God  controlled,  and 
overpowered,  and  changed  the  hearts  of  his  enemies,  while  in  the  undis- 
turbed exercise  of  their  free  agency.  He  abounded  in  anecdotes  illustra- 
tive of  this  great  truth. 

"  Mr.  Clark  excelled  in  his  knowledge  of  the  unrenewed  human  heart ;  in 
portraying  its  desperate  depravity,  its  opposition  to  God  and  to  holiness.  His 
faithful  exhibitions  of  the  native  human  heart  procured  him  many  enemies, 
and  the  exhibition  of  their  enmity,  which  he  saw  and  felt,  but  served  to 
give  him  a  more  vivid  impression  of  their  wickedness,  and  to  induce  him 
to  hold  up  more  prominently  their  fearful  guilt.     Perhaps  he  erred  some- 


xl  BIOGRAPHY 

times,  in  needlessly  exasperating  the  impenitent,  by  too  honestly  giving 
utterance  to  his  heartfelt  and  unmitigated  abhorrence  of  their  guilt  and 
rebellion. 

"  Mr.  Clark  was  not  one  of  those  preachers  who  think  it  expedient  to 
hold  back  some  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  during  seasons  of  great  re- 
ligious excitement.  The  first  time  I  heard  him  preach,  was  under  the  fol- 
lowing circumstances.  A  powerful  revival  had  just  commenced  in  a 
manufacturing  village  in  the  town  of  B.  A  great  number  were  awakened, 
and  deeply  alarmed,  but  there  had  been  but  few  conversions.  In  view  of 
the  existing  state  of  things,  the  Church  had  appointed  a  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer.  The  meeting  was  held  in  a  large  dry-house,  connected  with  a 
woollen  factory.  It  was  computed  that  nearly  one  thousand  persons  were 
present.  The  deepest  solemnity  and  stillness  prevailed,  interrupted  only 
by  the  occasional  sigh  or  groan  of  a  burdened  heart.  A  neighboring  min- 
ister preached  in  the  morning.  Mr.  Clark,  in  the  afternoon,  to  the  surprise 
and  grief  of  many,  myself  among  the  rest,  preached  on  the  sovereignty  of 
God.  But  that  sermon  told  on  those  awakened  guilty  hearts,  and  from 
that  hour,  the  revival  went  on  with  increased  power.  As  a  master  work 
man,  he  looked  over  that  immense  audience,  and  saw  how  and  where  to 
strike  the  blow. 

"In  conclusion,  I  would  remark,  that  Mr.  Clark  eminently  excelled  in 
imparting  Biblical  instruction.  His  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  was  great, 
and  he  possessed  a  peculiar  faculty  of  imparting  that  knowledge  to  others. 
All  pressed  to  his  Bible  classes,  young  and  old,  infidel  and  Christian." 

The  other,  a  respected  clergyman  in  western  New  York,  says  : 

"  When  I  was  a  youth,  while  residing  in  Milford,  Mass.,  I  became  deeply 
interested  in  the  writings  and  character  of  Mr.  Clark,  by  reading  his  tract, 
'  The  Church  Safe.'  My  pastor,  the  Rev.  David  Long,  thought  so  much  of 
that  production,  that  he  caused  it  to  be  publicly  read  on  the  Sabbath. 

"  My  first  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Clark  was  formed  at  the  time  he  visit- 
ed Homer,  Courtlandville,  and  vicinity — I  should  think,  in  1831.  A  'four 
days  meeting'  was  attended  at  McLean,  in  Groton,  Tompkins  County.  It 
was  conducted  by  several  pastors,  who  invited  Mr.  Clark  to  preach.  He 
complied,  enlisting  his  whole  soul  in  the  work.  I  recollect  several  of  his 
texts:— Jer.  Hi.  5.  "Behold,  thou  hast  spoken  and  done  evil  things  as  thou 
couldest."  While  he  was  preaching  on  that  text,  such  was  the  view  of 
human  depravity  which  be  gave,  and  such  was  the  sense  which  I  had  of 
my  own  native  depravity,  that  a  faintness  came  over  me;  and  I  really  be- 
lieve that  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  hope  which  I  had  in  the  atonement  of 
Jesus,  I  should  have  sunk  to  the  floor.  Another  text  was  Luke  x.  11. 
"  Notwithstanding,  be  ye  sure  of  this,  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come 
nigh  unto  you."  This  was  the  closing  sermon  of  the  meeting— il  was 
mosl  affecting.  He  told  the  people,  that  as  he  should  depart  from  the  vil- 
lage, In;  would  pause  on  yonder  hill,  and  pour  one  more  Hood  of  tears  over 
sinners  in  thai  place,  who  had  rejected  the  kingdom  of  God,  though  i*.  had 
come  so  nish  unto  them. 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  ill 

"  On  one  of  the  days  of  the  meeting,  a  pious  woman  inquired  of  me,  '  Is 
that  the  Mr.  Clark  who  wrote  The  Church  Safe?'  On  being  assured  that 
it  was, 'Then,' said  she,  '  I  must  speak  with  him.  Immediately  she  was 
introduced.  As  she  took  his  hand,  she  said  with  much  emotion,  '  That  tract — 
The  Church  Safe — has  done  my  soul  so  much  good,  that  I  felt  as  if  I  must 
shake  hands  with  the  man  Avho  wrote  it.'  '  My  good  woman,' said  Mr.  Clark, 
bursting  into  tears,  '  I  am  thankful  to  the  Lord  if  my  poor  labors  have 
been  useful  to  you.'  I  was  delighted  with  his  Christian  simplicity,  and 
more  still,  with  the  sincere  gratitude  which  he  so  feelingly  expressed,  for 
the  evidence  that  he  had  been  useful  to  an  humble  individual. 

"  It  was  either  a  little  prior,  or  a  little  subsequent  to  the  meeting  at 
McLean,  that  I  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  with  Mr.  Clark,  at  the  residence 
of  a  mutual  friend  of  ours,  or  rather,  his  particular  friend,  and  the  friend  of 
my  ancestors.  Mr.  Clark  and  this  pious  layman,  had  been  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  each  other  at  Amherst,  Mass.  This  good  man  had  passed 
through  changing  scenes;  he  was  once  in  a  situation  among  New  England 
farmers,  which  is  denominated  by  the  significant  phrase,  'good  circumstances.' 
But  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  he  was  a  laborious  tenant  upon  the  farm  of  an- 
other. He  was  at  a  little  distance  from  us,  stooping  down,  busily  engaged  at 
his  toil.  Mr.  Clark,  standing  in  a  thoughtful  posture,  fixed  his  eyes  upon 
him,  as  if  he  were  taking  a  serious  retrospect  of  his  past  history,  when,  ad- 
dressing himself  tome,  he  uttered  the  following  expression,  with  an  em- 
phasis which  I  can  never  write—'  God  loves  that  man?  I  suppose  that  it  is 
impossible  for  me  to  convey  to  others  the  impression  which  this  remark 
made  upon  my  mind. 

"Mr.  Clark's  sermons,  I  find,  are  most  valued  by  that  class  of  Christians 
who  are  intelligent,  who  have  been  much  in  the  furnace  of  affliction,  and 
who  are  best  acquainted  with  the  deep  recesses  of  their  own  hearts.  His 
sermons  will  not  be  appreciated  by  those  who  just  run  them  over,  glancing 
at  the  heads  and  the  conclusion.  They  must  be  read  studiously  and  devo- 
tionally,  then  they  will  do  the  soul  good.  I  consider  them  as  admira- 
bly adapted  to  be  useful  to  Churches  that  are  destitute  of  preaching. 
'  God  loved  that  man,'  I  have  no  doubt,  and  loves  him  still  more  as  his  spi- 
rit mingles  amid  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect." 

It  is  a  gratifying  circumstance,  when  the  sermons  of  one,  who  was  heard 
with  so  marked  interest  and  profit,  are  given  to  the  public.  Those  who 
heard  Mr.  Clark,  will  be  glad  to  get  possession  of  his  printed  discourses. 
The  eloquence  that  thrilled  us,  when  we  listened  to  the  living  voice  of  its 
author,  we  long  to  take  to  our  closets  and  read.  No  person  of  discernment 
can  read  far  in  these  pages,  without  perceiving  that  the  author  possessed  a 
6lrongly  marked  intellect,  which  he  could  easily  put  under  the  highest 
pressure  of  feeling;  that  he  was  not  remarkable  for  the  refined,  the  acute, 
the  hair-splitting,  but  for  the  strong,  the  massive,  the  weighty;  that  the 
reasoning  faculty  in  him  was  of  the  practical,  common  sense  sort ;  the  ima- 
gination, within  certain  limits,  vigorous  and  good;  the  power  of  language, 
original  and  striking. 


X01  BIOGRAPHY 

Perhaps  the  attempt  to  sketch  the  characteristic  features  of  these  ser- 
mons, in  the  same  volume  which  contains  them,  is  superfluous,  as  every 
reader  lias  an  opportunity  to  judge  for  himself.  We  ask,  however,  to  be  in- 
dulged in  this  respect,  that  we  may  complete  the  estimate  of  Mr.  Clark's 
powers  as  a  herald  of  the  everlasting  gospel. 

These  sermons  are  constructed  not  for  a  temporary,  but  a  permanent  and 
progressive  popularity.  They  have  not  the  light  and  frothy  brilliancy  which 
would  fit  them  to  be  gazed  at  and  admired  for  a  day,  and  then  to  be  for- 
gotten, but  they  possess  those  at  once  solid  and  attractive  qualities,  which 
will  cause  them  to  be  read  in  far  future  times. 

The  subjects  upon  which  these  sermons  are  written  are  of  a  general  and 
permanent  interest.  While  they  are  not  so  prominently  experimental  as  are 
found  in  the  discourses  of  some  preachers,  they  are  such  as  the  mind  and 
heart  respond  to,  and  are  deeply  interested  in.  Mr.  Clark  seems  not  so 
much  at  home  on  topics  which  lead  to  a  nice  analysis  of  the  spiritual  man, 
as  upon  those  which  are  connected  with  the  security,  and  the  certain  tri- 
umph of  the  Christian  on  the  one  hand ;  with  the  depravity,  the  madness, 
the  impotence,  the  sure  defeat  and  the  utter  shame  and  ruin  of  the  enemy 
of  God  on  the  other.  The  two  contrasted  subjects,  "The  Church  Safe," 
and,  "  Nothing  Safe  but  the  Church,"  furnish  the  field,  over  which  he  rang- 
ed the  most  adroitly  and  powerfully.  Mr.  Clark  takes  pleasure  in  accom- 
panying the  Church  through  her  conflicts,  and  developing  the  stability  of 
her  basis,  and  the  invincible  might  of  her  Protector.  He  loves  to  group  to- 
gether and  accumulate  on  his  pages  the  perfect  evidence  of  her  safety. 

We  find  all  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Christian  system  brought  out  in 
the  sermons  of  Mr.  Clark,  with  the  utmost  distinctness.  The  trumpet  in 
no  place  gives  an  uncertain  sound.  We  do  not  read  far  to  learn,  that  the 
autho'  is  a  linn  believer  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  of  the  atonement, 
total  depravity,  regeneration,  election,  the  saints'  perseverance,  and  eternal 
reward  and  punishment. 

Whilst  the  sermons  are  not  formally,  dryly  doctrinal,  in  them  all  we 
have  discussions  of  great  truths  and  principles,  which  give  them  a  solid 
and  instructive  character.  On  one  page,  the  attributes  and  glory  of  God 
meet  and  awe  us;  on  another,  the  love  and  offices  of  Christ  attract  and 
give  us  peace;  from  another,  the  Comforter  offers  to  come  into  our  hearts; 
in  this  discourse,  a  picture  of  human  vileness  pains  and  humbles  us;  in  that, 
the  law  draws  upon  us  its  two-edged  sword;  in  the  other,  mercy  points  to 
(he  place  of  refuge  from  the  avenging  stroke.  The  whole  gospel  is  here 
strongly  and  discriminated  presented.  Mr.  Clark  contended  earnestly  for 
the  faith  and  the  order  of  the  gospel.  His  arguments  and  efforts  were 
rather  with  the  semi-Christian,  who  professedly  received  the  gospel,  but  re- 
jected its  great  doctrines,  than  with  those  who  rejected  the  Bible  and  all 
that  was  in  it;  or  with  brethren  who  differed  from  him  in  some  minor 
shades  of  sentiment. 

In  the  general  arrangement  and  structure  of  his  sermons,  Mr.  Clark  ex- 
hibits a  good  degree  of  simplicity.  They  never  appear  so  elaborately 
studied,  or  curiously  drawn  out,  as  to  cause  perplexity  to  the  mind;  or  as 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  Xliii 

to  lead  us  to  the  bones  for  the  most  striking  part  of  the  structure.  He  fre- 
quently adopts  the  textual  mode;  and  where  it  is  not  a  breaking  up  of  the 
words  of  the  text  into  the  heads  of  the  sermon,  which  he  sometimes 
does,  there  is  a  very  free  statement  of  topics,  one  after  the  other,  as  they 
are  naturally  suggested  by  the  passage  chosen  as  the  basis  of  the  discourse. 
For  instance,  the  forty-sixth  sermon — "  The  honest  and  faithful  ministry" 
—on  2  Cor.  iv.  1,  2. 

The  textual  division  has  this  advantage  ;  the  preacher  has  an  opportunity 
to  bring  out  the  full  and  rich  meaning  of  the  passage  in  hand.  The  sermon 
grows  out  of  the  text;  separate  from  the  text,  it  can  have  no  existence;  it 
is  biblical  and  authoritative.  We  ought  not  to  despise  the  textual  style  of 
proceeding,  though  some  seem  to  do  it,  as  not  being  so  scholarlike,  so  con- 
formable to  rule,  so  favorable  to  unity,  and  to  a  logical  and  symmetrical 
discourse  as  some  other.  It  is  the  style  which  the  heart  often  inclines  to, 
in  its  earnest  desire  to  bring  forth  and  make  effective  the  simple  gospel 
upon  the  souls  of  men.  We  have  thought,  sometimes,  that  when  we  have 
the  least  disposition  to  preach  ourselves,  we  have  the  strongest  inclination 
r.o  arrange  our  matter  in  the  humble,  unpretending,  textual  way. 

This  more  biblical  mode,  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Clark,  is  admirably  vindi- 
cated. Few  men  have  the  power  he  exhibits  of  building  striking  and  in- 
teresting paragraphs  upon  very  common-place  heads.  The  plan  may  be 
almost  stupidly  textual;  but  in  the  filling  up,  there  will  be  original  and 
vigorous  thoughts,  in  very  cogent  language.  Perhaps  there  is  no  better 
test  of  real  power  than  this.  The  preacher,  who  will  take  the  common 
subjects  and  the  common  topics  of  discourse,  and  imbue  them  with  a  more 
energetic  spirit,  and  invest  them  with  a  deeper  and  more  commanding  in- 
terest, has  the  very  best  power  and  qualification  for  his  work,  and  will 
secure  the  best  kind  of  popularity. 

Mr.  Clark  is  not  at  all  a  hortatory  preacher ;  he  furnishes  a  good  pro- 
portion of  clear  and  weighty  discussion.  He  does  not  assail  us  with  fierce, 
unbased  appeals;  never  attempts  to  carry  the  heart  by  hurling  against  it 
volleys  of  rattling  words.  He  first  packs  together  a  solid  body  of  truth,  and 
then  brings  that  body  in  contact,  either  as  fire  to  melt,  or  as  a  hammer  to 
break  the  rock  in  pieces. 

He  invariably  employs  the  popular  and  rhetorical  style  of  reasoning.  His 
arguments  are  remarkable  for  a  reliance  upon  Scripture  facts  to  give  them 
force  and  conclusiveness.  In  some  of  his  best  efforts,  there  is  no  other 
reasoning  than  a  logical  adducing  and  linking  together  of  scriptural  facts. 
The  first  sermon,  entitled  "  The  Church  Safe,"  is  a  fine  example  of  this.  As- 
surance of  the  proposition  is  made  out,  1,  "From  the  firmness  and  stability 
of  the  Divine  operations."  Under  this  head,  expectation  is  excited.  It  is 
strengthened,  2,  by  a  view  of  "  What  God  has  done  for  his  Church."  Un- 
der this  head,  the  prominent  Divine  interpositions  in  favor  of  Zion's  interests 
are  graphically  and  rapidly  sketched.  3.  "  God  is  doing  noxo  just  such 
things  as  he  has  done."  4.  "  The  expectation  is  consummated  by  a  glance 
at  the  promises  and  the  prophecies."  As  a  specimen  of  the  graphic  and 
condensed  style  with  which  Mr.  Clark  proceeds  in  this  kind  of  writing,  we 


XllV  BIOGRAPHY 

adduce  a  paragraph  or  two.     In  his  sketch  of  what  God  has  done  for  the 
Church,  he  says : 

"Let  us  retrace,  for  a  moment,  a  few  pages  of  her  history,  and  we  shall 
see  that  when  the  Church  was  low,  he  raised  her;  when  she  was  in  danger, 
he  saved  her.  Amid  all  the  mural  desolations  of  the  old  world,  the  Church 
never  became  extinct.  And  he  at  length  held  the  winds  in  his  list,  and 
barred  the  fountains  of  the  deep,  till  Noah  could  build  the  ark,  and  the 
Church  could  be  housed  from  the  storm.  How  wonderful  were  his  inter- 
positions, when  the  Church  was  embodied  in  the  family  of  Abraham  !  In 
redeeming  her  from  Egyptian  bondage,  how  did  he  open  upon  that  guilty 
land  all  the  embrasures  of  heaven,  till  they  thrust  out  his  people!  And 
he  conducted  them  to  Canaan  by  the  same  masterly  hand.  The  sea 
divided,  and  Jordan  rolled  back  its  waters;  the  rock  became  a  pool,  and  the 
heavens  rained  them  bread,  till  they  drank  at  the  fountains  and  ate  of  the 

fruits  of  the  land  of  promise When   the   Church  diminished, 

and  her  prospects  clouded  over,  he  raised  up  reformers.  Such  were  Sam- 
uel, and  David,  and  llezekiah,  and  Josiah,  and  Daniel,  and  Ezra,  and  Nehe- 
miah  :  such  were  all  the  prophets.  Each  in  his  turn  became  a  master 
builder,  and  the  temple  arose,  opposition  notwithstanding.  .  .  .  Again, 
under  the  apostles,  how  did  her  prospects  brighten  !  In  three  thousand 
hearts,  under  a  single  sermon,  commenced  the  process  of  sanctirication 
The  very  cross  proved  an  engine  to  erect  her  pillars;  the  flames  lighted 
her  apartments,  and  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  cemented  the  walls  of  her 
temple,  and  contributed  to  its  strength  and  beauty.  Every  dying  groan 
alarmed  the  prince  of  hell,  and  shook  the  pillars  of  his  dreary  domain.'' 
See  pp.  44,  45. 

We  set  down  "The  Church  Safe"  as,  on  the  whole,  the  most  admirable 
production  of  its  author.  Few  sermons  have  made  a  stronger  sensation  on 
their  publication.  It  was  extensively  sought  and  read,  and  contributed  not 
a  little  to  awaken  the  benevolent  energies  of  the  Church,  to  the  enterprise 
before  her.  The  writer  vividly  remembers  the  evening  when  the  village, 
where  he  resided,  were  summoned  together  to  the  reading  of  this  sermon, 
by  a  younir  man  who  bad  brought  it  in  from  abroad.  It  is  no  small  achieve- 
ment to  have  prepared  and  put  forth  to  the  world  one  such  discourse. 

The  sermon,  entitled  "  i  he  Enemies  of  the  Church  made  to  promote  her 
Interests,"  page  481,  is  another  fine  specimen  of  argumentation  from  facts. 
Here,  as  in  the  preceding,  the]  are  marshalled  in  the  most  admirable  order. 
There  is  a  quick  and  strong  movement  ;  at  once  rhetorical  beauty  and  How, 
and  argumentative  clenchi  -.  The  sermon  is  a  good  example  of  a  discourse, 
in  which  unpalatable  truths  are  sei  forth  and  firmly  established  by  t lie  sim- 
ple force  of  (acts.  The  facts  are  so  employed  as  to  hedge  up  the  hearer  to 
the  conclusion  he  hates  to  come  to.  The  obnoxi  >us  point  is  God's  sove- 
reignty in  the  use  and  disposal,  the  award  and  punishment  of  his  rebellious 
creatures,— a  point  kindred  with  that  which  our  Savior,  in  a  similar  way. 
fixed  incontrovertibly  upon  his  hearers,  in  the  village  where  he  had  been 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  xlv 

brought  up.  It  is  an  example  worthy  of  imitation,  whenever  we  are  to 
propound  truths  in  the  face  of  strong  prejudices  and  passions;  let  the 
preacher  keep  to  the  ground  of  God's  simple  sayings,  and  the  admitted  facts 
of  his  Providence,  and  the  deep  unsilenced  monitions  of  conscience,  and  if 
he  does  not  produce  conviction  and  belief  of  the  truth,  he  will  do  some- 
thing toward  checking  cavils  and  silencing  objections. 

Mr.  Clark  bears  some  resemblance  to  President  Edwards  in  his  manner 
of  reasoning  and  discussion.  Neither  of  them  falls  into  the  gratuitous  blun- 
der of  attempting  to  shore  up  the  Divine  affirmation  of  a  doctrine,  by  their 
own  arguments.  The  doctrine  is  received  upon  the  Divine  testimony.  This 
perfectly  establishes  it.  The  main  object  of  the  argument  or  illustration  is 
indirectly  to  do  away  objections  and  prejudices,  and  directly  to  commend  the 
truth  to  the  hearer's  conscience;  to  make  it  real,  vivid,  convicting,  arous- 
ing to  the  sinner's  mind.  It  is  the  blindness  of  men  which  constitutes  the 
grand  barrier  to  the  progress  and  the  redeeming  results  of  truth.  If  the 
preacher  can  but  give  to  truth  breadth  and  body,  and  impart  reality  to  its 
disclosures,  men  wih  see  it;  and  the  next  thing  with  many  will  be,  they  will 
feel  it;  finally,  the  Spirit  helping,  they  will  receive  it. 

The  reductio  ad  absurdum  is  a  form  of  argument,  in  which  our  author 
seems  to  be  much  at  home.  He  wields  it  now  and  then  with  terrible,  al- 
most annihilating  power.  Tn  connection  with  it,  there  occasionally  appears 
a  little  spice  of  satire;  and  a  disposition  to  confound  his  opponent  and  cover 
him  with  shame,  instead  of  satisfying  and  recovering  him  to  the  path  of 
truth.  In  some  instances,  he  runs,  in  the  first  place,  the  erroneous  position 
to  its  legitimate  results,  and  holds  up  the  glaring  absurdities  of  the  case,  and 
then  breaks  out  in  a  strain  of  the  most  vehement  reprobation  of  the  obnox- 
ious point.     For  example,  on  the  error  that  Christ  is  a  finite  created  being: 

"  He  indebted  to  another  for  his  own  existence,  but  we  must  trust  in  him 
for  eternal  life  ;  he  our  shield,  and  still  he  has  no  power  of  his  own  to  pro- 
tect;  he  our  guide,  but  another  must  enlighten  and  guide  him  ;  he  our  in- 
tercessor,  and  still  he  cannot  know  when  we  pray If  there  is  a 

scheme,  which  rather  than  any  other,  charges  God  foolishly,  makes  the 
plainest  truth  a  mystery,  and  the  whole  Bible  a  bundle  of  absurdities,  and 
proudly  conducts  its  votaries  to  death,  it  is  that  which  thus  quenches  the 
light  of  Israel.  Must  I  choose  between  it  and  open  infidelity,  1  would  be 
an  infidel.  By  the  same  dash  with  which  I  blot  the  name  of  the  Redeemer, 
I  would  obliterate  the  Father,  and  believe  the  grave  the  end  of  me.  I  would 
not  waste  my  time  and  strength,  and  torture  my  conscience,  to  mutilate  '.lie 
book  of  God;  but  would  believe  the  whole  a  lie,  and  warm  myself  in  its 
blaze,  and  wish  I  were  a  brute.  Then  I  would  calmly  expect  one  day  to 
he  a  supper  for  the  worms,  free  from  dread  of  the  worm  that  shall  never 
die."    Seep.  343. 

There  is  a  similar  strain  in  another  sermon,  in  which  the  same  low  vieW9 
of  Christ  a-  above  are  opposed.  Our  author  is  speaking  of  the  incalculable 
injury,  which  even  a  doubL  of  the  proper  Divinity  of  Chris'  would  be  to  tho 
believer: 


xlvi  BIOGRAPnT 

"  That  doubt  would  mar  their  creed ;  for  they  must  yield  other  doctrines, 
when  their  Redeemer  has  become  a  creature.  That  atonement,  which  he 
only  could  make;  that  ruin  of  our  nature  which  he  only  can  repair;  that 
ever-enduring  hell,  from  which  he  only  can  rescue  us ;  that  Sabbath,  which 
his  rising  made;  that  Comforter,  whom  he  kindly  sent;  and  that  plenary 
inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  which  establishes  his  Divinity,  must  all  be 
plucked  from  their  creed,  and  it  would  stand  then,  like  a  pine,  lightning- 
smitten,  scorched  in  its  every  leaf,  and  rived  to  its  deepest  roots,  to  be  the 
haunt  of  the  owl  and  the  curse  of  the  forest.  When  you  shall  blast  my 
creed  like  this,  you  may  have,  for  a  farthing,  the  remnant  of  my  poor,  mu-# 
tilated  Bible,  and  I  will  sit  down  and  weep  life  away,  over  this  benighted 
world,  to  which  is  reserved  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever." —  See  p. 
295. 

These  passages  are  exceedingly  powerful  and  striking;  they  were  writ- 
ten, unquestionably,  under  a  mighty  tide  of  emotion.  Mr.  Clark,  we  think, 
often  wrote  in  this  mood  ;  and  in  the  rush  of  feeling  and  strength  of  ex- 
pression dictated  thereby,  now  and  then  there  would  escape  from  him  a 
sentiment,  very  nearly  transcending  the  bounds  of  truth  and  propriety.  We 
cannot  but  doubt  the  correctness  and  wisdom  of  declaring  or  implying,  in 
any  connection,  that  absolute  infidelity  is  rather  to  be  chosen,  than  that 
form  of  Christianity,  which  denies  the  Divinity  of  its  author. 

The  style  of  Mr.  Clark  is  throughout  very  decisively  characterized  by 
strength.  It  is  manifest  that  he  aimed  chiefly  at  this  ;  that  to  this  he  was 
will  in?  to  sacrifice  the  light  and  winning  graces  of  language.  In  his  pre- 
face, he  expresses  the  conviction,  "  that  writings  are  often  spoiled  by  too 
much  smoothing  and  polishing.  Hence  the  present  volumes  are  permitted 
to  go  forth  with  those  occasional  roughnesses,  which,  it  is  hoped,  may  not 
give  offence,  but  simply  stir  up  thought  and  rouse  proper  feeling."  Mr. 
Clark's  prominent  faults  and  excellences,  both  in  language  and  spirit,  are 
to  be  traced  to  the  reaching  forth  of  a  fervid  and  powerful  mind  for  great 
strength  of  thought  and  diction.  There  is  uncommon  compactness  and 
condensation  in  our  author's  style.  There  are  but  few  words  which  can  be 
safely  blotted  out;  nor,  by  recasting,  can  Ave  diminish  the  space  a  thought 
occupies.  There  is  a  very  sparing  use  of  epithets  and  qualifying  terms. 
The  principal  words  are  selected  with  so  much  precision  generally,  that  he 
succeeds  in  conveying  his  idea  without  the  aid  of  thronging  expletives  and 
adjuncts.  When  reading  him,  we  are  constrained  sometimes  to  pause  and 
admire  the  amount  and  pungent  force  of  meaning,  conveyed  by  some  single 
word,  or  brief  combination  of  words.  This  is  one  of  the  very  highest  ex- 
cellences of  style — every  word  fraught  with  meaning.  It  takes  some  a 
lonsr  time  to  get  weaned  from  their  love  of  the  jingle  of  adjectives  and 
adjuncts,  though  assured,  from  every  quarter,  that  no  other  single  thing 
does  more  to  encumber  and  enfeeble  the  style.  One  of  the  great  rhetorical 
sins  in  preaching,  it  seems  to  us,  is  overdoing— saying  too  much  on  the  to- 
pics introduced,  and  especially  taking  up  altogether  too  much  time  in  say- 
ing what  we  do  say. 

a* 


OP     THE     AUTHOR.  xlvii 

Mr.  Clark  has  not  only  strength — he  has  frequently  a  simple  elegance  and 
harmony.  This  harmony,  indeed,  is  very  common,  when  it  is  not  disturbed 
by  a  bold  .and  startling  harshness.  The  following  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the 
often  easy  and  musical  flow  of  the  sentences.  "  Individuals  may  prosper 
most  when  they  are  nearest  destruction.  The  old  world  and  the  devoted 
cities  were  never  more  prosperous,  than  when  their  last  sun  was  rising. 
Men  may  be  ripe  for  the  scythe  of  death,  their  cup  of  iniquity  full,  while 
yet  their  fields  wave  with  the  abundant  harvests,  and  the  atmosphere  is 
fragrant  with  the  odors  of  the  ripened  fruits  and  flowers,  and  echoes  with 
the  song  of  the  cheerful  laborers." 

Another  attribute  for  which  Mr.  C.'s  style  is  remarkable  is  vivacity. 
There  is  nothing  about  it  dry,  abstract,  dead.  Every  thing  is  living,  mov- 
ing. He  is  almost  constantly  giving  us  vivid  pictures.  He  shows  great 
skill  in  gathering  and  grouping  the  interesting  circumstances  of  a  scene  or 
case.  It  is  this  skilful  touching  of  some  characteristic  circumstance,  which 
brings  before  the  mind  the  picture  of  a  whole  scene :  "  How  many,  once  as 
rich  as  you,  are  now  poor;  or  as  healthy  as  you,  are  now  in  the  grave; 
had  a  home  as  you  have,  but  it  burned  down ;  had  children,  as,  it  may  be, 
you  have,  but  the  cold  blast  came  over  them  and  they  died.  And  was  it 
not  kindness  in  God,  that  saved  you  what  you  have  ?"  Another  example  : 
"  Where  had  we  been  if  the  hand  of  God  had  not  been  under  us  ?  To  what 
world  had  we  fled,  lohen  some  friend  was  closing  our  eyes  ?  How  employed 
on  the  day  of  our  funeral  solemnities?"  Once  more:  "  Wer-e  Christ  to 
come  again,  and  put  himself  in  the  power  of  sinners,  would  not  many  of 
our  communicants  leave  the  sacrament,  and  go  away  to  crucify  him  ?"  It 
is  very  obvious  that  nearly  all  the  peculiar  freshness  and  force  of  these  pas- 
sages, is  owing  to  the  striking  pictures  brought  before  us.  Mr.  Clark's 
writings  abound  in  examples  of  what  Campbell  calls  "  speciality  "  in  the 
use  of  terms ;  that  is,  the  seizing  upon  those  which  are  particular  and  de- 
terminate, which,  of  course,  present  a  more  vivid  image.  He  was  more 
remarkably  characterized  by  the  use  of  this  figure,  if  it  may  be  called  a 
figure,  than  any  preacher  of  our  acquaintance.  We  perceive  it  in  every 
paragraph,  almost  in  every  sentence.  Everywhere  we  are  met  with  the 
specific  stroke.  Hence,  common  things  are  said  in  a  way  to  be  very  strik- 
ing. For  instance,  "  The  cause  of  intemperance  moved  on  briskly,  till  it 
was  discovered  that  the  Church  held  in  her  fellowship  those  who  would 
drink  of  the  cup  of  devils,  but  was  stayed  in  its  march  till  she  had  time  to 
entomb  her  inebriates."  In  another  somewhat  rough  extract,  "  If  the  arti- 
cle must  be  sold,  for  the  use,  and  ruin,  and  utter  damnation  of  men,  I  would 
place  at  the  tap  the  same  lying  serpent  that  handed  Eve  the  apple,  that  it 
might  appear  the  very  infernal  commerce  that  it  is." 

To  speak  of  a  property  kindred  with  the  above,  we  may  add,  that  Mr. 
Clark's  style  is  enlivened  and  strengthened  with  a  great  deal  of  rapid  and 
bold  metaphor.  It  is  everywhere  a  leading  characteristic.  He  speaks  of 
" reining  in  the  passions ;"  of  " cradling  the  corrupt  passions;"  of  "feeding 
the  appetite ;"  "  blunting  the  reason ;"  "  killing  the  keenness  of  conscience ;" 
of  "  hewing  down  men  in  the  prime  of  life ;"  of  "  being  harnessed  for  the 


xlviii  BiOGRApnr 

Divine  service;"  of  "digging  after  comforts ;"  of  "fencing  the  truth 
from  the  sinner's  dying  pillow;1'    of   "wading  to  the   grave   in   tears." 

We  find  in  our  author  none  of  the  extended,  overwrought  figure  which 
we  so  often  find  in  President  Davies'  Sermons.  Clark  frequently  does 
in  a  line,  when  the  imagination  is  addressed,  what  Davies  employed  a 
page  in  doing.  Perhaps  the  former  was  too  quick  and  glancihg  i.i  his 
strokes  of  this  sort;  certainly  the  latter  did  more  execution  on  the  popular 
mind ;  the  former  has  this  praise,  that  he  is  more  Demosthenes.  Mr. 
Clark  often  uses  Scripture  facts  metaphorically,  and  with  good  effect. 
"  Paul  had  gone  to  lay  waste  that  very  Church,  which,  a  few  days  after, 
it  was  his  honor  and  joy  to  edify.  The  devourer  was  caught  with  the 
prey  in  his  teeth  and  made  a  lamb."  Again,  "  The  gospel  may  produce 
wrath  and  still  be  a  savor  of  life.  The  tenant  of  the  tombs  raved,  and 
then  believed."  The  writer  has  a  vivid  recollection  of  an  instance  of 
this  sort  in  hearing  him  some  eighteen  years  since.  The  simple  stroke  did 
in  his  mind  the  work  of  a  dozen  sermons.  Mr.  Clark  was  addressing  Chris- 
tians at  the  Lord's  table.  The  sentiment  was  in  substance  this:  'Feihaps 
some  are  in  a  luminous,  happy  frame,  and  in  it  they  feel  confident  that  they 
shall  no  more  betray  the  interests  of  Jesus,  as  they  have  done.  Beware  of 
this  confidence,  Peter  thought  just  so  once;  yet  he  went  dirt'Ctly  down  from 
the  scenes  of  Tabor,  and  swore  that  he  never  knew  him.' 

It  may  be  remarked  in  this  connection,  that  our  author  generally  derives 
nis  figures  and  illustrations  from  obvious  and  common  sources.  There  is  no 
going  out  of  the  way  for  pretty,  and  fragrant,  and  sunny  things.  There  are 
no  singing  birds,  nor  silvery  lakes,  nor  glistening  dew-drops  to  charm  us ; 
"  nothing  here  of  the  fringes  of  the  north-star  ;  nothing  of  nature's  becom- 
ing unnatural;  nothing  of  the  down  of  angel's  wings,  or  the  beautiful  locks 
of  cherubims;  no  starched  similitudes,  introduced  with  a  "  thus  have  I  seen 
a  cloud  rolling  in  the  airy  mansion,"  and  the  like.  Such  things  are  not  fit 
fur  the  pulpit ;  they  seem  profane  in  so  sacred  a  place.  They  certainly  have 
no  power  there.  The  truly  drastic  men  have  nothing  to  do  with  them. 
They  are  not  afraid  nor  ashamed  to  lay  hands  on  familiar  objects.  These 
are  understood,  they  are  felt  by  the  hearer.  "I  will  wipe  Jerusalem  as  a 
man  wipeth  a  dish,  wiping  it  and  turning  it  upside  down."  What  can  ex- 
ceed this  in  strength  and  impressiveness  ?  The  Bible  is  full  of  the  most 
cogent  figures;  cogent  from  the  commonness  of  the  objects.  In  this  way 
Mr.  Clark  attained  to  a  startling  power  in  many  of  his  illustrations.  "  The 
truth  exhibits  impenitent  men  as  playing  the  fool  with  their  own  best  inter- 
ests. A  madman  who  in  a  paroxysm  of  his  disease,  has  butchered  his  family, 
and  half  despatched  himself,  and  has  waked  to  consciousness  in  the  very 
act  of  suicide,  is  scarcely  a  sorer  picture  of  wretchedness  and  ruin,  than  the 
sinni-r  upon  whose  conscience  there  has  been  suddenly  poured  the  light  of 
truth."  Speaking  of  the  fact,  that  the  wicked  are  occasionally  strangely 
spared,  while  the  righteous  are  cut  down,  he  says:  "the  basest  of  human 
beings  have  sometimes  measured  out  a  hundred  years,  have  attended  the 
funeral  of  every  pious  contemporary,  and  have  even  blown  the  trumpet  of 
revolt  in  three  centuries."     On  the  passage,  "  Christ  gave  himself  for  us," 


OF     THE     AUTHOR.  xiix 

&c,  he  says:  "How  easily  could  he  have  blighted  oil  our  hopes  in  thai 
dark  hour.  Had  he  sent  Judas  to  his  own  place,  or  rendered  him  an  honest 
man  when  he  came  to  steal  the  betraying  kiss;  or  had  he  struck  lifeless 
that  midnight  band  which  came  to  apprehend  him  :  or  had  he  let  down  into 
hell  that  senate  chamber  with  its  mass  of  hypocrisy,  and  paralyzed  the 
sinews  of  the  soldiery  that  crucified  him  ,  then  had  there  been  none  to 
betray,  arrest,  or  murder  the  Son  of  God." 

When  speaking  of  the  sinner's  perdition,  our  author  sets  it  forth  com- 
monly in  the  most  terrific  imagery  of  the  Bible.  Had  there  been  a  little 
more  of  the  mild,  the  gentle,  the  winning,  had  there  been  a  less  frequent 
appeal  to  the  terrible  motives  of  truth,  more  of  the  imbuing  of  that  love 
which  bled  on  Calvary,  Mr.  Clark  would  have  stood  as  a  preacher,  pre-emi- 
nent and  complete.  But  we  may  not  leave  what  we  have  to  say  upon  the  gen- 
eral strain  and  spirit  of  these  sermons  without  adding,  that,  with  all  his 
sternness,  and  hard,  unbending  fidelity,  Mr.  Clark  has  the  power  of  the  pa- 
thetic to  a  very  considerable  degree.  This  power  grows  out  of  another  we 
have  ascribed  to  him,  namely,  the  power  of  moral  painting.  Some  parts 
of  the  "Church  Safe"  are  fine  specimens  of  the  pathetic.  The  entire  ser- 
mon, entitled  :  "The  industrious  young  Prophets,"  is  throughout  graphic 
and  tender,  and  must  have  strongly  and  deeply  moved  the  feelings  of  the 
auditors.  Speaking  of  Christians  who  have  gone  from  abounding  privileg- 
es, and  are  now  living  far  away  in  regions  of  moral  desolation,  he  says' 

"  They  cannot  educate  for  themselves  a  ministry,  and  build  in  the  wil- 
derness the  unnumbered  conveniences  they  left  behind.  They  have  turned 
their  eyes  to  us,  and  if  we  refuse  them  help,  we  cover  them  with  unmingled 

despair The  mother  who  had  devoted  her  children  to  God,  and  has 

gone  with  them  into  the  western  wilds,  must  die  crushed  with  the  tremen- 
dous thought,  that  she  became  a  mother  merely  that  she  might  people  the 
realms  of  death.  Already  she  has  hung  her  harp  upon  the  willows,  and 
there  it  must  hang,  till  some  kind  missionary  enter  the  door  of  her  cabin, 
and  wipes  away  her  tears;  and  this  missionary  we  must  educate.  Ten 
long  years  must  still  roll  away  before  he  arrives,  and  she,  in  the  mean  time, 
bleached  by  the  frosts  of  age,  trembles  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  but  dares 
not  die,  till  her  hopes  are  accomplished  and  her  children  saved."  See  p. 
403. 

On  the  whole,  we  must  be  permitted  to  affirm  the  opinion,  that  Mr.  Clark 
deserves  to  hold  a  very  high  rank  as  a  preparer  of  sermons.  With  some 
peculiar  faults,  he  possessed  rare  and  substantial  merits.     He  was  not  an 

imitator;  there  appears  nowhere  upon  him  the  marks  of  any  other  n - 

stamp.  As  a  student  of  Dr.  Griffin,  he  was  probably  incited  and  influenced 
by  that  gigantic  model.  Yet  his  style  is  not  Griffin's,  nor  does  it  bear  any 
resemblance,  except  in  a  bold,  rough,  independent  power.  Every  thing  our 
author  said  came  forth  with  his  own  characteristic  impress. 

Having  now  examined  the  instruments  our  author  employed,  their  mate- 
pal  and  their  structure,  it  seems  necessary  to  the  completeness  of  our  esti« 


1  BIOGRAPHY 

mate,  that  we  look  at  our  author's  style  of  wielding  the  instrument ;  in  other 
words,  that  we  view  him  as  a  preacher  of  his  sermons.  His  smiting  was 
generally  with  a  blade  which  he  had  previously  fabricated  and  furbished, 
though  he  could  make  a  good  one  at  the  time  when  :'t  was  necessary;  in 
other  words,  he  ordinarily  preached  on  'he  Sabbath,  sermons  which  had 
been  written  carefully  and  in  full. 

We  wish  to  say  distinctly,  that  these  sermons  were  delivered  in  a  way 
to  give  them  their  strongest  effect.  Mr.  Clark  did  not  read  them,  he 
preached  them.  He  took  the  matter  not  from  his  memory;  he  took  it  from 
bis  paper,  and  preached  it :  and  it  was  as  really  a  specimen  of  preaching, 
and  good  preaching,  as  any  improviser  can  give. 

Mr.  Clark  admirably  vindicated  manuscript  preaching ;  he  showed  that 
it  need  not  be  dull  preaching,  that  it  may  be  warm  and  stirring  to  the  high- 
est degree.  Most  will  concede  that  Mr.  Clark  is  sufficiently  pungent 
and  heated.  We  love  to  meet  with  new  instances  of  stirring  power 
in  the  use  of  the  pen.  We  are  grateful  to  our  author  for  these  warm- 
hearted specimens.  We  deprecate  the  coming  of  a  time,  when  ministers 
shall  lay  aside  the  pen  in  their  pulpit  preparations.  With  it  they  would 
lay  aside  one  half  of  their  power.  There  will  then  be  an  end  to  extempo- 
raneous preaching  of  the  highest  order.  We  very  much  doubt,  whether 
there  ever  was  or  ever  will  be  a  first  rate  extemporaneous  speaker,  who 
was  not,  at  the  same  time,  a  good  writer.  The  discipline  of  the  writing  is 
necessary  to  impart  order  and  richness  to  the  speaking.  Let  all  writing  be 
done  witb,  and  the  extemporaneous  product  grows  diffuse  and  comparative- 
ly empty.  The  man,  who  writes  in  part  vigorously  and  well,  will  proceed 
with  closeness  and  order  in  the  sermons  he  does  not  write.  He  may  make 
his  written  sermons  warm,  searching,  effective ;  and  the  unwritten  will  catch 
from  the  written  a  thorough  imbuing  and  seasoning  of  the  same  sterling 
qualities. 

Mr.  Clark  was  an  arresting  preacher,  with  all  the  alleged  disadvantages 
of  his  paper  before  him.  He  had  a  remarkable  power  of  seizing  and  hold- 
ing the  attention.  U  he  did  not  awaken  spiritually  the  auditor,  he  kept  him 
awake  physically.  From  what  we  have  said  of  his  style,  it  would  be  infer- 
red that  the  house  in  which  he  preached  would  not  be  much  infested  with 
sleepy  hearers.  They  might  disbelieve  the  preacher,  they  might  execrate 
his  sentiments.  They  could  not  but  hear  them  if  in  the  house.  He  must 
have  been  doubly  stupid,  who,  by  any  opiate  or  any  magnetism,  could  get  to 
sleep  under  some  of  the  discourses  and  parts  of  discourses  which  proceed- 
ed from  our  author.  Whoever,  at  such  a  time,  might  attempt  to  sink  into 
.  would  not  proceed  far,  before  some  crashing  thunderbolt  would  com- 
pel him  to  open  his  eyes,  and  see  what  was  happening.  The  roughness 
and  ragged  (mints  of  Mr.  Clark's  style  were  admirably  adapted  to  keep  the 
mind  well  spurred  and  jogged.  Sometimes  a  sentence  or  paragraph  would 
suddenly  like  a  creat  rasp  across  the  audience.  A  sett  u  n  may  be  ad- 
justed, and  harmonized,  and  polished  into  perfect  lameness  and  insipidity;  the 
whole  moves  off,  in  a  gentle,  uniform,  mellifluous  Sow,  which  reaches  and 


OF    THE    ACinOR.  li 

stirs  nobody,  and  which  nobody  cares  for.  "  The  words  of  the  wise  are  as 
goads."    Such  should  be  a  portion,  at  least,  of  the  words  of  the  preacher. 

Mr.  Clark's  person,  voice,  and  entire  manner  were  in  perfect  keeping  with 
his  style ; — a  large  masculine  frame  ;  a  voice  harsh,  strong,  capable  of  great 
volume,  though  not  very  flexible ;  an  action,  for  the  most  part,  ungraceful, 
but  significant  and  natural ;  a  countenace  bearing  bold,  strongly  marked  fea- 
tures, at  every  opening  of  which  the  waked  and  working  passions  would 
look  intensely  out ;  then,  thoughts  and  sentences  such  as  we  find  in  these 
volumes  coming  forth  ; — all  together  gave  the  idea  of  huge,  gigantic  power. 
We  were  reminded  often  of  some  great  ordnance,  throwing  terribly  iis  heavv 
shots.  Who  could,  who  dared  go  into  unconsciousness  before  such  an  engine  ? 

Mr.  Clark  had  an  unusual  power  of  impressing  the  memory.  Perhaps  in 
nothing  do  preachers  differ  more  than  in  this.  We  hear  one  deliver  a  ser- 
mon, and  are  very  well  pleased  with  it.  It  is  made  up  of  substantial  and 
important  matter.  We  endeavor  at  the  time  to  give  earnest  heed  to  the 
things  which  we  hear,  lest  we  should  let  them  slip.  But  somehow,  do  all 
we  can,  they  will  slip;  soon  the  whole  is  utterly  gone,  and  all  that  we  can 
say  about  it  is,  that  at  such  a  time,  we  heard  such  a  minister  preach  a  ser- 
mon. We  hear  another ;  we  give  no  closer  attention  ;  we  are  in  no  better 
mood.  But  the  sermon  inheres;  parts  of  it, at  least,  are  lodged  within  us 
too  deeply  and  firmly  to  be  thrown  out  by  the  rudest  jostlings  of  amusement 
or  business.  Mr.  Clark  had  this  prime  excellence  of  preaching,  to  an  unusu- 
al degree.  Those  who  listened  to  his  preaching,  a  score  of  years  back,  find 
that  they  can  remember  a  great  deal  that  he  said.  They  retain,  doubtless, 
clear  conceptions  of  entire  discourses,  which  on  their  delivery  ploughed 
deeply  into  their  minds.  The  power  of  condensed,  graphic  enunciation,  by 
which  light,  strength  and  beauty  were  combined  and  concentrated,  in  part 
enabled  Mr.  Clark  to  sink  these  fixtures  in  the  memory.  The  power  of 
moral  painting,  also  of  graphic  presentation,  which  has  been  referred  to,  did 
much  to  give  the  adhesiveness  in  question.  The  truth,  which  we  are  made 
to  see,  we  cannot  forget,  as  we  do  the  truth  we  only  hear.  The  value  of 
this  power  upon  the  memory  in  a  preacher  is  not  soon  estimated.  It  helps 
him  to  insert  the  good  seed  beneath  the  surface,  where  the  birds  will  not 
eat  it  up,  nor  the  winds  blow  it  away.  Truth  so  inserted  will  often  rise  up 
and  be  thought  of;  conscience  will  reiterate  the  sermon  in  far  future  years. 
The  Spirit  may  give  it  power ;  so  that  it  shall  result  in  the  conversion  of  the 
soul,  after  the  voice,  that  originally  preached  it,  shall  be  still  in  death. 

Mr.  Clark  frequently  exhibited  in  his  preaching  the  ability  to  make  very 
strong  religious  impressions.  His  sermons  were  not  in  the  strict  sense  re- 
vival sermons.  They  were  never  vaguely,  loosely  declamatory.  There 
were  no  tricks  of  eloquence,  no  play  upon  the  passions.  There  was,  per- 
haps, too  much  sentiment,  too  much  solid,  searching  truth  in  them  for  the 
greatest  immediate  movement  and  effect.  His  were  not  the  right  sort  of 
loading  and  aim  to  do  the  most  execution  in  a  flock.  His  preaching  was 
adapted  rather  to  impress  deeply  a  few  minds  than  more  slightly  many 
minds.  He  did  not  operate  upon  the  surface;  he  struck  heavy  and  shook 
th«  very  foundations  of  the  character. 


lii  BIOGRAPHY 

It  is  sometimes  said  of  a  preacher  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  Christ  in 
his  sermons.  This  is  deemed,  and  it  is,  a  high  commendation.  It  was  a 
commendatory  trait  in  Mr.  Clark's  preaching,  that  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
God  in  it.  We  think,  as  we  have  said,  that  his  exhibition  of  the  Divine 
character,  at  times,  was  not  sufficiently  mitigated.  Still  there  is  often  placed 
before  us,  God,  the  great  Sovereign  and  Agent,  the  subduer  or  the  punisher  of 
his  foes,  the  unfailing  protector  of  his  people  and  his  cause.  God  in  his  aw- 
ful glory  and  purity,  man  in  the  moral  baseness  of  his  character, — in  the 
black  and  stormy  elements  of  his  depravity, — were  placed  clearly  and  terri- 
bly side  by  side.  The  effect  produced  was,  in  some  instances,  awful  and 
overwhelming.  Mr.  Clark's  preaching  searched  and  incited  the  true 
disciple,  pressing  him  up  to  a  higher  standard;  it  agitated  and  cut  down 
the  sinner,  convincing  him  that  there  was  no  help  in  himself;  it  stripped 
and  laid  bare  the  hypocrite,  bringing  to  his  own  view  his  own  ugliness.  Many 
of  all  classes,  we  doubt  not,  were  persuaded  by  him  to  flee  for  refuge  to  lay 
hold  upon  the  hope  set  before  them,  some  of  whom  are  now  amid  the 
conflicts  of  time,  others  amid  the  glories  of  eternity. 

Subordinate  to  the  spiritual  results,  and  quite  inferior  in  worth,  yet  highly- 
valuable,  was  another  effect  of  Mr.  Clark's  preaching.  It  wrought  power- 
fully upon  the  intellect.  It  waked  up  the  mind  and  set  it  to  work.  It  was 
bracing;  it  made  the  hearer  feel  stronger  than  he  felt  before;  he  went  out 
ready  for  achievement.  We  happen  to  be  acquainted  with  those  who 
acknowledge  an  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Clark,  in  this  respect,  beyond  what 
thev  owe  to  any  other  living  mind  they  ever  came  in  contact  with.  They 
met  him  in  their  vernal  and  forming  period.  He  interested  them,  he  seized 
them,  and  bore  them  forward  in  a  quickened  and  more  robust  growth,  it 
is  always,  in  some  respects,  an  original  and  ascendent  mind,  that  thus 
stimulates,  and  moulds,  and  makes  stronger  other  minds. 

Mr.  Clark's  printed  sermons  have  much  of  the  same  power.  It  was  the 
significant  query  of  Fox,  respecting  a  noted  speech,  "Does  it  read  well? 
Depend  upon  it,  it  was  not  a  good  speech,  if  it  does  not  read  well."  Mr. 
Clark's  sermons  bear  this  test.  Very  many  books  of  sermons  have  failed 
to  bear  this  test,  and  in  consequence  have  gone  speedily  to  oblivion.  In- 
deed, the  fame  of  the  preacher  is  very  apt  to  be  diminished,  if  not  destroyed, 
by  the  service  of  the  printer.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  plain,  sensible 
people  to  have  their  swelling  admiration  of  some  corruscating  preacher, 
whose  name  and  glory  have  come  awfully  lowering  to  their  conceptions, 
nearly  withered  and  swept  away  by  the  unfortunate  occurrence  of  their 
lighting  upon  a  printed  volume  of  his  sermons.  We  fear  no  such  result  in 
the  case  of  Mr.  Clark.  Indeed,  he  has  passed  this  ordeal  in  safety.  He 
has  found  many  admiring  readers  of  his  sermons:  persons  of  education,  of 
good  sense,  of  deep  piety,  have  read  and  re-read  with  interest  and  profit. 
Others  still  will  love  to  recur  to  them,  and  will  feel  that  they  are  benefited 
by  the  perusal. 

These  sermons  will  do  good  to  the  Christian  in  the  closet,  and  to  others, 
if  they  will  read  them.  "  No  one,  I  presume,"  says  a  discriminating  writer, 
remarking  upon  Mr.  Clark,  "  whose  conscience  has  ever  been  probed  by  his 


OF    THE    AUTHOR,  Uii 

searching  appeals,  or  whose  heart  has  ever  been  warmed  by  his  fervid  and 
glowing  piety  or  whose  spirit  has  ever  been  overwhelmed  by  his  melting 
eloquence,  or  whose  sense  of  duty  has  ever  been  quickened  by  his  forcible 
and  practical  illustrations,  but  must  rejoice  in  the  privilege  of  reading  at 
his  leisure,  and  praying  over  in  secret,  such  productions  of  such  a  man." 

They  will  do  good  in  the  family.  We  like  the  suggestion,  made  by  the  au- 
thor in  the  preface  to  a  previous  edition,  "  That  the  parent,  or  some  one  se- 
lected by  him,  read  aloud  for  the  benefit  of  the  family,  after  preparing  himself 
to  read  with  due  emphasis  and  feeling."  Have  we  not  erred  in  laying  aside 
the  custom,  so  much  practised  by  our  fathers,  of  reading  a  sermon  at  stated 
seasons  in  the  family  ?  There  are  many  living  witnesses  to  its  spiritual 
and  eternal  benefit.  Children  and  domestics  have  received  truths  and  im- 
pressions which  they  never  could  rid  themselves  of,  but  which  became  the 
power  of  God  to  their  salvation.  Our  fathers  honored  sermons — their  de< 
scendants  are  getting  to  despise  them.  It  is  not  well  to  do  so.  Admit 
these  sermons  to  the  family  circle,  and  there  allow  them  to  preach  to  the 
conscience  and  the  heart,  and  they  will  assuredly  do  good. 

They  will  do  good  also  in  the  conference  room,  and  in  the  Sabbath  con 
gregation,  where  there  is  no  minister  present.  Not  all  good  sermons  will 
answer  for  this  service.  Those  who  have  had  upon  themselves  the  respon- 
sibility of  these  occasions,  have  been  troubled  to  find  discourses  of  that 
strong,  graphic,  penetrating  character,  which  will  arrest  the  mind,  and  be 
effective  on  the  heart,  as  read  from  the  printed  page.  Mr.  Clark's  sermons 
have  been  tried  in  this  respect,  and  not  been  found  wanting.  Let  them  be 
tried  again,  and  they  will  not  disappoint  expectation. 

Finally,  these  sermons  are  fitted  to  exert  a  wholesome  influence  upon  the 
pulpit.  We  deem  them  good  sermons  for  preachers  to  have  intercourse  with. 
If  any  have  fallen  into  a  miserable,  mincing  way  of  writing  or  speaking,  let 
them  read  these  sermons.  If  any  have  come  so  under  the  dominion  of 
false  or  excessive  taste,  that  they  cannot  say  a  thing  out  clear,  straight,  and 
strong,  let  them  read  these  sermons.  If  they  are  affected  with  languor 
and  tameness,  as  they  stand  in  the  pulpit,  and  afflict  their  hearers  with  the 
same  oppressive  qualities,  let  them  read  these  sermons.  If  any  are  given 
to  exquisitely  fine  spinning,  or  extravagantly  high  soaring,  more  in  love 
with  the  sublimated  than  the  sublunary,  let  them  take  in  hand  these  coarser 
and  weightier  productions.  They  will  do  good  by  their  astringency  and 
impulsiveness.  They  will  help  to  make  closer,  warmer,  manlier  preaching. 
We  rejoice  that  the  productions  of  Mr.  Clark  are  now  put  forth  in  a  form 
so  convenient  and  neat ;  for  hereby,  we  believe,  an  important  service  is  ren- 
dered to  the  cause  of  truth  and  of  God. 


SERMONS. 


SERMON    I. 

THE  CHURCH  SAFE. 


ISAIAH    XLIX.    16. 

I  have  graven  thee  upon  the  palms  uf  my  hands  ;  thy  walls  are  continually  before  me. 

The  Jewish  Church,  during  her  captivity,  would  be  led  to  con- 
ceive that  God  had  forsaken,  had  forgotten  her.  To  effectually 
remove  this  impression,  God  by  his  prophet  appeals  to  one  of  the 
tenderest  relationships  of  life.  "  Can  a  woman  forget  her  sucking 
child,  that  she  should  not  have  compassion  on  the  son  of  her 
womb  1.  yea  they  may  forget,  yet  will  I  not  forget  thee."  Thus 
would  he  give  to  Zion,  assurance  of  his  unchangeable  love.  His 
people  should  multiply,  till  the  land,  where  their  foes  destroyed 
them,  should  be  too  limited  for  their  increased  population.  Kings 
and  nations  should  serve  them,  and  do  them  honor.  Zion  was 
dear  to  him  as  the  apple  of  his  eye.  He  would  engrave  her  upon 
the  palms  of  his  hands  ;  her  walls  should  be  continually  before 
him. 

In  those  days,  it  was  the  custom  to  paint  upon  the  palms  of  the 
hands  such  objects  as  men  wish  to  remember,  in  allusion  to  which 
custom  God  assures  his  people,  that  he  had  graven  Zion  upon  the 
palms  of  his  hands.  Thus  should  her  walls  be  continually  before 
him  ;  he  would  not  forget  her  a  moment,  nor  suffer  any  foe  to 
injure  her.  We  have  here  a  broad  and  sacred  pledge,  to  be  kept 
in  mind  by  the  people  of  God  in  all  ages,  and  plead  in  their  pray- 
ers, that  he  will  foster  and  bless  his  Church,  and  will  employ  his 
vigilance  and  his  power  to  secure  her  safety,  and  advance  her 
honors. 

6 


42  THE    CHPBCH    S^FE. 

Thus  is  the  Church  safe,  and  the  people  of  God  need  have  no 
apprehensions,  nor  weep  a  tear,  but  over  their  own  transgressions, 
and  the  miseries  of  that  multitude,  who  will  not  be  persuaded  to 
take  sanctuary  in  her  bosom.  I  shall  argue  the  safety  of  the 
church,  from  the  firmness  and  stability  of  the  divine  operations  ; 
from  what  God  has  already  done  for  his  Church  ;  what  he  is  now 
domg  ;  and  what  he  has  promised  to  do. 

I.  We  assure  ourselves,  that  the  Church  is  sate,  from  the  firmness 
and  stability  of  the  divine  operations.  I  now  refer,  not  merely  to 
the  unchangeableness  of  God,  which  will  lead  him  to  pursue  for 
ever  that  plan  which  his  infinite  wisdom  devised  ;  for  that  plan 
lies  concealed  from  us  ;  but  to  that  uniform  and  steady  course  with 
which  he  has  pursued  every  enterprise  which  his  hands  have  be- 
gun. That  he  is  of  the  same  mind,  and  that  none  can  turn  him, 
is  a  thought  full  of  comfort ;  but  that  he  has  finished  every  work 
which  he  took  in  hand  is  a  fact,  which  intelligences  have  witness- 
ed, and  one  on  which  we  may  found  our  richest  expectations. 

The  worlds  which  he  began  to  build  he  finished.  Not  one  was 
left  half  formed  and  motionless.  Each  he  placed  in  its  orbit,  gave 
it  light,  and  laws,  and  impulse.  And  ever  since  this  first  develop- 
ment of  the  divine  stability,  the  wheels  of  providence  have  rolled 
on  with  steady  and  settled  course.  What  Omnipotence  began 
whether  to  create  or  to  destroy,  he  rested  not  till  he  had  accom- 
plished. 

When  he  had  become  incensed  with  our  world,  and  purposed  its 
desolation,  with  what  a  firm  and  steady  step  did  he  go  on  to 
achieve  his  purpose.  Noah  builds  the  ark,  and  God  prepares  the 
fountains,  which,  at  his  word,  burst  from  their  entrenchments  to 
drown  an  impious  generation. 

How  have  suns  kept  their  stations,  and  planets  rolled  in  their 
orbits,  by  the  steady  pressure  of  the  hand  of  God  ;  by  their  re- 
volutions measuring  out  the  years  of  their  own  duration,  and  by 
their  velocity  urging  on  the  amazing  moment  when  they  shall 
meet  in  dread  concussion,  and  perish  in  the  contact.  How  fixed 
their  periods,  their  risings,  their  eclipses,  their  changes,  and  their 
transits.  And  while  they  roll,  how  uniform  is  the  return  of 
spring,  summer,  autumn,  and  winter.  How  certain  every  law  of 
matter,  gravitation,  attraction,  reflection,  &c.  The  very  comet, 
so  long  considered  lawless,  how  is  it  curbed  and  reined  in  its  ec- 
centric orbit,  and  never  yet  had  power  or  permission  to  burn  a  sin- 
gle world. 

How  sure  is  the  fulfilment  of  prophecv.     Ages  intervening  can 


THE    CHURCH    SAFE.  -i3 

not  shake  the  certainty  of  its  accomplishment.  Jesus  bleeds  on 
Calvary  four  thousand  years  subsequently  to  the  promise  which 
that  event  accomplishes.  Cyrus  is  named  in  the  page  of  prophe- 
cy more  than  two  hundred  years  before  his  birth,  and  at  the 
destined  moment  becomes  the  Lord's  shepherd,  collects  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,  and  builds  Jerusalem.  The  Jews,  as 
prophets  three  thousand  years  ago  foretold,  are  yet  in  exile.  The 
weeping  prophet,  now  at  rest,  still  sees  the  family  he  loved  peeled 
and  scattered,  and  the  soil  that  drank  his  tears,  cursed  for  their 
sins  ;  and  confident  that  God  is  true,  waits  impatient  the  certain, 
but  distant  year  of  their  redemption. 

Wretches  that  dare  his  power,  God  will  not  disturb  his  plan  to 
punish.  The  old  world  flourished  one  hundred  and  twenty  years 
after  heaven  had  cursed  that  guilty  race.  Sodom  was  a  fertile 
valley  long  after  the  cry  of  its  enormities  had  entered  into  the 
ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.  The  Amorites  were  allowed  five 
hundred  years  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  iniquity  after  God 
had  pledged  their  land  to  Abram,  although  Israel  wore  away  the 
intervening  years  in  bondage.  Many  a  murderer  has  been  over- 
taken by  the  hand  of  justice,  half  a  century  past  the  time  of  the 
bloody  deed.  God  will  punish  all  the  workers  of  iniquity,  but  he 
waits  till  the  appointed  moment.  Like  the  monarch  of  the  forest, 
he  comes  upon  his  enemies,  conscious  of  his  strength,  with  steady 
but  dreadful  steps.  In  his  movements  there  is  neither  frenzy,  pas- 
sion, nor  haste.  While  his  judgments  linger,  his  enemies  ask, 
"  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  V  but  let  them  know,  that 
he  has  appeared,  and  discomfited  many  a  foe  ;  and  the  inference 
is  that  they  must  perish  too.  Whatever  God  begins,  he  finishes: 
no  unseen  embarrassment  can  turn  his  eye  from  his  original 
purpose. 

Now  the  argument  is,  that  as  God  has  begun  to  erect  a  Church, 
he  will  act  in  this  matter  as  in  all  others.  If  one  of  light  character, 
a  man  given  to  change,  had  laid  the  foundation  of  some  mansion, 
there  would  still  be  doubt  whether  it  would  ever  receive  its  top- 
stone.  But  suppose  his  character  exactly  the  reverse,  and  the 
moment  he  breaks  the  ground,  imagination  sees  the  mansion  finish- 
ed :  now  only  make  God  the  builder  and  the  argument  is  perfect. 
Whether  we  can  trace  his  footsteps  or  not.  he  moves  on  to  the 
accomplishment  of  his  purpose  with  undeviating  course.  Every 
event,  in  aspect  bright  or  dark,  promotes  the  ultimate  increase 
and  establishment  of  his  Church.  Or  shall  this  be  the  only  enter- 
prise to  which  his  wisdom,  his  power,  or  his  grace,  is  inadequate  \ 


44  THE    CHURCH    SAFE. 

In  this  solitary  instance  shall  he  begin  to  build  and  not  be  able  to 
finish  \  What  would  be  thought  of  him  in  hell,  if  the  mystical 
temple  should  never  receive  its  topstone  1  Its  fires  may  go  out,  the 
worm  may  die,  or  some  infernal  genius  bridge  the  gulf.  Heaven 
too  would  lose  all  confidence  in  its  King,  and  every  harp  be  silent 
Thus  before  we  examine  the  history  of  the  Church,  or  read  the 
promises,  if  we  believe  that  God  ever  had  a  Church,  we  have  the 
strongest  possible  presumptive  evidence,  that  he  will  watch  her  in- 
terests, will  feed  the  fires  upon  her  altars,  will  bring  her  sons  from 
far,  and  her  daughters  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  will  never 
leave  her,  nor  forsake  her.  "  I  have  graven  thee  upon  the  palms 
of  my  hands ;  thy  walls  are  continually  before  me." 

II.  Our  expectations  brighten  when  we  see  what  God  has  done 
for  his  Church.  My  first  argument  went  to  show,  that  if  God  had 
only  laid  the  corner-stone  of  this  heavenly  building,  it  would  rise 
and  be  finished.  We  are  now  to  view  the  building  half  erected, 
and  from  what  has  been  done  argue  the  certainty  of  its  completion. 
The  Church  has  been  under  the  fostering  care  of  heaven  too  long 
to  be  abandoned  now. 

Let  us  retrace  for  a  moment  a  few  pages  of  her  history,  and  we 
shall  see  that  when  the  Church  was  low,  he  raised  her ;  when  she 
was  in  danger,  he  saved  her.  Amid  all  the  moral  desolations  of 
the  old  world,  the  Church  never  became  extinct.  And  he  at  length 
held  the  winds  in  his  fist,  and  barred  the  fountains  of  the  deep,  till 
Noah  could  build  the  ark,  and  the  Church  be  housed  from  the 
storm. 

How  wonderful  were  his  interpositions  when  the  Church  was 
embodied  in  the  family  of  Abraham !  In  redeeming  her  from 
Egyptian  bondage,  how  did  he  open  upon  that  guilty  land  all  the 
embrasures  of  heaven,  till  they  thrust  out  his  people.  And  he 
conducted  them  to  Canaan  by  the  same  masterly  hand.  The  sea 
divided,  and  Jordan  rolled  back  its  waters ;  the  rock  became  a 
pool,  and  the  heavens  rained  them  bread,  till  they  drank  at  the 
fountains,  and  ate  the  fruits  of  the  land  of  promise.  Their  gar- 
ments lasted  forty  years,  and  the  angel  Jehovah,  in  a  cloud  of  light, 
led  them  through  the  labyrinths  and  dangers  of  the  desert. 

When  the  Church  diminished,  and  her  prospects  clouded  over, 
he  raised  up  reformers.  Such  were  Samuel,  and  David,  and  Heze- 
kiah,  and  Josiah,  and  Daniel,  and  Ezra,  and  Nehemiah:  such  were 
all  the  prophets.  Each  in  his  turn  became  a  master-builder,  and 
the  tempie  rose,  opposition  notwithstanding. 


THE    CHURCH    SAFE.  45 

Again,  under  the  apostles,  how  did  her  prospects  brighten.  In 
three  thousand  hearts,  under  a  single  sermon,  commenced  the  pro- 
cess of  sanctification.  The  very  cross  proved  an  engine  to  erect 
her  pillars;  the  flames  lighted  her  apartments,  and  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs  cemented  the  walls  of  her  temple,  and  contributed  to  its 
strength  and  beauty.  Every  dying  groan  alarmed  the  prince  of 
hell,  and  shook  the  pillars  of  his  dreary  domain. 

But  the  Church  again  sunk,  and  hell  presumed  that  her  ruin 
would  be  soon  achieved,  when  the  sixteenth  century  lifted  upon 
her  the  dawn  of  hope.  In  Luther,  Calvin,  Melancthon,  and  Zuing- 
lius,  her  interests  found  able  advocates.  They  appeared  at  the 
very  juncture  when  the  sinking  Church  needed  their  courage  and 
their  prayers.  Like  some  mighty  constellation,  which  bursts  from 
the  east  at  the  hour  of  midnight,  they  rose  when  moral  darkness 
was  almost  total,  and  like  that  of  Egypt  could  seem  to  be  felt.  By 
their  aid  the  Church  emerged  from  the  wilderness.  By  their  cou- 
rage her  grand  enemy  was  made  to  tremble  on  his  ghostly  tribu- 
nal. The  power  of  the  Pope  had  then  outgrown  the  strength  of 
every  civil  arm.  Every  monarch  in  Europe  was  at  his  feet.  Till 
Luther  rose  no  power  could  cope  with  him.  There  was  a  true 
Church,  but  she  had  no  champion.  The  followers  of  Jesus  paid 
for  the  privilege  of  discipleship  with  their  blood.  He  who  dared 
to  be  guided  by  his  own  conscience,  committed  an  offence  that 
could  not  be  pardoned.  The  heavenly-minded  saw  no  relief  but 
in  death,  and  thirsted  for  the  honor  of  a  martyrdom  that  would  place 
them  in  a  world  where  conscience  might  be  free.  But  God  ap- 
peared and  redeemed  his  people.  The  theme  is  pleasant,  but  time 
would  fail  me  to  rehearse  what  God  has  done  for  his  Church. 
Every  age  has  recorded  the  interpositions  of  his  mercy;  and  every 
hind  where  there  is  a  remnant  of  his  Church,  bears  some  monu- 
ment that  tells  to  his  honor,  and  which  will  endure  till  the  funeral 
of  the  world. 

Now  the  argument  is,  that  he  who  has  done  so  much  for  his 
Church  will  never  abandon  her.  If  he  would  float  her  above  a 
drowning  world,  would  redeem  her  from  bondage,  would  escort 
her  through  the  desert,  would  rain  her  bread  from  heaven,  would 
reprove  kings  for  her  sake,  would  stop  the  sun  to  aid  her  victories ; 
with  his  smiles,  light  the  glooms  of  her  dungeon,  and  by  his  pre- 
sence cool  the  fires  of  the  stake,  there  can  be  no  fear  for  her  safety. 

God  will  do  just  such  things  for  Zion  as  he  has  done.  "The 
thing  that  hath' been,  it  is  that  which  shall  be."  His  arm  is  not 
shortened,  nor  his  ear  heavy.     The  Church  was  never  nearer  his 


•16  THE    CHURCH    SAFE. 

heart  than  now.  And  he  now  hates  her  enemies  as  really  as  he 
did  Pharaoh,  Sennacherib,  Nero,  or  Julian.  He  then  governed  the 
world  for  t lie  sake  of  his  Church  ;  and  for  her  sake  he  governs  it 
still.  "The  Lord's  portion  is  his  people."  We  know  not  that 
he  ever  had  but  one  object  in  view  in  the  events  that  have  trans- 
pired in  our  world  ;  and  that  one  the  honor  of  his  name  in  the  re- 
demption of  his  people  :  and  this  object  sways  his  heart  still.  The 
destruction  of  the  enemy  is  a  part  of  the  same  plan.  Still  may  the 
Church  invoke  the  Lord  God  of  Elijah,  may  rest  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  God  of  Bethel,  and  wrestle  with  the  Angel  of  Penuel. 
If  she  should  be  in  bondage  there  will  rise  another  Moses,  another 
cloud  will  conduct  her  out  of  Egypt,  and  the  same  heavens  will 
rain  her  manna.  If  darkness  should  overshadow  her,  there  will  be 
found  among  the  sons  she  hath  brought  up,  another  Luther,  Cal- 
vin, or  Knox,  to  take  her  by  the  hand,  to  protect  her  honors,  and 
recruit  her  strength.  Shame  on  the  Christian  who  knows  her  his- 
tory, and  yet  is  afraid.  Afraid  of  what  %  That  God  will  cease  to 
defend  the  apple  of  his  eye  1  Afraid  that  the  city  graven  upon 
the  palms  of  his  hands  may  be  captured  and  destroyed  ?  If  God 
continue  to  do  such  things  as  he  has  done,  the  Church  with  all  her 
retinue  is  safe.     "  God  is  known  in  her  palaces  for  a  refuge." 

III.  God  is  doing  now  just  such  things  as  he  has  done.  We  saw 
laid  the  corner  stone,  and  drew  thence  our  first  argument.  Then 
we  saw  the  building  half  erected,  and  were  furnished  with  a  seco?id. 
We  are  now  to  view  the  edifice  covered  with  builders,  and  from 
their  exertions  derive  our  third.  We  may  now  reason  from  things 
that  our  eyes  can  see.  We  may  appeal  for  testimony  to  the  very 
saw  and  hammer,  and  make  the  scaffold  speak. 

It  may  be  that  some  of  my  readers  are  not  sensible  in  what  a 
day  of  heavenly  exploit  they  live.  Do  you  know  what  amazing 
events  are  transpiring  1  Have  you  learned  that  Bible  societies  are 
forming  in  every  part  of  Christendom]  and  that  the  Scriptures  are 
now  read  in  perhaps  a  hundred  languages,  in  which,  till  lately,  not 
a  text  of  inspired  truth  was  ever  written  ?  Do  you  know  that  the 
late  editions  of  God's  word  have  commenced  their  circulation,  are 
traversing  the  desert,  taming  the  savage,  and  pouring  celestial  light 
on  eyes  that  never  met  its  beams  before  ! 

Do  you  know  the  prevalence  of  a  missionary  spirit  ?  [lave 
you  learned  that  youth  of  the  first  character,  of  the  fairest  pros- 
pects, and  of  both  sexes,  aspire  to  be  missionaries  of  the  cross"? 
Some  have  gone,  and  others  wait  impatiently  till  your  charity  shal1 


THE    CHURCH    SAFE.  47 

send  them.  Many  a  mother  has  devoted  her  daughter  to  the  work, 
and  waits  for  opportunity  to  give  her  the  parting  kiss  ;  and  many  a 
daughter,  on  whom  has  fallen  Harriet's  mantle,  aches  to  visit  her 
tomb,  and  rest  under  the  same  turf  till  Jesus  bids  them  rise.  And 
what  daughter  of  Zion  is  not  ambitious  of  a  martyrdom  like  hers  * 

How  numerous  and  extensive  the  revivals,  which  at  present  we 
witness  in  our  land  \  Even  where  there  is  no  stated  ministry,  the 
showers  of  grace  descend,  and  the  waste  places  are  made  fertile. 
What  other  page  of  the  Church's  history,  but  the  present,  could 
record  an  almost  universal  concert  of  prayer  1  Christians  of  every 
continent  employing  the  same  hour  in  the  same  supplications. 
How  unparalleled  the  success  of  every  Christian  enterprise  !  No 
plan  of  mercy  ever  fails.  The  active  Christian  is  amazed  at  the 
result  of  his  own  exertions. 

Much  that  God  is  now  doifig  is  evidently  preparatory  to  future 
operatio?is.  Bible  and  missionary  societies  may  be  viewed  as  the 
accumulated  energies  of  the  Church.  Hitherto  our  exertions 
have  been  insulated  and  feeble.  The  little  streams  fructified  the 
plains  through  which  they  flowed,  but  could  easily  be  dammed  or 
evaporated  ;  but  their  junction  has  formed  a  mighty  river,  destined 
to  penetrate  every  moral  desert,  and  carry  civilization  to  every 
province  of  our  desolated  world  :  fed  with  the  showers  of  heaven, 
and  every  day  flowing  on  with  deeper  and  broader  channel,  the 
wilds  of  Arabia,  the  heaths  of  Africa,  and  the  plains  of  Siberia, 
can  oppose  no  effectual  barrier  to  its  influence. 

What  age  but  ours  was  ever  blessed  with  Theological  Semina- 
ries, where  might  be  reared  at  the  expense  of  charity,  young 
evangelists,  to  go  out  and  carry  the  bread  of  life  to  a  starving 
world  X  Fortunes,  collected  for  other  purposes,  are  poured  into 
the  treasury  of  the  Lord,  and  thus  are  erected  batteries  to  demo- 
lish the  strong-holds  of  the  prince  of  hell.  Jehovah  bless  their 
founders ! 

Churches  and  congregations,  who,  in  seasons  of  coldness, 
grudged  to  support  the  gospel  at  home,  are  now  equipping  young- 
men  for  the  missionary  field,  and  for  their  own  edification.  And 
it  lias  at  length  become  so  disreputable  to  stand  idle  in  these  mat- 
ters, that  the  man  who  would  save  his  money,  feels  himself  in 
danger  of  losing  his  chracter. 

Not  long  since,  young  men  of  piety  and  talents,  who  longed  to 
fight  the  battles  of  the  Lord,  must  equip  themselves,  and  then  find 
poor  support  in  service.  But  now  the  scale  is  turned.  Where 
there  is  no  fortune  but  piety,  a   thirst   for  knowledge,  and  a  talenl 


48 


THE    CHURCH    SAFE. 


to  improve,  the  way  is  now  open  to  all  the  honors  of  the  camp  of 
Israel  The  pious  mother,  who  can  only  drop  her  two  mites  into 
the  treasury  of  the  Lord,  but  whose  example  and  whose  prayers 
have  saved  her  son,  may  bring  her  Samuel  to  the  altar,  to  be  fed 
from  its  offerings,  and  reared  to  all  the  honors  of  the  prophetic 
office.  While  I  am  yet  writing,  hope  springs  up,  and  a  joy 
not  felt  in  ages  past,  thrills  through  all  the  habitations  of  pious 
poverty. 

The  late  revivals  possess  one  peculiar  characteristic.  There 
have  been  among  their  fruits  an  unusual  number  of  males.  When 
there  was  little  else  that  could  be  done  for  Zion,  but  pray  and 
weep,  and  love  her  doctrines,  and  glow  with  heavenly  affections, 
the  feebler  sex  could  furnish  the  Christian  world  with  soldiers.  But 
now,  when  the  kingdom  of  darkness  must  he  stormed,  Zion  needs 
the  aid  of  her  sons,  and  God,  it  would  seem,  accommodates  the 
operations  of  his  Spirit  to  the  interests  of  his  Church.  Paul  was 
not  converted  till  his  help  was  needed,  and  it  was  not  needed  till 
the  gospel  was  to  be  carried  to  the  Gentiles.  Every  revival  of 
late  contradicts  that  libel  long  legible  on  the  records  of  infidelity, 
that  religion  evinces  its  emptiness  by  its  exclusive  operation  upon  the 
feebler  part  of  our  race.  Recently  the  strong  and  muscular,  the 
very  champions  of  the  host  of  hell,  have  fallen  before  the  power 
of  truth,  and  are  harnessed  for  its  defence.  Moreover,  men  of 
science,  and  of  strong  mind,  have  in  their  own  esteem  become 
fools,  and  have  sat  down  to  learn  truth  at  a  Savior's  feet.  Our 
late  revivals  have  penetrated  schools  and  colleges.  Satan's  cause 
has  been  well  pleaded,  and  God  now  intends  to  plead  his  own : 
and  palsied  will  be  the  tongue  that  is  silent. 

Does  God  without  design  raise  up  these  instruments  1  Would 
one  pass  through  a  whole  kingdom,  and  employ  every  skilful  me- 
chanic, unless  he  intended  to  erect  some  mighty  edifice  1  If,  then, 
we  see  God  enlisting  men  in  his  service,  men  of  strength  and  science, 
does  he  not  intend  to  achieve  some  wondrous  design  1  Assuredly 
the  heavenly  building  will  rise.  These  talents  will  be,  and  they 
are  already  employed  in  extending  Emanuel's  empire.  India,  with 
other  benighted  lands,  has  already  received  our  missionaries,  and 
her  Moloch,  with  all  his  cursed  family  of  gods,  sicken  at  theii 
prospect.  The  dark  places  of  his  empire  have  been  explored,  and 
the  sceptre  begins  to  tremble  in  his  palsied  hand.  And  poor  Afri 
ca,  more  debased  still,  has  found  a  tongue  to  plead  her  cause 
Conscience,  long  asleep,  and  deaf  to  her  rights  has  waked,  and 
now,  her  sons,  fed  at  the  table  of  charity,  are  preparing  to  carry 


TTE    CHURCH    SAFE.  49 

her  the  bread  of  life.     My  country,   deeper  in   her   debt   than  all 
other  lands,  has  begun  to  pay  its  long  arrears. 

Who  could  have  hoped,  a  few  years  since,  that  he  should  ever 
see  a  day  like  this  !  If,  twenty  years  since,  one  had  told  me  that 
sixty  years  would  so  electrify  the  Christian  world,  I  should  have 
believed  him  visionary,  and,  like  the  unbelieving  Samaritan,  should 
have  pronounced  it  impossible,  unless  God  should  make  windows 
in  heaven,  and  rain  Bible  and  Missionary  Societies  from  above  :  but 
God  has  done  it  all  without  a  miracle.  And  blessed  be  his  name — 
will  my  readers  join  me  in  the  thank-offering! — blessed  be  his 
name,  that  he  cast  us  upon  such  an  age  as  this.  Blessed  be  his 
name,  that  we  were  not  born  a  century  sooner.  Then  we  had 
never  seen  the  dawn  of  this  millenial  morning,  nor  heard  the  glad 
tidings  which  now  reach  us  by  every  mail,  nor  had  an  opportunity, 
as  now,  to  purchase  for  our  offspring,  an  interest  in  the  Lord's 
fund.  Charity  was  then  in  a  deep  sleep.  India  bowed  to  her  idols, 
and  Africa  wore  her  chains,  unpitied  and  unrelieved.  Buchanan  and 
Wilberforce,  angels  of  mercy,  were  then  unborn.  Infidelity  then 
desolated  the  fairest  provinces  of  Christendom,  and  wars  were  the 
applauded  achievements  of  states  and  empires. 

But  the  age  of  infidelity  has  gone  by,  and  the  bloody  clarion 
has  breathed  out,  I  hope,  its  last  accursed  blast.  Events  are  tran- 
spiring which  bid  fair  to  bind  all  nations  in  the  bonds  of  love.  I 
had  read  of  such  a  period,  but  how  could  I  hope  to  see  it  1  The 
present  repose  of  nations  augurs  well  for  the  Church.  Christen 
dom  can  now  unite  her  efforts  to  evangelize  the  Avorld,  while  the 
sailor  and  the  soldier  have  leisure  and  opportunity  to  read  the 
precious  Scriptures.  And  must  not  all  this  put  our  unbelief  to  the 
blush,  and  cover  us  with  shame1. 

The  past  twenty  years  have  so  outdone  our  highest  hopes,  as  to 
render  it  impossible  to  predict  what  twenty  more  may  do.  God 
has  begun  to  work  on  a  scale  new  and  grand  ;  and  the  inference 
is  that  he  will  go  on.  After  what  we  have  seen,  we  could  hardly 
be  surprised  if  twenty  years  to  come  should  put  the  Bible  into 
every  language  under  heaven,  and  should  send  missionaries,  more 
or  less,  to  every  benighted  district  of  earth.  Let  benevolent  exer- 
tion increase  in  the  ratio  of  the  past  seven  years,  and  God  add  his 
blessing,  and  half  a  century  will  evangelize  the  world,  tame  the 
lion  and  the  asp,  and  set  every  desert  with  temples,  devoted  to  the 
God  of  heaven.  When  the  bosom  of  charity  shall  beat  a  little 
stronger,  if  there  should  be  the  necessity,  men  will  sell  houses  or 
farms  to  save  the  heathen  from  hell ;  and  the  child  will  sit  down 
7 


30  THE    CHURCH    S.AFE. 

and  weep,  who  may  not  say,  that  his  father  and  mother  were  the 
friends  of  missions.  And  what  parent  would  entail  such  a  curse 
upon  his  children,  and  prevent  them  from  lifting  up  their  heads  in 
the  millennium.  I  had  rather  leave  mine  toiling  in  the  ditch,  there 
to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  reflecting,  that  a  father's  charity  made  them 
poor.  Poor  !  They  are  poor  who  cannot  feel  for  the  miseries  of 
a  perishing  world  ;  to  whom  God  has  given  abundance,  but  who 
grudge  to  use  it  for  his  honor.  Teach  your  children  charity,  and 
they  can  never  be  poor.  "  The  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat,  and 
he  that  watereth  shall  be  watered  also  himself."  Can  this  promise 
fail  1  Then  we  can  all  leave  our  children  rich,  and  the  heirs  too 
of  a  fortune  they  can  never  squander.  We  can  purchase  for  them 
the  privilege  of  drawing  upon  the  exhaustless  resources  of  heaven. 
What  a  privilege  now  to  be  a  parent ! 

But  I  must  return  to  the  argument.  God  is  doing  so  much  for 
his  Church,  as  to  warrant  the  inference  that  he  will  do  still  more. 
The  hopes  he  raises  he  will  gratify.  The  prayer  he  indites  he  will 
answer.  To  see  what  God  is  doing,  I  find  it  impossible  to  doubt 
his  intentions.  The  present  is  a  prelude  to  brighter  scenes.  God 
would  not  have  done  so  much  for  his  people  had  he  intended  to 
abandon  them.  The  Church  will  live  and  prosper.  Instead  of 
trembling  for  the  ark,  let  us  weep  that  we  ever  thought  it  in 
danger. 

IV.  We  build  the  same  expectations  on  the  promises  and  pro- 
phecies. The  building  which  we  see  rising  God  has  promised  to 
finish.  He  has  all  the  materials  ;  the  silver  and  the  gold  are  his. 
He  has  enlisted  the  builders,  and  prepared  the  necessary  instru- 
ments. The  decree  has  gone  forth  that  Jerusalem  must  be  built, 
and  God  will  redeem  his  own  gratuitous  pledge:  he  will  do  as  he 
lias  said. 

Early  in  the  reign  of  Emanuel  there  will  be  universal  peace. 
The  nations  are  to  "  beat  their  swords  into  plough-shares,  and  their 
spears  into  pruning  hooks."  "  The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the 
lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  hid."  "  They  shall 
not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  "  God's  "  holy  mountain."  "  They  shall 
sit,  every  man  under  his  vine,  and  under  his  fig-tree;  and  none 
shall  make  them  afraid." 

But  "  the  gospel  must  first  be  published  among  all  nations." 
On  this  promise  there  pours  at  present  a  stream  of  heavenly  light. 
The  angel,  "  having  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth,"  is  beginning  to  publish  it  "to  every  na- 
tion, and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people."     Kings  are   to   be  to 


THE    CHURCH    SAFE  51 

the  Church  nursing-  fathers,  and  queens  nursing  mothers  ;  and  they 
have  already  taken  hold  of  the  work  with  interest.  Their  charity 
their  influence,  and  their  prayers,  have  already  contributed  to 
deepen  and  widen  the  channel  of  that  river  which  is  making  glad 
the  city  of  God.  In  the  progress  of  this  work  a  nation  shall  be 
born  in  a  day.  The  instance  of  Eimeo  may  be  considered  as  em- 
braced in  this  promise.  "  Thy  watchmen  shall  see  eye  to  eye." 
This  promise  has  commenced  its  accomplishment  in  the  harmony 
manifested  in  the  formation  and  support  of  Sabbath  schools,  and 
Bible  and  Missionary  Societies.  The  Jews  are  to  return  to  their 
land,  and  to  the  God  of  their  fathers.  There  shines  some  light 
upon  this  promise.  Many  are  at  present  migrating  to  Palestine 
from  the  north  of  Europe  ;  some  have  been  converted  to  the  faith 
of  Jesus,  many  not  converted  are  members  of  Bible  societies,  and 
exertions  unparalleled  are  making  to  bring  them  to  the  light,  while 
individuals  of  their  number  are  proclaiming  to  their  deluded 
brethren  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  Soon  the  Bible  will 
supplant  the  Talmud. 

"  Ethiopia  shall  soon  stretch  out  her  hands  unto  God."  Who 
does  not  see  this  promise  fast  accomplishing  1  Her  chains  are 
falling  and  her  mind  expanding.  There  have  commenced  a  train 
of  operations  that  promise  the  richest  blessings  to  the  children  of 
Ham.  Soon  the  Gambia,  the  Niger,  and  the  Nile,  will  grace  their 
shore  with  Christian  temples,  will  lend  their  waters  to  fertilize  a 
gospel  land,  and  bear  to  his  station  the  zealous  missionary  In 
the  mean  time  the  wretched  Arab,  exchanging  his  Koran  for  the 
Bible,  and  tamed,  by  its  influence,  to  honest  industry,  will  settle 
the  quarrel  with  the  family  of  Jacob,  and  worship  in  the  same 
temple. 

If  we  turn  to  the  threatenings  against  the  enemies  of  the  Church, 
there  open  before  us  large  fields  of  promise.  Like  the  cloud  that 
severed  Pharaoh's  hosts  from  Israel  they  pour  impenetrable  dark- 
ness into  the  camp  of  the  enemy,  while  they  light  the  tents  of  Ja- 
cob. "  The  day  of  the  Lord  shall  burn  as  an  oven,  and  all  the 
proud,  yea,  and  all  that  do  wickedly,  shall  be  stubble,  and  the  day 
that  cometh  shall  burn  them  up,  saith  the  Lord  ;  that  it  shall  leave 
them  neither  root  nor  branch."  Perhaps  the  complicated  miseries 
which  began  in  the  French  Revolution,  and  were  finished  at  Wa- 
terloo, might  commence  the  accomplishment  of  this  threatening. 
But  doubtless  other  storms  will  yet  beat  upon  the  camp  of  the 
enemy,  more  tremendous  than  anything  which  they  have  yet  ex- 
perienced.    Some  believe  that  the  fifth  vial  has  not  yet  been  pour- 


52  THE    CHURCH    SAFE. 

ed  out  upon  the  seat  of  the  beast  ;  and  all  agree  that  the  forty  and 
two  months,  during  which  the  holy  city  must  be  trodden  under 
foot,  are  not  yet  expired.  It  is  acknowledged  that  the  period  is 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  and  that  it  commenced  with  the 
reign  of  the  beast,  and  will  probably  terminate  in  the  present  cen- 
tury. Possibly  our  dear  children  may  live  to  see  the  precious 
moment  that  shall  close  the  period.  Then  the  messenger  of  the 
covenant  shall  make  his  glorious  ingress,  shall  destroy  his  ene- 
mies, shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  and  cleanse  the  offering  of  Ju- 
dah.  Then  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall  cover  the  earth  as 
the  waters  cover  the  sea.  Jesus  shall  take  possession  of  the  in- 
heritance promised,  "  and  his  dominion  shall  be  from  sea  even  to 
sea,  and  from  the  river  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth." 

Can  the  dejected  Christian  read  all  this,  and  believe  it  all,  and 
despondingly  weep  still  1  And  for  what  does  he  weep  1  God  has 
begun  to  erect  a  heavenly  temple  j  the  work  has  never  stopped, 
and  he  promises  that  it  never  shall.  He  never  did  abandon  any 
work  which  he  began,  nor  did  there  ever  drop  from  his  lips  a  pro- 
mise that  was  not,  or  will  not  be  fulfilled.  And  what  more  can  he 
do  1  Christian,  you  may  weep  on,  but  let  your  tears  be  tears  of 
penitence  or  joy.  Every  harp  should  be  snatched  from  the  wil- 
lows, new  joys  should  be  felt,  and  new  anthems  sung  in  all  the  as- 
semblies of  the  saints.  He  that  shall  come,  will  come,  and  will 
not  tarry  ;  and  every  bosom  should  respond,  "  Even  so,  come  Lord 
Jesus,  come  quickly."  ' 

APPLICATION. 

1.  If  to  any  it  is  a  burden  to  join  in  the  general  concert  of 
prayer  for  Zion's  increase,  they  can  excuse  themselves,  and  the 
glorious  work  will  still  go  on.  There  are  those  who  consider  the 
duty  a  privilege.  If  the  Church  could  live  without  them,  and  duty- 
did  not  prompt  them  to  pray,  they  would  weep  to  be  denied  the 
privilege  of  bearing  her  interests  to  the  throne,  and  of  waiting  for 
the  redemption  of  Israel.  Such  may  wait  still  upon  the  Lord,  and 
may  wait  with  confidence,  that  every  prayer  will  be  answered, 
every  tear  preserved,  and  every  hope  accomplished.  But  are  there 
those  who  would  wish  to  be  excused  from  this  service  1  who  have 
no  pleasure  in  the  duty,  and  no  faith  in  the  promises  1  Well,  they 
can  act  their  pleasure,  and  the  Church  will  live.  But,  whether 
such  will  have  any  share  in  the  glories  of  that  kingdom,  whose 
approach  they  dread,  "demands  a  doubt." 

2.  If  any  grudge  to  contribute  of  their  wealth,  for  the  advance- 


THE    CHURCH    SAFE.  53 

ment  of  the  Church,  they  can  withhold.  If  they  have  a  better  u*-e 
for  their  money,  or  dare  not  trust  the  Lord,  there  is  no  com  pul- 
sion. Some  happy  beings  will  have  the  honor  of  the  work.  It  is  to 
be  accomplished  by  the  instrumentality  of  men,  and  if  any  are 
willing-  to  be  excused,  and  insist  on  doing  nothing,  they  can  use 
their  pleasure.  And  if  such  would  ruin  their  children,  by  holding 
them  back,  they  can.  They  can  form  them  to  such  habits  that  the 
world  will  never  be  disturbed  by  their  munificence.  They  can 
prejudice  them  against  all  the  operations  of  Christian  charity  ;  can 
make  them  deaf  to  the  cry  of  the  six  hundred  millions  ;  can  keep 
them  ignorant  of  what  the  Christian  world  is  doing,  and  what  God 
has  commanded  them  to  do.  And  there  can  then  be  very  little 
doubt  but  they  will  have  children  in  their  own  likeness.  But 
whether  God  will  not  finally  lay  claim  to  their  wealth,  and  cause 
it  to  be  expended  in  beautifying  his  holy  empire,  we  dare  not  as- 
sert.    The  silver  and  the  gold  are  his. 

But  the  work  will  go  on.  Once  our  fears  on  the  subject  were 
great.  We  doubted  whether  the  Christian  world  would  ever  give 
the  heathen  the  gospel.  But  our  fears  are  removed.  We  have 
now  no  apprehension  as  to  the  issue,  and  can  only  pity  those  who 
are  blind  to  their  duty,  their  interest,  their  honor,  and  their  hap- 
piness. 

3.  If  any  are  willing  to  remain  out  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
they  can  act  their  pleasure  in  this  matter  too,  and  yet  the  marriage 
supper  will  be  full.  The  kingdom  of  Christ  will  be  large  enough  ; 
large  as  he  expected,  large  as  he  desired,  large  as  the  Father  pro- 
mised ;  large  enough  to  gratify  the  infinite  benevolence  of  his 
heart.  If  any  do  not  wish  to  live  in  heaven,  the  mansions  they 
might  have  filled  will  be  occupied  by  others.  The  celestial  choir 
will  be  full,  and  the  name  of  Jesus  will  receive  its  deserved  ap- 
plauses from  myriads  who  shall  be  redeemed  from  every  nation, 
kindred,  tongue,  and  people. 

If  sinners  can  do  without  God,  he  can  do  without  them.  They 
wi.ll  not  be  forced,  reluctantly,  to  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb. 
There  will  be  enough  who  will  come  willingly.  Heaven  will  be 
as  happy  as  it  would  be  if  more  were  saved.  And  the  prison  of 
despair  will  contain  exactly  that  number,  whose  ruin  will  exhibit 
to  the  best  advantage  the  character  of  Jehovah  :  and  the  smoke  of 
their  torment,  which  shall  ascend  up  for  ever  and  ever,  will  form  a 
stupendous  column,  on  which  will  be  written,  legible  to  all  heaven, 

HOLINESS,  JUSTICE,  TRUTH. 

The  vast  accession  made  to  the  Church  in  the  late  revivals,  and 


5-i  THE    CHURCH    SAFE. 

the  still  greater  increase  in  the  future  years  ol  millennial  glory, 
will  swell  the  number  of  the  saved  beyond  all  calc illation.  Sinners 
who  now  join  the  multitude,  and  are  thus  secured  from  present 
reproach,  will  soon  find  themselves  attached  to  an  insignificant 
and  despicable  minority.  It  would  seem  at  present  that  the  num- 
ber of  the  lost  will  be  great,  but  you  may  multiply  them  beyond 
the  power  of  human  enumeration,  and  still  there  is  no  fear  but  the 
number  of  the  saved  will  be  greater. 

If  any,  then,  would  prefer  to  remain  out  of  the  kingdom,  they 
have  their  choice,  and  the  shame  and  ruin  will  be  their  own.  God 
intends  to  let  them  do  as  they  please,  and  those  who  love  his 
kingdom  most,  anxious  as  they  now  are  for  the  salvation  of  their 
fellow-men,  will  at  last  be  satisfied  with  the  number  of  the  saved. 
We  invite  none  to  become  the  subjects  of  Christ's  kingdom,  but 
those  who  will  esteem  his  yoke  easy  and  his  burden  light. 

4.  If  any  should  be  disposed  to  enter  into  league  with  the  lost, 
angels,  and  oppose  the  Church,  they  can  do  so,  and  still  the 
Church  will  live.  Earth  and  hell  united,  can  make  no  effectual 
opposition  to  her  interests.  God  is  in  the  midst  of  his  people, 
and  will  help  them,  and  that  right  early.  In  these  circumstances, 
one  shall  chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight. 

Some  opposition  is  necessary  to  awaken  her  energies.  Solomon 
was  seven  years  building  the  first  temple,  when  all  was  peace  ; 
but  Ezra,  with  the  trowel  in  one  hand,  and  the  sword  in  the  other, 
could  build  the  second  in  four.  The  enemy  has  always  promoted 
the  interest  he  wished  to  destroy.  God  will  make  the  Avrath  of 
man  to  praise  him,  and  the  remainder  of  wrath  he  will  restrain. 
If  any  would  make  opposition  to  the  growing  interests  of  Emanu- 
el, they  can  ;  but  they  will  accomplish  their  own  ruin,  and  perhaps 
the  ruin  of  their  children.  It  never  was  so  dangerous  as  now  to 
be  the  enemy  of  Christ's  kingdom.  All  such  must  be  crushed 
under  the  wheels  of  that  car,  in  which  the  Son  of  God  is  riding  in 
triumph  through  a  conquered  empire.  To  make  opposition  is  as 
unavailing  as  if  a  fly  should  make  an  effort  to  stop  the  sun.  There 
await  the  enemies  of  the  cross,  certain  defeat,  shame,  and  ruin. 
"  He  made  a  pit,  and  digged  it,  and  is  fallen  into  the  ditch  which 
he  made.  His  mischief  shall  return  upon  his  own  head,  and  his 
violent  dealings  shall  come  down  upon  his  own  pate."  In  the 
mean  time  the  Church  is  safe.  "  Fear  not,  little  flock  ;  for  it  is 
your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom." 

5.  Fathers  and  brethren  in  the  ministry,  this   subject  will  raise 
your  hopes.     Are   you  stationed  where  it  is  all   darkness  around 


THE    CHURCH    SAFE.  55 

you,  and  have  the  hosts  of  hell  alarmed  you  1  cheer  up  your 
hearts.  Try  to  penetrate  the  surrounding  darkness,  and  you  will 
soon  be  convinced  that  your  fears  are  ill-timed.  Speak  to  the 
children  of  Israel,  that  they  go  forward.  If  night  does  seem  to 
hover  about  us,  still  is  it  manifest  that  the  day  has  dawned  upon 
the  hills.  The  Church  has  never  been  in  danger,  and  we  ought  to 
be  ashamed  of  our  fears.  Be  at  your  watch-tower,  dear  brethren  ; 
turn  your  eye  to  the  east,  and  you  will  soon  descry  the  light.  If 
there  is  any  truth  in  the  promise,  and  if  a  thousand  transpiring 
events  can  speak,  we  shall  soon  have  opportunity  to  hail  Emanuel 
at  his  second  coming.  If  our  courage  fails  us  in  a  day  like  this, 
we  have  only  to  lie  down  and  die  with  shame.  While  the  victory 
was  doubtful,  you  might  be  afraid,  and  yet  save  your  character, 
but  none  are  afraid  now  but  the  coward.  Shall  we  hesitate  to  die, 
if  necessary,  in  securing  a  victory  already  gained ;  and  to  gain 
which  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  and  many  of  his  soldiers  have 
spilt  their  blood  1  Our  missionary  brethren  have  carried  the 
standard  of  the  cross,  and  planted  it  within  the  entrenchments  of 
the  enemy,  and  their  courage  has  not  failed  ;  and  shall  we  tremble 
in  the  camp  1  We  shall  then  have  no  share  in  the  spoil.  Dear 
brethren,  I  will  not  insult  you ;  you  are  not  afraid  j  you  will  die  at 
your  post,  and  the  victory  will  be  secured. 

6.  Dear  Christian  brethren,  you  see  the  royal  canopy  which 
your  Lord  casts  over  your  heads ;  or  rather  the  shield  he  spreads 
before  you.  If  you  are  not  officers  in  the  camp  of  Israel,  you  are 
soldiers;  if  you  may  not  command,  you  may  fight,  but  not  with 
carnal  weapons.  Let  the  subject  raise  your  courage.  A  few 
more  conflicts  and  your  toils  are  ended ;  the  Church  is  safe,  and 
you  are  safe.  Only  believe,  and  soon  you  will  see  the  salvation 
of  God.  And  as  the  Savior  approaches,  and  you  see  him,  you 
may  say  with  the  prophet,  "  Lo,  this  is  our  God  ;  we  have  waited 
for  him,  and  he  will  save  us :  this  is  the  Lord  j  we  have  waited 
for  him,  we  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in  his  salvation." 


SERMON   II. 

NOTHING  SAFE  BUT  THE  CHURCH. 

DEUTERONOMY    XXXII.    9. 
The  Lord's  portion  is  his  people;  Jacob  is  the  lot  of  his  inheritance. 

When  God  exhibits  himself,  as  the  portion  of  his  people,  we 
feel  no  surprise.  He  can  be  to  them  all  they  need,  can  gratify  all 
their  wants,  and  all  their  hopes.  But  what  can  his  people  be  or 
do  for  him  1  How  can  they  so  rise  in  his  estimation,  that  he 
shall  style  them  his  portion  and  his  inheritance1.  The  God  who 
has  built  a  thousand  worlds,  who  thunders  in  the  heavens,  and 
holds  the  stars  in  his  right  hand ;  can  he  value  his  people  above 
them  all  1  And  yet  this  precious  truth  is  prominent  in  the  text, 
and  is  demonstrated,  by  the  whole  course  of  providential  events, 
since  the  creation  of  the  world.  If  that  is  the  dearest  to  God 
which  cost  him  most,  as  is  often  the  fact  in  our  history,  then  indeed 
there  is  an  obvious  reason  for  the  truth  of  the  text.  Worlds  took 
being  at  his  word,  and  will  perish  at  his  bidding,  but  he  redeemed 
his  people  with  the  life  of  his  Son  ;  hence  his  high  regard  for 
them.  And  hence  a  reason  for  all  he  intends  to  do  for  them  in 
futurity.  He  will  guide  them  with  his  counsel,  and  afterward 
receive  them  to  glory. 

Hence  to  God's  people  the  text  contains  a  very  precious  truth 
God  has  selected  from  the  works  of  his  hands,  as  what  shall  stand 
the  highest  in  his  estimation,  his  redeemed  people.  Not  that  he 
has  alienated  his  right  to  any  thing.  Every  world  that  he  has 
built  is  his,  and  his  foes  are  his.  But  in  his  Church  he  will  take 
peculiar  pleasure.  He  will  employ  all  his  energies  to  make  his 
people  happy,  and  himself  happy  in  them.  This  was  his  purpose 
when  he  built  the  creation,  and  when  fully  accomplished,  "  The 
heavens  shall  be  rolled  together  as  a  scroll,  and  the  earth  and  the 
works  that  are  therein  shall  be  burned  up." 

But  there  is  a  truth  implied  in  this  text  of  solemn  and  dreadful 
import.     It   makes  worthless   every  thing  in   this  world,  but  the 


N0THIXG    SAFE    BUT    THE    CHURCH.  o"t 

church  of  God.  And  what  is  worthless  is  not  safe.  Hence  I  pur- 
pose to  illustrate  this  doctrine,  There  is  nothing  safe  but  the  church. 
My  intention  is  to  look  at  facts,  ancient  and  modern,  together  with 
what  God  assures  us  shall  transpire  in  future  ;  all  going  to  show, 
that  while  God  has  always  cared,  for  his  Church,  he  never  did 
place  intrinsic  value  upon  any  thing  else. 

I.  /  notice  ancient  facts.  When  the  world  was  built,  it  is  be- 
lieved to  have  exhibited  to  the  eye  of  its  Maker  unniingled  beauty  ; 
and  would  seem  to  us  to  have  had  intrinsic  value.  But  it  was 
only  holiness  that  God  valued.     Sin  entered, 

lt  Earth  felt  the  wound,  and  nature  from  her  seat, 
Sighing  through  all  her  works,  gave  signs  of  wo, 
That  all  was  lost." 

There  were  then  generated  the  thorn  and  the  thistle,  and  the 
curse  of  God  lighted  upon  every  part  of  this  creation.  A  holy 
God  could  set  no  value  upon  a  world  bereft  of  moral  rectitude. 
It  would  not  have  been  surprising,  had  he  destroyed  it,  and  built 
another,  to  be  filled  with  beings  who  would  obey  his  law,  and  be 
worthy  of  his  kind  regards.  But  his  wisdom  devised  a  remedy, 
and  he  set  up  in  that  apostate  family  a  Church,  whose  interest  has 
ever  since  then  given  to  every  thing  else  its  price.  When  the 
Church  increased,  the  world  was  valuable,  and  when  it  diminished, 
the  world  became  in  the  estimation  of  God  comparatively  a  pile 
of  stubble. 

Cast  one  look  at  the  antedeluvian  history.  The  Church  had 
dwindled  to  a  point,  and  became  at  length  embosomed  in  a  single 
family.  To  save  that  family  no  pains  were  spared;  but  all  else, 
men  and  things,  except  what  was  needed  to  feed  the  floating 
Church,  and  enable  his  people  to  cultivate  and  stock  the  new 
world,  perished.  Wealth  and  magnificence  had  now  lost  their 
value.  If  God  had  pleased,  he  could  have  avenged  himself  of  his 
adversaries,  and  still  have  spared  that  vast  amount  of  wealth,  which 
perished  in  their  overthrow.  But  why  do  it  1  The  treasures  of 
the  old  world  had  ceased  to  be  valuable,  when  the  Church  was 
gone.  Their  innumerable  cities,  walled  up  to  heaven,  and  filled 
with  precious  things,  were  all  swept  away.  How  wonderful,  to 
see  Jehovah  restrain  the  deluge  one  hundred  and  twenty  years 
after  his  purpose  to  destroy  had  gone  out,  till  the  ark  was  pre- 
pared, his  long-sutfering  evinced,  and  a  happy  family  housed  from 
the  impending  desolation !  This  done,  he  collected  into  that 
8 


58  NOTHING  SAFE  BUT  THE  CHURCH. 

house  of  safety  all  that  was  valuable,  his  little  Church  and  what 
they  needed  to  sustain  them  during  the  solitary  year,  their  food 
and  raiment,  and  the  materials  for  reanimating-  the  new  world. 
He  could  then  smile  at  the  tempest,  and  stimulate  the  storm.  O 
how  great  is  God  out  of  his  holy  place  !  How  sadly  unsafe  are 
that  people,  and  those  treasures  that  have  no  connection  with  his 
kingdom  ! 

There  was  offered  another  argument  in  support  of  the  same 
truth  on  the  plains  of  Sodom.  A  branch  of  the  true  Church  had 
been  located  in  that  dissolute  valley,  and  was  at  length  in  danger 
of  being  swallowed  up  in  the  gulf  of  depravity.  The  population 
was  too  wealthy  to  be  wise,  had  too  much  of  the  meat  that  perish- 
eth,  to  regard  that  meat  that  endureth  to  everlasting  life.  The 
Watchman  of  Israel,  as  he  surveyed  the  devoted  plain,  saw  his  whole 
Church  in  a  single  house,  and  what  was  his  he  saved,  but  swept 
away  the  residue.  The  abandoned  population,  their  palaces,  their 
gold,  their  merchandize,  their  flocks  and  harvest,  their  gaudy 
apparel,  and  all  their  guilty  instruments  of  idolatry  and  lust,  were 
in  God's  account  of  no  value,  were  no  part  of  his  inheritance. 
The  moment  Lot  was  gone,  the  guard  that  kept  the  plain  was 
called  in. 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  God  could  have  avenged  upon  that 
guilty  community  his  broken  law,  and  still  have  spared  their  riches, 
but  these  had  no  value  when  his  Churches  had  retired.  If  Lot  or 
Abraham  could  have  been  more  holy  or  more  happy,  God  would 
have  spared  them  the  treasures  he  consumed.  But  he  chose  here 
to  display  his  vindictive  justice,  and  create  them  other  and  bet- 
ter comforts.     All  that  in  his  estimation  was  valuable,  he  saved. 

So  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  God  collected  his  people  into  Goshen, 
and  there  spread  a  canopy  over  them,  while  he  poured  out  his 
plagues  upon  their  oppressors.  Out  of  that  little  territory,  there 
was  nothing  in  all  that  idolatrous  land,  on  which  he  seems  to  have 
placed  the  smallest  value.  Its  population,  having  filled  up  the  cup 
of  their  iniquity,  and  their  monuments  of  grandeur,  and  skill,  and  op- 
pression, were  the  merest  vanity.  The  life  or  liberty  of  one  be- 
lieving child  of  Abraham  out-priced  them  all.  Hence  over  his 
precious  fold  he  placed  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  wrote 
Tekel  upon  the  walls  of  Egypt,  and  spread  desolation  and  death 
through  its  fields  and  its  streets.  The  plagues  I  know  raged  un- 
der the  divine  control:  but  they  might  destroy  any  where  except 
in  Goshen. 

So  at  the  Red  sea  the  surest  laws  of  nature  were  suspended,  for 


NOTHIJSG  SAFE  BUT  THE  CHURCH.  59 

the  deliverance  of  Israel  ;  while  the  pursuing  enemy  seems  to 
have  been  as  worthless,  in  the  esteem  of  Israel's  God,  as  their 
beasts  and  their  chariots.  When  the  Church  had  reached  the 
Arabian  shore,  and  the  rear-rank  was  out  of  danger,  God  suffered 
the  raging  waters  to  find  their  level.  He  had  saved  his  people, 
and  there  was  nothing  else  to  save.  The  Egyptian  army  were 
God's  enemies,  and  their  overthrow  an  act  of  retributive  justice, 
and  while  the  tender  heart  bleeds  over  the  grave  of  that  ill-fated 
multitude  ;  we  are  not  forbidden  in  the  midst  of  our  tears,  to  reason 
on  the  palpable  insecurity  thus  shown  us  of  all  but  the  Church  of  God. 
He  would  open  a  path  through  the  deep  for  his  people,  but  would 
not  employ  his  power  to  hold  back  the  sea  a  moment  longer  than 
the  safety  of  his  Church  required. 

So  the  Amorites  and  Moabites  melted  away  in  in  their  contest 
with  Israel.  And  the  Canaanites,  when  the  family  of  Abraham 
needed  their  lands,  were  the  merest  stubble,  and  the  breath  of  the 
Lord  consumed  them.  They  cried  to  their  gods,  but  they  perish- 
ed in  the  midst  of  their  devotions  :  their  idols  could  not  save 
them.  There  even  went  out  in  behalf  of  Israel  this  edict,  "  The 
kingdom  and  nation  that  will  not  serve  thee  shall  perish."  Thus 
the  world  was  taxed  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church.  Nations  held 
their  existence  on  the  sole  condition,  that  they  should  be  found 
useful  to  Israel,  and  perished  when  God  ceased  to  have  need  of 
them.    "I  gave  Egypt  for  thy  ransom,  Ethiopia  and  Seba  for  thee." 

Now  as  we  travel  down  the  tract  of  ages,  we  shall  find  constant 
illustrations  of  the  fact  that  God  values  nothing  else  but  his 
Church.  This  one  interest,  as  far  as  God  has  been  seen  to  ope- 
rate in  this  world,  appears  to  have  engrossed  his  whole  care.  The 
Church  is  that  monument  which  has  stood  and  told  his  glory  to 
every  new-born  generation.  Other  kingdoms,  rapid  in  their  rise, 
and  dominant  in  their  power,  have  gone  rapidly  into  oblivion,  and 
heaven  has  kept  no  very  careful  record  of  their  obsequies.  The 
Assyrian,  the  Medo-Persian,  the  Grecian,  and  Roman  empires,  with 
all  their  multitudes,  their  wealth,  their  science,  and  their  mili- 
tary prowess,  have  perished  in  the  wreck  of  time  ;  while  through 
all  these  periods  not  a  promise  of  God  to  his  people  has  failed,  nor 
a  pious  hope  been  unaccomplished.  The  little  stone,  cut  out  of 
the  mountain,  without  hands,  has  become  a  great  mountain,  while 
the  rock,  from  which  it  was  hewn,  is  seen  to  crumble  and  perish. 
Empires  dazzling  in  the  eye  of  man, but  inimical  to  the  Church  of 
Christ,  were  worthless  in  the  esteem  of  God.  Their  proud  sta- 
tues, their  triumphal  arches  ;  their  mausoleums,  their  heroes   and 


60  NOTHING  SAFE  BUT  THE  CHURCH. 

their  gods,  he  swept  away  with  the  hesom  of  destruction.  Baal, 
Dagon,  Moloch,  and  Jupiter  have  perished  with  their  hosts  of 
worshippers,  while  not  a  saint  has  wept  unnoticed,  nor  a  prayer 
remained  unanswered. 

Not  for  one  moment  has  God  forgotten  his  covenant,  while  he 
has  thus  swept  away  from  time,  and  life,  whatever  that  covenant 
did  not  include.  In  that  darkest  hour  of  Israel's  history,  the  seven 
thousand  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal,  God  loved  and 
comforted  with  his  presence  ;  felt  all  their  oppressions,  reproved 
kings  for  their  sake,  put  their  tears  into  his  bottle,  and  minuted 
all  their  wrongs,  that  he  might  apportion  to  each,  in  the  coming 
life,  his  appropriate  weight  of  glory.  And  the  archives  of  heaven 
can  never  be  lost.  The  history  of  every  suffering  believer  is  writ- 
ten as  with  the  point  of  a  diamond  on  a  rock,  and  will  remain  legi- 
ble in  the  day  of  retribution. 

But  I  must  return  from  this  digression.  I  am  giving  you  the 
sad  history  of  what  was  not  the  Church.  There  came  a  period 
when  Jerusalem  changed  its  relationship  to  God.  The  Church's 
light  went  out,  and  the  religion  of  the  sanctuary  was  reduced  to 
unmeaning  and  polluted  ceremonies.  The  house  of  prayer  for  all 
nations,  became  a  den  of  thieves.  From  that  moment  the  interest 
which  God  had  taken  in  the  holy  city  and  sanctuary  was  alienated. 
No  longer  would  God  be  known  in  palaces  of  Zion  for  a  refuge. 
The  people  of  Jerusalem  had  become  as  worthless  as  those  of 
Moab  or  Edom.  Then  the  moment  was,  that  God  could  without 
regret  see  their  city  demolished,  and  the  last  stone  of  their  proud 
temple  thrown  down.  He  loved  his  people,  and  loved  Jerusalem, 
and  the  temple,  while  they  were  holy :  but  when  the  priesthood 
became  corrupted,  and  the  temple  profaned,  and  the  divine  glory 
forsook  the  mercy-seat,  he  then  abandoned  the  consecrated  spot, 
as  being  no  longer  a  section  of  his  inheritance,  and  suffered  the 
hedges  of  his  vineyard  to  be  broken  down.  And  he  now  cares  no 
more  for  the  holy  land,  than  for  other  lands.  If  the  time  shall 
come  again  that  his  covenant  people  shall  be  there,  walking  in  his 
statutes,  he  will  build  again  the  walls  he  has  thrown  down,  and 
render  Jerusalem  a  theatre  of  his  glory.  Up  to  that  hour,  Syria 
and  Egypt,  shall  be  as  sacred  as  Canaan  ;  and  the  stones  and  dust 
of  his  temple  be  as  uninteresting  and  unholy,  as  the  ruins  of  de- 
molished Babylon  ;  a  place  of  dragons  and  of  owls. 

11.   I  come  now  to  look  at  modem  facts,  expecting   to   find   here 
'.he  same  testimony,  as  in  past  events,  to  the  truth  of  the  doctrire, 


NOTHING    SAFE    BUT    THE    CHURCH.  61 

that  nothing  but  the  Church  is  safe.  In  the  convulsions  of  our 
times,  we  have  seen  everything'  placed  at  hazard,  but  the  Church 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Every  revolution  demonstrates  thpt 
God  has  no  other  interest  in  our  world.  In  the  past  half  century 
how  low  a  price  has  he  set  upon  crowns  and  kingdoms.  And  the 
lives  of  armies,  composed  generally  of  ungodly  men,  how  unwor- 
thy have  they  seemed  of  his  care.  The  fowls  of  heaven  fatten 
upon  their  bodies,  and  the  soil  is  enriched  with  their  blood.  The 
thousands  that  fell  at  Waterloo,  if  impenitent,  were  in  the  estimate 
of  heaven  as  worthless  as  the  clods  that  covered  them.  But  if 
there  died  in  that  murdered  multitude  a  pious  soldier,  angels  will 
watch  his  ashes  till  he  rise,  and  God  be  more  interested  in  the 
turf  that  covers  him,  than  in  the  splendid  monument  that  stands 
upon  the  tomb  of  the  hero.  An  empire  of  his  enemies  is  in  God's 
esteem  of  more  trifling  amount  than  one  obscure  believer.  The 
hosts  that  have  died  in  the  fields  of  modern  battle,  perished  be- 
cause the  Church  had  no  farther  use  for  them.  Else  that  promise 
would  not  be  true,  "All  things  are  yours,  whether  Paul,  or  Apol- 
los,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world."  And  well  may  we  ask  with  the 
poet, 

"  What  are  the  earth's  wide  kingdoms  else, 
But  mighty  hills  of  prey  ?" 

In  all  this  a  believer  will  find  no  mystery.  The  Bible  and  the 
Spirit  of  God  have  taught  him,  that  nothing  has  intrinsic  worth 
but  holiness,  and  that  God  can  place  no  value  upon  what  is  worth- 
less. Hence  he  lets  loose  his  winds,  Avhich  go  teeming  forth  with 
desolation.  Navies  are  wrecked  upon  the  reefs,  and  cities  torn 
from  their  base.  Earthquakes  spread  the  cry  of  death,  and  open 
a  thousand  graves  at  a  shock.  Kingdoms  are  shaken,  and  Avhole 
islands,  with  their  wealth,  and  pride,  and  enterprise,  sink  into  the 
opening  gulf.  The  wealth  of  ages  perishes  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,  and  with  it  talents,  eloquence,  wisdom,  science,  the  curiosities 
of  antiquity,  and  the  close  kept  records  of  a  hundred  generations. 
All  this  time  the  promise  holds  to  God's  people,  "No  evil  shall 
come  nigh  thee."  Things  are  rich  and  splendid  in  the  view  of 
men,  which  weigh  nothing  in  the  account  of  God.  If  one  saint 
must  share  in  the  general  calamity,  him  the  Lord  watches  with  his 
eye,  supports  him  in  death,  and  lightens  the  glooms  of  his  sepul- 
chre. But  men  who  have  filled  up  their  cup,  and  the  wealth  that 
brought  their  perdition,  all  these  God  values  at  nothing. 

The  fact  is,  and  no  fact  is  more  interesting,  the  world  was  built 


62  NOTHING    SAFE    BUT    THE    CIIUKCIT 

for  the  use  of  the  Church.  Holiness  only,  and  tint  which  pro- 
motes holiness,  are  valuable.  The  walls  and  hedges  of  a  vineyard, 
are  useful  while  there  are  vines  to  protect,  and  may  be  burned  or 
demolished  when  the  vines  are  withered.  Kingdoms  have  been 
built  and  perished,  and  armies  been  congregated  and  slaughtered, 
to  serve  the  interests  of  the  Church.  Hence,  said  the  apostle, 
"  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all, 
how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things!" 

Hence  to  Zion's  interest  bends  every  other,  is  decreed  every  re- 
volution, contributes  every  storm,  rolls  every  ocean,  and  flows 
every  tide.  Earth  is  barren  or  fruitful  as  her  interests  require. 
As  on  the  whole  kingdom  of  Israel  it  might  not  rain  for  two  and 
forty  months,  when  God"s  people  needed  the  protection  of  a  judg- 
ment so  long  protracted,  so  may  we  presume  that  at  the  call  of 
Zion's  interests,  God  now  withholds,  or  imparts  blessings. 

The  amount  of  the  whole  is,  that  nothing  has  value,  that  does 
not  contribute  to  advance  the  one  interest  which  God  has  made 
paramount  in  this  world.  Royal  blood,  when  the  king  is  not  his 
servant,  is  base  and  degenerate.  The  blood  of  David  he  watched 
with  care,  knew  every  artery  in  which  it  flowed,  for  he  had  pro- 
mised to  his  seed  the  throne  of  Israel :  but  the  blood  of  Saul  be- 
came petrified  in  its  channels.  The  blood  of  saints  and  martyrs  is 
royal,  the  blood  of  prophets  and  apostles  ;  for  these  he  hath  pro- 
mised, shall  sit  on  thrones,  and  wear  crowns  of  glory  that  shall 
never  fade.  Thus  arc  the  passing  ages  gleaned  of  every  relic  that 
belongs  to  the  saints,  and  when  the  gleanings  are  finished,  the 
stubble  is  promptly  consumed.  The  world  is  still  under  tribute 
to  Zion,  as  in  the  ages  that  have  gone  by,  and  we  must  leave  it 
with  God  to  say,  whether  he  will  relax  the  rigor  of  his  requisi- 
tions, till  all  the  nations  have  perished,  and  the  redeemed  are  all 
brought  home  to  heaven.     I  am  to  look, 

III.  Jit  the  events  which  God  has  assured  us  shall  transpire  hereaf- 
ter. If  by  the  light  of  promise  and  of  prophecy  we  look  into  futu- 
rity, God  is  still  seen  in  the  attitude  of  fostering  his  Church,  and 
overlooking  every  other  interest.  The  kingdoms  of  this  world 
are  to  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord.  Holiness  to  the  Lord 
is  to  be  written  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses,  as  if  to  teach  us  that 
nothing  shall  exist,  but  that  which  is  consecrated  to  God.  The 
highest  offices  of  state  are  to  become  subservient  to  the  interests 
of  Zion.  Kings  are  to  be  nursing  fathers,  and  queens  nursing 
mothers  to  the  Church.     It  is  evident,  on  almost  every  page  of  the 


NOTHING    SAFE    BUT    THE    CHURCI  .  63 

prophecies,  that   Zion's   interests  are  one  day  to  absorb  all  other 
interests. 

The  world  seems  already  to  be  shaping  itself  to  become  one 
holy  empire  under  the  Prince  of  peace.  1  would  be  neither  an  in 
fidel  nor  an  enthusiast ;  but  would  fear  all  that  God  has  threaten 
ed,  and  expect  all  that  he  has  promised.  I  read,  "Blessed  are  the 
meek  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth  ;"  this  promise  I  calculate 
will  be  verified.  1  read  again,  "The  wicked  shall  be  turned  into 
hell,  and  all  the  nations  that  forget  God ;"  this  threatening  1  would 
fear.  The  wealth  which  men  would  not  expend  in  blessing  Zion 
will  perish  in  the  using.  Pearls  worth  each  a  kingdom,  God  in- 
tends shall  be  melted  down  in  the  last  conflagration.  When  the 
Church  shall  need  their  aid  no  longer,  sun,  moon,  and  stars  will 
lose  their  fires  and  their  light.  The  heavens  and  the  earth  which 
are  now,  as  we  are  assured  by  the  word  of  God,  are  kept  in  store, 
reserved  unto  fire  against  the  day  of  judgment,  and  perdition  of 
ungodly  men.     Thus  I  see  the  grand  system  consummated. 

But  through  all  these  scenes,  and  even  this  last,  God  will  be 
kind  to  his  people.  He  will  not  usher  in  that  period,  till  the  last 
believer  is  sanctified.  The  orb  of  day  will  continue  in  full  blaze, 
till  the  last  pilgrim  is  lighted  home.  When  Christ  has  opened  the 
portals  of  everlasting  life  upon  the  rearmost  of  the  ransomed  mul- 
titude, then  the  lights  of  heaven  will  go  out.  Christ  will  wake  his 
people,  and  bid  them  escape  to  heaven,  before  the  last  fires  are 
kindled.  Thus  to  the  last  the  Church  is  safe,  and  nothing  else. 
This  one  interest  God  ever  made  his  care,  and  it  will  continue  to 
be  his  care  for  ever. 

REMARKS. 

1.  If  it  should  be  objected  to  this  reasoning,  that  there  have  been 
periods  when  the  Church  seemed  unsafe,  while  its  foes  were  safe; 
it  may  be  replied,  that  the  Church  still  lives,  and,  therefore,  up  to 
this  time  has  been  safe,  while  every  other  interest  has  been  placed 
at  hazard.  All  the  ancient  foes  of  Zion,  who  for  a  time  seemed  to 
prosper,  have  gone  to  their  own  place.  Scarcely  a  trace  of  those 
kingdoms,  which  employed  their  power  to  destroy  the  Church  of 
God,  can  now  be  found.  And  her  individual  foes,  unless  convert- 
ed into  friends,  have  all  perished,  or  we  see  them  on  their  way  to 
perdition.     On  this  point  we  have  the  direct  testimony  of  God. 

Moreover,  we  have  never  seen  Jehovah  make  bare  his  arm  for 
the  destruction  of  his  Church,  as  of  her  foes.    He  has  often  rebuked 


64  NOTHING    SAFE    BUT    THE    CHURCH. 

his  people  when  they  sinned,  but  they  repented,  and  he  forgave 
them.  "  In  a  little  wrath  he  hid  his  face  from  them  for  a  moment ; 
but  with  everlasting  kindness  he  had  mercy  on  them."  Not  so 
with  their  enemies.  God  has  swept  them  away  as  with  the  besom 
of  destruction.  The  storms  of  wrath  came  down  upon  them,  and 
they  did  not  repent  till  God  had  utterly  destroyed  them.  It  was 
not  with  them  a  temporary  rebuke  and  then  mercy,  but  an  utter 
consumption.     Thus  the  two  cases  infinitely  differ. 

2.  If  it  be  objected  that  the  subject  exhibits  God  as  indifferent 
to  the  welfare  of  some  part  of  the  human  family  ;  we  reply,  he  will 
do  none  of  his  creatures  wrong.  The  objection  arises  from  view- 
ing sin  as  a  calamity  rather  than  a  crime.  If  wicked  men  deserve 
only  wrath,  God,  in  destroying  them,  does  right. 

Moreover,  God  offers  all  men  his  love,  and  a  sure  sanctuary  with 
his  people.  If  they  will  not  have  him  to  reign  over  them,  then 
God  will  appear  gracious,  while  he  provides  for  those  who  trust 
in  him,  and  just  and  holy  while  he  leaves  all  others  to  eat  the  fruit 
of  their  doings,  and  be  filled  with  their  own  devices. 

3.  Let  me  suggest  that  "all  are  not  Israel  who  are  of  Israel." 
While  we  have  thus  celebrated  the  safety  of  the  Church,  and  have 
seen  all  else  in  danger,  let  it  be  remembered  that  it  is  the  Church 
invisible.  If  a  false  profession  would  secure  us,  the  way  to  heaven 
would  be  the  broad  way.  But  when  any  section  of  the  visible  Church 
became  corrupt,  it  perished.  A  false  professor  is  of  no  more  value 
in  the  esteem  of  God,  than  an  infidel.  Judas  and  Julian  had  a  seat 
among  the  disciples,  but  their  ruin  was  none  the  less  prompt  and 
consummate.  It  is  holiness  that  God  values.  When  the  Lord 
Jesus  shall  come  the  second  time,  without  sin  unto  salvation,  if  he 
find  any  of  his  people  without  the  fold,  he  will  save  them ;  and  if 
he  finds  his  foes  within,  he  will  recognize  them,  and  send  them 
away  into  utter  darkness,  where  is  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth. 

4.  The  subject  we  contemplate  shows  us  that  God  is  interested 
in  every  large  or  small  community,  more  or  less,  as  it  contains  a 
sjreater  or  less  amount  of  holiness.  Show  me  a  kingdom  where 
there  are  none  of  his  elect,  and  with  the  word  of  God  in  my  hand 
i  can  predict  its  destiny.  It  will  prolong  its  existence  only  while 
in  some  way  it  serves  the  church,  and  will  then  become  extinct. 
But  let  a  nation  embosom  a  large  body  of  believers,  or  let  its  ener- 
gies be  expended  to  serve  the  Church,  and  it  has  the  surest  possi- 
ble defence. 

Hence  all  that  confidence  which,   in  times  of  political   distress. 


NOTHING    SAFE    BUT    THE    CHURCH.  65 

we  place  in  men  and  measures  is  a  delusive  trust.  It  is  the  pre- 
sence of  moral  rectitude,  and  the  prayer  of  faith,  that  render  God 
a  nation's  guardian.  Yes,  lovers  of  your  country,  fill  our  land  with 
temples,  and  Bibles,  and  truth  ;  let  it  stand  pre-eminent  in  the  work 
of  spreading  the  gospel  ;  let  our  officers  be  peace,  and  our  exact- 
ors righteousness  ;  and  we  are  more  ably  defended  than  we  could 
be  by  all  the  armies  that  were  ever  congregated,  and  all  the  navies 
that  ever  rode  upon  the  sea.  Nations  may  boast  of  their  strength, 
and  array  their  forces,  but  if  they  do  not  please  God,  and  he  de- 
spise their  host,  they  fall  an  easy  prey. 

So  in  a  city  or  a  town  where  there  is  no  holiness  God  has  no  in- 
terest. He  will  not  care  for  our  improvements  in  trade  or  indus- 
try, or  take  pleasure  in  our  accumulated  fortunes.  By  how  much 
we  subserve  the  interests  of  his  kingdom,  so  will  be  the  kindness 
he  will  feel  for  us,  and  the  care  he  will  take  of  us.  Unless  held 
in  requisition  for  God,  all  we  have  is  dross ;  "  our  gold  and  silver 
are  corrupted,  and  our  garments  are  moth-eaten." 

So  in  churches  and  congregations  God  has  an  interest,  and  exerts 
an  agency  in  their  behalf,  exactly  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of 
holiness  found  there.  Let  a  Church  be  very  corrupt,  and  God  will 
care  but  little  for  it ;  let  all  its  members  be  holy,  and  it  stands  high 
in  the  estimation  of  Heaven.  Not  in  exact  accordance  to  their 
numbers  are  the  Churches  arranged  on  the  records  of  heaven.  In 
many  a  case  shall  the  last  be  first,  and  the  first  last.  And  it  is  not 
presumption  to  say,  that  God  will  apportion  the  visits  of  his  mercy 
to  the  aggregate  of  holiness  that  shall  operate  to  invite  down  his 
gracious  and  life-giving  influences.  How  forlorn,  then,  is  the  hope 
that  God  will  grant  seasons  of  refreshing  where  there  are  none  to 
pray  ;  and  will  give  a  new  heart  and  a  right  spirit  where  there  is 
no  house  of  Israel  to  inquire  of  him. 

Still,  when  men  arc  the  most  deserted  as  to  spiritual  blessings 
God  may  allow  them  temporal  prosperity.  It  is  all  the  heaven  he 
will  give  them.  Men  may  prosper  most  when  they  are  nearest  de- 
struction. The  old  world  and  the  devoted  cities  were  never  more 
prosperous  than  when  their  last  sun  was  rising.  Men  may  be  ripe 
for  the  scythe  of  death,  their  cup  of  iniquity  full,  while  yet  their 
fields  wave  with  the  abundant  harvests,  the  atmosphere  is  fragrant 
with  the  odours  of  the  ripened  fruits  and  flowers,  and  echoes  with 
the  song  of  the  cheerful  laborer.  Men  often  perish  the  sooner  be- 
cause they  prosper.  Riches  increase,  and  they  set  their  hearts 
upon  them.  Any  people  who  become  rich  faster  than  they  become 
holy,  have  this  very  destiny  to  fear. 
9 


6G  NOTHING    SAFE    BUT    THE    CHURCH. 

Inquire,  then,  brethren  in  Christ,  what  is  the  extent  of  God's  in- 
heritance among  you  1  This  is  a  question  which  I  feel  willing  to 
press  upon  your  consciences  with  the  weight  of  a  world.  Answer 
it,  and  vou  have  determined  the  extent  of  God's  regard  for  you, 
and  his  care  of  you.  The  number  of  real  believers,  and  the  pro- 
gress they  make  in  holiness,  are  the  facts  that  are  to  measure 
your  consequence  under  the  government  of  God.  I  know  this 
thought  exhibits  wealth,  and  birth,  and  talents,  as  comparatively 
of  little  worth,  and  is  humiliating  as  it  is  true.  God  is  not  attach- 
ed to  places  and  names  as  we  are,  but  to  holiness.  The  territory 
where  the  seven  churches  were,  and  even  where  the  Shcchinah 
blazed,  God  has  forsaken  :  and  he  will  treat  you  as  he  has  others 
He  will  never  forsake  you  while  you  serve  him,  nor  your  children, 
if  thev  are  holy,  nor  your  seed,  to  a  thousand  generations,  unless 
they  forsake  God.  They  that  despise  him  shall  be  lightly  esteem- 
ed ;  but  let  us  draw  near  to  him  and  he  will  draw  near  to  us. 

This  subject  is  calculated  to  comfort  pious  families.  If  we  aim 
to  render  our  children  holy,  God  will  build  us  up  a  sure  house  for 
ever.  The  poor  family,  who  walk  in  the  fear  of  God,  he  will  con- 
sider more  worthy  of  his  patronage  than  a  whole  community  of 
the  profane  and  the  proud.  He  will  not  command  that  house  to 
become  extinct  where  he  is  feared  and  worshipped.  The  angels 
will  pitch  their  tents  there,  and 

*'  What  ills  their  heavenly  care  prevents, 
No  earthly  tongue  can  tell." 

If  God  be  for  us  who  can  be  against  usl  if  he  resolve  to  prosper 
and  bless  us,  we  and  ours  shall  be  safe,  amid  every  storm  that 
blows.     No  plague  shall  come  nigh  thee. 

The  individual  believer  may  take  all  the  comfort  possible  from 
this  subject.  No  matter,  what  his  station.  God  regards  the  pious 
slave  more  than  the  impious  master.  The  poor  widow  that  can 
pray,  and  is  happy  in  her  closet,  can  do  more  to  save  her  land, 
than  the  prayerless  monarch.  She  can  sit  down  calmly,  and  look 
at  the  gathering  tempest,  and  ask  her  Father  to  manage  and  con 
trol  its  violence.  We  shall  ever  find  that  thought,  so  beautifully 
expressed  by  the  poet,  true, 

"  The  soul  that 's  filled  with  virtue's  light, 
Shines  brightest  in  afflictions'  night : 
And  sees  in  darkness  beams  of  hope. 
Ill-tidings  never  can  surprise 
His  heart,  which  fixed  on  God  relies, 


NOTHING    SAFE    BUT    THE    CHURCH.  67 

Though  waves  and  tempests  roar  arounc" 

Safe  on  a  rock  he  sits,  and  sees 

The  shipwreck  of  his  enemies, 

And  all  their  hope  and  glory  drowned." 

But  finally  the  ungodly  are  not  so  ;  but  are  like  the  chaff"  which 
the  wind  driveth  away.  Shocking  indeed  beyond  all  description 
is  the  condition  of  that  man  whom  God  does  not  love,  and  for 
whose  happiness  he  will  make  no  provision.  He  may,  if  God's 
plan  permit,  enjoy  long  the  bounties  of  a  gracious  Providence,  but 
if  God  suffer  him  to  live,  and  makes  him  an  instrument  of  his  glo- 
ry, it  will  all  be  no  evidence  that  he  loves  him.  And  a  day  must 
soon  come,  when  he  will  know  his  own  character,  and  feel  all  the 
guilt,  and  shame,  and  misery  of  his  condition.  To  be  safe  or  hap- 
py, we  must  become  a  part  of  God's  inheritance,  and  have  a  cha- 
racter that  shall  interest  us  in  his  love.  The  sinner,  then,  who 
will  change  his  character,  may  wipe  away  his  tears  ;  but  if  he  will 
continue  impenitent  and  unbe  ieving,  he  's  exhorted  to  be  afflict- 
ed, and  mourn,  and  weep. 


SERMON    III. 

PERDITION  A  DARK  SPOT  IN  THE  MORAL    LANDSCAPE. 

EZEKIEL    XVIII.    32. 
I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that  dieth,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

Every  other  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  must  be  compatible  with 
this  one.  God  has  done  enough  in  the  work  of  saving  sinners  from 
hell  to  show  beyond  controversy  that  he  cannot  delight  in  their 
blood.  The  covenant  of  redemption,  and  the  descent  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  tabernacle  in  the  flesh,  and  especially  his  death  on  the 
cross,  must  have  satisfied  even  devils  that  God  had  no  pleasure  in 
their  blood.  And  then,  when  God  gave  the  world  the  scriptures, 
and  directed  that  men  be  pressed  with  the  invitations  of  mercy, 
how  could  the  truth  of  the  text  be  doubted,  even  in  the  place  of 
torment1.  Shall  the  very  men  whose  way  to  hell  God  is  hedging 
up,  while  he  opens  before  them  the  portals  of  everlasting  life  — 
shall  they  have  any  doubt  of  his  mercy  1  Every  Sabbath,  and 
every  offer  of  pardon  and  every  mercy  the  sinner  receives  from 
the  hands  of  God,  testify  to  his  unwillingness  to  destroy,  and  his 
willingness  to  save  lost  men. 

And  if,  on  the  other  hand,  because  sinners  are  abundantly  con- 
vinced that  God  is  merciful,  they  are  brought  to  doubt  whether  he 
is  holy  and  just  and  true,  is  there  not  an  assault  made  upon  the  Di- 
vine character,  which  no  ingenuous  being  would  be  willing  to  be 
charged  with!  May  he  not  condemn  and  punish  the  unholy,  who 
will  not  repent,  while  yet  he  does  not  delight  in  the  death  of  a 
sinner  1 

In  all  governments,  divine  and  human,  the  laws  must  be  execut- 
ed, and  the  administration  of  justice  must  be  certain.  If  mercy 
interpose,  it  must  not  be  in  every  case,  else  the  law  loses  its  sanc- 
tions, and  the  motives  to  duty  are  lessened.  And  yet  in  every 
government,  there  may  be  compassion  the  most  warm  in  the  heart 
of  him  who  administers  justice.  Nor  will  anything  tend  so  much 
us  this  to  honor  the  law  and  the  government.      When    the   parent, 


PERDITION    A    DAKK    SPOT    IN    THE    MORAL    LANDSCAPE.  69 

while  he  corrects  the  child,  weeps  over  him,  more  is  done  to  im- 
press his  conscience  with  a  sense  of  guilt  than  can  be  accomplish- 
ed by  any  other  means.  And  the  judge  who  finds  it  impossible  to 
suppress  his  tears,  while  he  reads  to  the  criminal  the  sentence  of 
death,  makes  a  deep  and  dreadful  impression  on  the  conscience  of 
the  culprit.  He  puts  on  his  chains  again  and  goes  to  his  dungeon 
a  sober-thinking  man. 

And  the  same  principle  must  operate  in  the  divine  government. 
God  has  assured  us  that  upon  some  he  intends  to  execute  the  full 
penalty  of  the  law.  And  yet  over  these  he  bends  with  a  sympathy 
indescribably  tender,  "How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim  \  how 
shall  I  deliver  thee,  Israel  1  how  shall  I  make  thee  as  Admah,  how 
shall  I  set  thee  as  Zeboim  1  my  heart  is  turned  within  me,  my  re- 
pentings  are  kindled  together."  "  If  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou, 
at  least  in  this  thy  day,  the  things  which  belong  unto  thy  peace  ! 
but  now  they  are  hidden  from  thine  eyes."  Judgment  is  declared 
to  be  his  strange  work.  He  has  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him 
that  dieth.  God  may  see  the  necessity  of  executing  his  law 
while  he  may  wish  there  had  not  been  that  necessity,  and  that  his 
kingdom  could  be  as  safe  and  happy  in  administering  mercy  as  in 
the  display  of  justice.  It  is  when  the  destruction  of  the  sinner  is 
viewed  in  itself,  separated  from  the  bearing  it  may  have  upon  the 
general  welfare  of  the  universe,  that  God  has  no  pleasure  in  it.  Of 
this  we  shall  be  satisfied  when  we  consider  what  is  implied  in  the 
ruin  of  a  soul. 

I.  It  is  painful  to  see  such  noble  affections  misplaced. — The  very 
spirit  that  falls  under  the  divine  condemnation,  and  goes  to  endure 
the  outer  darkness,  and  gnawing  worm,  is  capable  of  putting  forth 
the  best  affections.  The  sinner  was  created  capable  of  loving  the 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  with  all  the  subjects  of  God's  holy 
kingdom,  his  law,  his  gospel,  and  his  service.  True,  he  could  not 
have  comprehended  entirely  their  nature,  but  he  could  have  known 
enough  to  have  ris'en  to  the  most  ardent  glow  of  affection.  Though 
he  could  not  have  loved  as  angels  do,  could  not  have  glowed  with 
the  ardor  of  cherubim  and  seraphim,  yet  could  he  have  reached  a 
sublimity  of  holy  emotion  which  would  have  rendered  him  glorious 
in  their  eyes,  and  entitled  him  to  a  station  high  and  honorable 
among  the  hosts  of  heaven.  The  Savior  he  could  have  loved 
with  peculiar  affection,  such  as  angels  cannot  feel.  In  the  strain 
of  praise  which  told  of  dying  love,  they  would  have  yielded  him 
the  highest  note  ;  and  probably  when  ages  of  ages  had  given  him 


70  PEKDITIOX    A    DARK    SPOT 

opportunity  to  improve  his  powers  in  the  salubrious  climes  of 
heaven,  there  might  have  appeared  far  less  difference  between  his 
powers  and  theirs  than  now,  and  eternity  might  at  length  have 
seen  him  rising  through  a  thousand  grades  till  he  had  filled  a  sta- 
tion by  their  sid« ,  and  had  beamed  with  an  ardor  of  attachment 
not  inferior  to  theirs. 

But  these  noble  affections  are  all  misplaced.  Neither  God  nor 
the  holy  subjects  of  his  kingdom  have  any  share  in  his  affections. 
He  glows  with  no  pure  desire  ;  he  sees  nothing  in  God,  nor  in 
what  he  loves,  that  in  his  account  has  any  worth.  That  which 
charms  the  angels  and  enraptures  all  the  holy  family  has  nothing 
in  it  that  can  move  one  affection.  His  own  polluted  self,  his  foul 
person  and  ruiued  character,  engrosses  in  his  eye  all  the  loveliness 
in  the  universe.  He  can  hate  most  cordially  that  which  good 
beings  love.  He  calls  home  every  affection,  and  becomes  himself 
a  little  world,  engrossing  every  care,  every  wish,  and  every  hope. 
Thus  can  he  love  himself  supremely,  while  all  others  consider  him 
the  essence  of  deformity. 

Now  can  any  suppose  that  God  has  pleasure  in  seeing  such  no- 
ble affections  so  misplaced  \  Would  he  not  rather  delight  to  be 
their  object,  and  satisfy  their  immense  capacities  with  his  own 
immensity  1  We  shall  be  still  more  deeply  impressed  with  the 
sentiment  of  the  text  on  reviewing  again  the  state  of  the  lost  sin- 
ner to  see 

II.  Such  keen  sensations  tortured. — When  God  shall  execute  his 
law  upon  the  sinner,  every  sense,  both  of  body  and  mind,  will  be 
come  an  inlet  of  misery.  The  body  will  be  fuel  for  the  flames, 
and,  if  we  can  learn  any  thing  from  Scripture,  will  welter  in  brim 
stone  and  fire  for  ever.  The  rich  man  lifts  up  his  eyes  in  hell, 
being  in  torment,  and  begs  a  drop  of  water  to  cool  his  tongue,  while 
between  him  and  heaven  there  is  an  impassable  gulf.  We  read, 
"  that  they  shall  gnaw  their  tongues  for  pain,"  "  their  worm  shall 
not  die,  nor  their  fire  be  quenched." 

And  while  the  body  thus  suffers,  the  soul  will  be  the  inlet  of 
another  species  of  misery  not  less  dreadful.  It  will  be  subject  to 
envy,  wrath,  shame,  guilt,  disappointment,  and  despair.  And  all 
these  corroding  passions  will  live  commensurate  with  the  duration 
of  the  soul.  To  see  heaven  happy,  and  heaven  will  be  for  ever  happy, 
will  feed  the  flames  of  envy.  The  quarrel  continuing  between 
God  and  the  sinner  will  for  ever  produce  new  sensations  of  wrath 
The  law  continuing   in  full   force,  with  all  its  dreadful  sanctions, 


IN    THE    MORAL    LANDSCAPE.  7] 

will  fill  the  soul  with  guilt  that  can  never  abate,  and  this  guilt  will 
produce  correspondent  shame.  The  memory  alive  to  recollec- 
tion, will  perpetuate  the  sensation  of  disappointment,  while  the 
certainty  that  God  remains  unalterably  true,  will  render  despair 
eternal.  Thus  will  there  be  some  fuel  to  feed  the  flames  of  every 
passion,  while  these  passions  will  corrode  the  mind  and  fill  the 
whole  soul  with  misery. 

Every  new  inlet  of  light  will  kindle  anew  the  fires  of  the  pit, 
while,  till  the  judgment,  the  still  increasing  number  of  convicts 
will  exhibit  living  testimony  that  God  is  resolved  to  be  respected 
and  loved  by  all  his  intelligent  subjects,  or  treat  them  as  outlaws 
in  his  kingdom.  And  when  the  pit  shall  be  full,  and  every  cavern 
shall  ring  with  the  howlings  of  despair,  it  will  be  seen  that  just 
enough  are  lost  to  express  suitably  God's  everlasting  resentment 
of  sin,  "  and  the  smoke  of  their  torment  shall  ascend  up  for 
ever  and  ever,"  as  a  living  testimony  of  his  unchangeable  holiness, 
justice,  and  truth.  At  their  dreadful  expense  the  righteous  will 
for  ever  cry  Hallelujah. 

Now  to  see  such  sensations  tortured  while  they  might  have 
been  the  inlets  of  pleasure  unspeakable,  must  be  a  sight  which 
can  have  nothing  in  it  calculated  to  please  Jehovah.  He  is  a  God 
of  tender  compassion  ;  possesses  bowels  of  mercies.  God  feels 
when  his  creatures  suffer,  as  much  more  sensibly  than  we  feel  as 
his  heart  is  more  tender  and  his  soul  more  benevolent.  Hence  he 
is  represented  as  moved  by  the  entreaties  of  his  people,  and  is 
said  to  avenge  his  elect,  who  cry  day  and  night  unto  him.  How 
can  such  a  being  have  any  pleasure  in  the  miseries  of  the  damned  1 
But  when  we  see 

III.  Such  great  expectations  disappointed,  the  doctrine  of  the  text 
is  still  more  firmly  established.  The  sinner  on  whom  we  have 
fixed  our  eye,  was  born  perhaps  a  child  of  promise.  Over  his 
very  cradle  his  parents  planning  his  future  course,  imagined  that 
they  saw  opening  before  him  a  luminous  and  useful  track.  They 
assigned  him  first  earthly  distinctions,  and  then  a  crown  of  life. 
Perhaps  he  was  the  subject  of  many  prayers,  and  consequently  of 
many  hopes  As  he  advanced  in  his  course  there  kindled  up  great 
expectations  in  his  own  breast ;  he  set  out  to  be  great  below  and 
greater  still  above.  Perhaps  his  early  life  promised  much,  and  his 
hopes  far  outwent  his  prospects.  His  friends  and  neighbors  had 
their  expectations  raised  it  may  be  to  an  amazing  height.  And  in 
the  mean  time  his  Maker,  (for  His  property  in  us  must  not  be  for- 


72  PERDITION    A    DARK    SPOT 

gotten)  had  a  right  to  calculate  on  his  future  usefulness  and  great 
ness.  He  had  made  him  a  noble  spirit,  furnished  him  with  abun- 
dant light  and  means,  and  watched  his  opening  genius  with  more 
than  paternal  solicitude.  He  had  formed  him  fit  for  the  noblest 
service,  and  why  had  he  not  a  right  to  calculate  on  his  future 
greatness  1  I  do  not  mean  that  God  could  be  disappointed  or 
could  be  grieved,  in  the  sense  that  we  may,  but  the  Scriptures  do 
warrant  us  to  say  in  reference  to  a  case  like  this,  "  It  repented 
God  that  he  had  made  man  upon  the  earth  and  it  grieved  him  to 
his  very  heart."  How  dreadful  that  man  should  so  conduct  him- 
self as  to  extort  a  sigh  like  this  from  the  bosom  of  his  Maker, 
thus,  as  it  were,  defeating  the  great  end  of  his  being,  and  laying 
prostrate  every  hope  that  hung  upon  his  existence. 

Now  view  the  man  in  misery,  and  see  all  these  expectations 
lost,  and  for  a  moment  weep  over  him.  He  meant  to  wear  a 
crown,  but  found  a  halter ;  he  aspired  to  a  throne,  but  reached  a 
gibbet  ;  he  hoped  for  heaven,  but  sunk  to  hell.  He  intended  to 
be  an  heir  of  God,  but  inherited  everlasting  burnings.  He  aspired 
to  become  an  angel  of  light,  but  became  a  fiend  of  darkness. 
How  dreadful  to  see  such  hopes  withered,  such  reasonable  expec- 
tations blighted  by  the  frosts  of  the  second  death.  How  can  there 
be  in  such  an  object  any  thing  that  can  fill  the  heart  of  God  with 
pleasure  1  Were  it  the  seat  of  malevolence  instead  of  mercy,  it 
could  hardly  fail  to  weep  over  such  costly  ruins.  The  unexpected 
extinction  of  a  thousand  suns  would  not  exhibit  equal  hopes  ex 
tinguished.  God  could  light  a  thousand  more,  and  thus  repair 
the  breach  ;  but  souls  he  never  will  annihilate,  nor  build  again 
their  ruins  ;  then  how  can  God  have  any  pleasure  in  the  death  of 
him  that  dieth  ! 

IV.  We  contemplate  him  again  with  still  deeper  regret  to  see  suck 
useful  talents  lost. — View  some  great  man  now  in  torment.  While 
on  earth,  his  spirit,  although  cumbered  with  a  dying  body,  ex- 
hibited amazing  enterprise.  He  could  count  the  stars  and  measure 
the  diameter  and  distance  of  every  planet.  He  could  conceive 
the  noblest  projects,  and  trace  to  its  final  result  every  enterprise. 
Now  free  such  a  soul  from  its  cumbrous  clay,  give  it  angel's 
wings,  light  well  its  track,  let  its  powers  grow  and  enlarge  through 
eternity,  and  what  could  it  not  achieve  1  Conceive  of  Locke  or 
Newton  now  in  hell,  after  exploring  every  labyrinth  of  the  moral 
and  the  physical  world.  Or  if  men  so  heavenly  in  contemplation 
may  not   be  mentioned  in  connection  with  hell ;  think   of  Hume, 


IN    THE    MORAL    LANDSCAPE.  73 

and  Voltaire,  and  Bolingbroke,  men  of  noble  minds,  but  who 
hated  the  Son  of  God.  See  them  in  torment.  Had  they  been  as 
good  as  they  were  great,  how  useful !  And  must  their  gigantic 
minds  dwindle  to  the  stature  of  a  dwarf,  and  only  be  to  be  de- 
gpaded  1  What  a  pity  !  What  an  evil  !  What  a  loss  !  What  a 
loss  to  themselves !  Their  greatness  but  prepares  them  to  be 
miserable,  while  it  might  have  made  them  happy.  What  a  loss  to 
all  heaven  !  There  their  noble  spirits  would  have  found  employ- 
ments suited  to  their  nature.  What  noble  projects  of  holy  ambi- 
tion might  they  have  originated !  What  inspiration  might  such 
spirits  have  breathed  into  the  songs  of  heaven!  What  new  dis- 
coveries of  God  and  truth  might  they  have  made  in  the  clear  light 
of  that  celestial  world  !  What  anthems  might  they  have  invented  ! 
What  strains  of  hallelujah  !  How  a  soul,  so  noble  in  its  structure, 
could  swell  and  sweeten  the  music  of  the  heavenly  choir  !  Ima- 
gine it  redeemed  from  hell,  and  joined  to  the  choir  of  heaven,  as 
a  soft  sweet  viol,  tuned  to  please  an  angel's  ear,  and  swelling  every 
note  it  sings  to  the  sweetest,  softest  melody,  and  what  a  pity,  that 
such  a  viol  should  be  converted  into  fuel,  and  feed  the  fires  of  the 
pit.  And  if  you  suppose  every  spirit  of  equal  dimension,  and 
differing  only  in  the  structure  of  its  clay  organs  ;  then  suppose 
that  the  ten  thousands  who  have  gone  to  despair  are  ransomed 
and  joined  as  so  many  well-tuned  instruments  to  the  music  of  that 
happy  world,  and  what  a  revenue  of  praise  would  redound  to  God! 
Who  can  view  the  subject  in  this  light  and  not  feel  pained  that 
souls  must  perish  1  "Oh  that  my  head  were  waters,  and  mine 
eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and  night  for  the 
slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  people."  Oh,  the  cursed  tragedy  of 
the  fall,  which  placed  noble  spirits  where  they  are  utterly  lost. 
For  they  can  be  of  no  use  to  each  other  in  the  place  of  misery. 
"  Though  hand  join  in  hand,  the  wicked  shall  not  go  unpunished." 
Were  there  accumulated  in  hell  all  the  noblest  talents  of  the 
created  universe,  they  could  not  escape  the  hand  of  justice.  They 
could  neither  bridge  the  gulf  that  partitions  hell  from  heaven,  nor 
extinguish  the  fires  that  consume  them.  So  satisfied  of  this  was 
the  rich  man,  that  he  begged  he  might  never  see  his  brethren  in 
that  place  of  torment.  If,  then,  the  noblest  talents  would  be  use- 
less in  hell,  and  could  be  so  well  employed  in  heaven,  what  a  loss 
is  the  damnation  of  a  soul !  And  why  will  not  the  loss,  although 
it  would  have  been  a  greater  loss  to  save  them,  impenitent,  be  felt 
forever  1  If  any  government  should  be  under  the  necessity  of 
imprisoning  for  life  its  noblest  geniuses,  would  not  the  loss  be 
10 


74"  PERDITION    A    DARK    SPOT 

felt  and  be  deplored  by  the  very  monarch  who  barred  their  prison  I 
Yes,  and  God  will  be  sensible  forever  of  the  loss  of  talents  in  per 
dition,  and  will  forever  view  that  world  as  a  dark  spot  in  his  crea- 
tion, although  rendering  the  remainder  more  beautiful.  How  then 
can  he  have  any  pleasure  at  all  in  the  death  of  him  that  dieth  ? 
And  we  shall  be  convinced  of  this  truth  when  we  have  taken  one 
more  view  of  the  lost  sinner,  and  see 

V.  Such  a  noble  vessel  polluted.  He  was  calculated  to  be  a  vessel 
of  honor,  prepared  unto  glory,  and  might  have  been  the  everlast- 
ing recipient  of  eternal  mercy.  How  largely  miefht  he  have  re- 
ceived the  overflowings  of  infinite  benevolence!  And  if  the  soul 
had  perpetually  enlarged,  and  been  kept  full  of  love,  and  joy,  and 
peace,  what  a  rich  and  lovely  treasure  would  such  a  spirit  have 
been  !  Angels  would  pay  respect  to  such  a  soul,  and  God  himself 
would  be  pleased.  But  the  vessel  is  polluted.  "  The  gold  has 
become  dim  and  the  most  fine  gold  changed."  If  you  should  see 
a  golden  goblet  filled  with  the  defilements  of  a  sink,  how  incon- 
gruous! how  repulsive  to  the  sight!  But  how  much  more  dis- 
gusting to  see  a  heaven-born  soul  filled  with  the  corruptions  of 
sin  !  If  it  should  be  our  destiny  to  be  lost  we  shall  be  forever  dis- 
gusted at  ourselves;  and  angels  and  God  will  view  us  with  eternal 
loathing  ;  devils,  our  companions  in  misery,  will  despise  us  and 
themselves  much  more.  The  lost  spirit  will  be  the  most  filthy 
object  in  the  universe.  God  will  be  for  ever  happy,  but  his  joy, 
his  life,  his  pleasure,  must  be  in  other  objects ;  and  if  the  deity 
may  not  be  pained,  so  neither  may  he  be  pleased  with  the  scenes 
of  the  pit ;  and  will  he  not  cover  it  with  a  cloud  of  smoke  which 
shall  obscure  its  defilements  from  the  vision  of  the  blessed  ! 


1.  God  will  not  damn  any  who  do  not  oblige  him  to  do  so 
in  order  to  secure  the  honor  of  his  name  and  kingdom  :  judg- 
ment is  his  strange  work.  If  he  takes  no  pleasure  at  all  in  the 
death  of  him  that  dieth,  how  can  we  believe  that  any  will  per- 
ish whose  eternal  ruin  is  not  necessary  to  show  the  justice,  the 
truth,  and  the  holiness  of  God,  to  vindicate  his  law,  or  honor  his 
government  1  None,  then,  of  my  readers  will  perish  but  such  :is 
make  themselves  vile,  and  continue  obstinately  disobedient,  resist- 
ing the  iniluences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  till  God  gives  them  up  to 
their  own  hearts'  lusts,  and  swears  in  his  wrath  that  they  shall  not 


IN    THE    MORAL    LANDSCAPE.  75 

enter  into  his  rest.     And  even  such  he  will  spare  as  long  as  the 
good  of  his  holy  kingdom  will  permit. 

2.  Hence  we  see  why  sinners  who  will  finally  be  lost  are  so  long 
kept  out  of  hell.  God  abhors  the  work  of  destruction,  and  wdl 
spare  them  till  there  is  no  hope  of  their  repentance,  and  even 
when  hope  is  gone,  may  spare  them  still,  unless  the  good  of  his 
kingdom  require  their  immediate  destruction.  And  I  know  not 
that  any  sacred  text  has  assured  us  that  sinners  shall  perish  as 
soon  as  they  are  given  over  to  hardness  of  heart  and  blindness  of 
mind.  The  probability  is  that  they  are  spared  longer,  that  God 
may  appear  infinitely  gracious  while  he  destroys  them. 

3.  He  not  only  spares  them,  but  follows  them  with  the  invita- 
tions of  his  mercy.  He  gives  them  line  upon  line  and  precept 
upon  precept.  Minister  after  minister  is  raised  up  to  proclaim  to 
them  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  He  stands  and  pleads 
with  them  "  till  his  head  is  wet  with  the  dew  and  his  locks  with 
the  drops  of  the  night."  He  seems  reluctant  to  destroy  them,  and 
so  varies  the  means  and  arguments  that  urge  them  to  repentance. 
He  tries  every  gracious  method  to  move  them,  sends  judgments 
and  mercies,  and,  when  all  means  have  failed  and  they  are  joined 
to  their  idols,  he  lets  them  alone. 

4.  No  more  will  finally  be  lost  than  is  absolutely  necessary. 
No  more  than  just  enough  to  clear  his  character  from  impeach- 
ment, and  his  law  and  government  from  reproach. 

5.  There  must  be  something  very  odious  in  sin,  since  God  so 
abhors  it,  that  he  will  destroy  men  who  do  not  repent  of  it  and 
are  not  sanctified,  although  he  hates  the  work  of  destruction. 
While  we  thus  see  the  heart  of  God  moved  with  compassion  for 
perishing  men,  and  as  it  were  grieving  at  the  necessity  of  exe- 
cuting upon  them  the  rigors  of  his  law,  and  yet  determined  upon 
that  execution,  it  seems  forever  to  settle  the  question,  that  "  sin 
is  that  abominable  thing  which  his  soul  hateth."  For  that  some 
will  perish  after  all  that  has  appeared  of  the  divine  compassion, 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  Divine  veracity  is  pledged  for  the  de- 
struction of  all  those  "  that  know  not  God,  and  obey  not  the  gospel 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  And  the  divine  character  must  suffer, 
if  finally  the  whole  human  family  should  be  saved.  Hence  every 
honest  man,  as  he  reads  his  Bible,  is  there  taught  to  expect  an 
event,  which,  undesirable  as  it  may  be  in  itself,  is  rendered  neces- 
sary by  the  obstinacy  of  sinners.  And  if  it  should  be  inquired, 
Why  does  not  God  save  all  by  sanctifying  their  hearts'?  we  can 
only  answer,   "  Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemeth  good   in   thy 


76  PERDITION    A    DAHK    SPOT 

sight."  Perhaps  the  excellency  of  the  law  could  never  be  so  fully 
seen  as  in  the  destruction  of  sinners,  and  perhaps  heaven  could 
never  be  so  happy,  were  not  its  joys  contrasted  with  the  miseries 
of  the  second  death.  Be  these  things  as  they  may,  it  is  evidently 
the  purpose  of  God,  that,  in  the  ruin  of  the  lost,  sin  shall  show  its 
odious  nature  as  it  never  did  before.  It  has  compelled  Jehovah 
to  kindle  the  fires  of  tophet,  and  as  he  shall  be  seen  to  feed  their 
flames  for  ever,  that  he  may  suitably  express  his  abhorrence  of  sin, 
there  will  be  none  in  all  the  universe  who  will  question  its  odious- 
ness.  As  much  as  men  love  sin  now,  they  will  yet  be  brought  to 
see  that  it  is  a  viper  whose  fangs  convey  death  to  the  soul.  And 
it  will  yet  appear  hateful  even  to  the  lost. 

6.  The  weakest  saint  need  not  fear  but  that  God  will  bring  him 
to  heaven.  Justice  will  not  require  him  to  condemn  any  of  his 
people,  and  he  will  condemn  no  more  than  is  necessary — no  more 
than  justice  requires.  Not  one  that  has  ever  believed  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  need  have  any  apprehension  that  he  will  be  lost. 
God  will  find  enough  who  have  rejected  the  Savior  to  the  last  to 
answer  in  their  destruction  all  the  purposes  of  his  vindictive  justice. 

7.  We  need  have  no  apprehensions  that  any  decree  of  God  will 
keep  men  out  of  heaven,  who  are  willing  to  comply  with  his  terms 
of  salvation.  God  has  always  felt  as  he  felt  in  the  days  of  Eze- 
kiel.  If  so,  there  never  was  a  time  when  he  could  make  any  cruel 
decree  that  will  now  oblige  him  to  do  what  his  soul  abhors.  His 
decrees  secure  the  salvation  of  as  many  as  it  will  comport  with 
the  best  good  of  his  kingdom  to  save.  Hence  none  need  be  afraid 
to  believe  lest  some  decree  of  God  should  still  cut  them  off  from 
life.  Indeed  the  decrees  of  heaven  are  the  purposes  of  love. 
Had  there  been  no  purposes  of  election  he  must  have  condemned 
all  our  race.  To  prevent  this  he  resolved  to  make  some  willing 
in  the  day  of  his  power. 

8.  As  it  is  a  fact  revealed,  that  some  will  perish,  and  as  their 
ruin  is  a  thing  in  which  God  takes  no  pleasure  ;  and  as  we  cannot 
doubt  but  that  God  will  still  be  for  ever  happy,  so  we  see  that  his 
people  may  for  ever  sing  and  rejoice,  while  they  shall  know  that 
some  of  their  fellow-men  are  for  ever  miserable,  and  shall  see  the 
smoke  of  their  torment  ascending  up  for  ever  and  ever.  With  the 
limited  views  we  have  now  it  would  seem  that  it  must  make  us 
unhappy  ;  but  the  saved  will  see  more  clearly  than  we  can  at  pre- 
sent the  necessity  of  those  dreadful  measures,  and  they  will  not 
wish  nor  dare  to  suppress  their  hallelujahs. 

They  will  not  be  destitute  of  sympathy,  nor  look  even  with  cold 


IN    THE    MORAL    LANDSCAPE.  77 

indifference  at  the  miseries  of  the  lost,  but  so  supremely  will  they 
regard  the  glory  of  God,  and  so  distinctly  will  they  see  the  reces- 
sity  of  vindictive  punishments  that  they  will  be  satisfied. 

And  now  will  not  this  subject  urge  sinners  to  repentance  ?  If 
God,  in  view  of  the  worth  of  the  soul,  is  so  unwilling  to  destroy 
it,  and  yet  will  proceed  to  destroy  if  men  will  not  repent,  then 
they  ought  to  repent.  He  will  surely  reverse  the  doom  of  all  who 
do  repent.  He  is  waiting  on  sinners  that  they  may  save  him  the 
necessity  of  destroying  them.  He  will  be  glad,  then,  to  see  the 
prodigal  turning  his  eye  towards  his  father's  house,  and  will  haste 
to  meet  him,  and  will  pardon  him  and  love  him.  He  will  be  glad 
to  make  you  happy.  He  has  no  pleasure  in  your  destruction,  but 
will  be  glad  and  happy  in  your  salvation.  He  has  always  been 
blessed,  since  there  were  creatures,  in  making  them  blessed,  and 
will  be  as  joyful  in  blessing  you  as  he  has  been  in  blessing  others. 

9.  How  infatuated  is  the  inference  that  men  of  corrupt  minds 
have  drawn  from  these  expressions  of  the  divine  compassion  ;  that 
since  God  does  not  delight  in  the  destruction  of  sinners,  he  will 
destroy  none  !  He  has  asserted  the  contrary  ;  that  some  shall  go 
away  into  outer  darkness,  where  is  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth  , 
that  the  smoke  of  their  torments  shall  ascend  up  for  ever  and  ever  ; 
that  their  worm  shall  not  die,  nor  their  fire  be  quenched  ;  that 
where  Christ  is  they  can  never  come  ;  that  it  had  been  better  for 
them  if  they  had  never  been  born  ;  that  they  shall  depart  accursed 
into  everlasting  fire  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  Still, 
having  asserted  that  he  has  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked, 
they  will  believe  that  his  threatenings  mean  nothing  ;  that  he  will 
falsify  his  truth  to  gratify  his  mercy  ;  will  let  his  word,  and  his 
laiv,  and  his  honor  perish,  because  he  dees  not  delight  to  make  his 
creatures  miserable.  That  system  of  universal  salvation  thus  built 
professedly  on  the  mercy  of  God  is  the  most  impious  system  that 
the  enemy  of  souls  has  ever  fabricated ;  oh,  it  is  the  cold  and 
bloody  climax  of  depravity  \  it  offers  to  God  an  open  insult ;  it 
would  turn  his  own  truth  against  himself,  and  breed  confusion  and 
war  in  his  own  councils 


SERMON   IV. 

THE    SANCTUARY. 

PSALM    XX.     1,    2. 

The  Lord  hear  thee  In  the  day  of  trouble  :  the  name  of  the  God  cf  Jacob  defend   thee,  senc 
thee  help  from  the  sanctuary  and  strenghen  thee  out  of  Zion. 

The  house  of  God  is  the  emblem  of  all  the  divine  institutions. 
With  its  prosperity  has  ever  been  identified  the  blessedness  of 
that  community  who  have  made  it  their  rallying  point.  It  told  the 
state  of  Israel  under  the  varied  scenes  of  prosperity  and  adversity. 
When  its  treasury  was  full  and  its  altars  in  repair,  and  the  daily 
sacrifices  were  offered,  and  the  court  was  guarded  from  pollution, 
and  the  priests  consecrated  themselves,  and  the  tribes  came  up, 
the  tribes  of  the  Lord  to  the  testimony  of  Israel,  then  it  went  well 
with  the  people  of  God.  But  when  the  devoted  house  of  prayer 
was  made  a  den  of  thieves,  and  the  Levites  had  gone  every  one  to 
his  field,  and  the  buyer  and  seller,  and  the  money-changers  occu- 
pied the  consecrated  sanctuary,  then  had  the  glory  departed. 

And  in  all  the  ages  since  in  lands  where  the  true  God  is  known, 
if  at  a  single  glance  one  would  learn  the  state  of  any  people,  let 
him  follow  the  sound  of  the  church-groins  bell  and  look  into  their 
sanctuary.  There  he  can  read  their  condition  in  unequivocal 
lines.  I  would  lie  without,  a  roof  to  cover  me,  and  make  my  bed 
in  the  clefts  of  the  rock,  but  must  find  my  way  to  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  and  fix  my  dying  grasp  on  the  horns  of  his  altar.  All  that 
is  thriving  and  healthful  in  any  section  of  Christendom  is  suspend- 
ed on  the  interest  taken  in  the  house  of  God  ;  and  if  things  are 
not  prosperous,  and  men  would  see  their  captivity  brought  back, 
they  must  seek  their  help  in  the  sanctuary,  and  be  strengthened 
out  of  Zion.  God  is  the  only  source  of  their  help  and  their  salva- 
tion. They  may  try  all  other  means  first,  as  many  a  wretched 
people  have  done,  but  they  will  only  pine  away  in  their  bondage 
till  they  build  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

But  why — inquires   that   multitude,  who  have  no   confidence  ir 


THE    SANCTTJARY.  79 

the  over-ruling  providence  of  a  wise  and  holy  God — why  must 
help  come  from  the  sanctuary  1     I  answer, 

I.  It  is  the  place  where  God's  honor  dwells.  When  Israel  would 
have  the  help  and  guidance  of  Jehovah  they  made  application  at 
the  temple  where  his  glory  was  seen  in  the  holy  place,  and  where 
he  had   appointed  to  respond  to  their  supplications. 

If  famine,  or  war,  or  pestilence  preyed  upon  them,  their  imme- 
diate resort  was  to  the  temple.  I  know  that  under  the  gospel  dis- 
pensation there  is  less  of  the  visible  and  the  tangible  in  religion, 
than  in  the  times  of  Israel,  yet  is  there  none  the  less  of  the  reali- 
ty. We  have  as  firm  an  assurance,  as  had  the  ancient  church,  that 
God  is  present  with  his  people,  and  fills  the  sanctuary  with  his 
glory,  and  that  we  may  with  the  same  assurance  apply  for  help  at 
the  place  where  his  honor  dwells.  And  where  is  that  place 
found  rather  than  where  his  gospel  is  proclaimed,  and  his  people 
congregated,  and  his  ordinances  administered,  and  his  everlasting 
covenant  ratified  with  his  chosen,  and  his  sanctifying  Spirit  sent 
down  to  cleanse  and  to  purify  1  What  place  can  he  favor  more  1 
Where  make  a  richer  deposite  of  his  glory  ?  Where  rather  lend 
a  propitious  ear  to  the  cries  of  his  people  ?  At  his  sanctuary  we 
may  calculate  to  meet  with  God,  and  the  people  who  cut  them- 
selves off  from  that  holy  place  can  expect  no  help  in  their  straits 
and  their  distresses.  Had  some  wayward  tribes  of  Israel  refused 
to  have  any  connection  with  the  tabernacle  and  the  temple,  that 
tribe  must  have  been  without  any  light  or  guidance  from  Heaven 
The  history  of  the  ten  tribes  is  in  proof.  Refusing  to  repair  to  the 
place  where  God  had  appointed  to  meet  them  he  met  them  no- 
where, would  not  respond  to  their  cries,  or  guide  them  in  the  day  of 
trouble.  They  wandered  in  darkness  as  the  blind  grope  at  noon- 
day. 

And  wherein  is  the  case  altered  now  1  The  people  who  forsake 
the  sanctuary,  or  leave  others  to  sustain  and  enjoy  its  worship,  are 
without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world,  and  their  conduct  will 
•.oon  tell  on  their  character  and  their  condition.  There  will  some 
plague  await  them  that  will  be  entailed  to  their  children,  and  por- 
tray their  folly  at  an  hour  too  late  perhaps  for  them  to  become 
wise.  When  the  captives  hanged  their  harps  upon  the  willows  of 
Babylon,  they  remembered  the  sanctuary,  how  things  prospered 
with  them,  when  the  "  tribes  went  up,  the  tribes  of  the  Lord,  to 
the  testimony  of  Israel."     But  the^  had  neglected  the  institutions 


80  THE    SANCTUARY. 

of  Heaven  too  long,  and  the  decree  hnd  gone  out  that  most  of  that 
o-eneration  should  die  in  their  bondage.  '1  he  enemy  had  been 
advertised  of  their  mistake,  and  tauntingly  said,  "  Sing  us  one  of 
Zion's  songs."  And  their  desponding  reply,  "  How  shall  we  sing 
the  Lord's  song  in  a  stjange  land,"  portrays  the  misery  of  that 
people  in  gospel  times  that  go  not  for  help  to  the  sanctuary.  They 
must  waste  away  in  their  miseries,  till  they  shall  know  and  their 
children  after  them,  how  terribly  God  can  avenge  himself  on  his 
enemies. 

II.  The  house  of  God  is  the  place  of  united  and  fervent  prayer. 
We  hazard  nothing  in  saying,  that  all  who  pray  meet  there.  Such 
cannot  voluntarily  and  habitually  absent  themselves  from  the  place 
where  God  has  appointed  to  meet  them,  and  hold  communion  with 
them.  And  they  come  to  pray  and  unite  their  prayers,  and  the 
promise  of  God  is,  that  whatever  they  shall  ask  it  shall  be  done  for 
them. 

The  infidel  only  will  doubt,  whether  prayer  has  efficacy.  God's 
promise  to  hear,  and  the  believing  assurance  that  God  has  heard 
him  in  the  time  accepted,  and  in  the  day  of  salvation  has  succored 
him,  begets  confidence  in  the  use  of  prayer.  And  its  increased 
efficacy,  when  united  and  fervent,  and  the  assurance  tha+  it  will 
have  unity  and  fervency  in  the  sanctuary,  point  out  that  place  as 
the  source  of  their  help  in  the  hour  of  danger  and  of  suffering. 
Any  privilege  but  the  immediate  smiles  of  God,  I  would  dispense 
with  sooner  than  have  no  share  in  the  prayers  of  God's  people 
offered  in  the  holy  place.  1  would  be  without  the  means  of  self- 
defence,  without  the  protection  of  law,  and  without  a  shelter  for 
my  head  at  night,  but  should  not  dare  to  be  cut  off  from  an  inter- 
est in  the  prayers  of  the  sanctuary.  Let  no  shower  or  dew  fall 
on  my  territory,  or  breeze  fan  my  habitation,  or  genial  sun  warm 
me  ;  but  let  me  not  be  excluded  from  the  health-bearing  influence 
of  the  house  of  prayer.  Others  can  go  to  their  farms  or  their 
merchandise,  or  their  journeys,  or  their  book-keeping  on  the 
Lord's  day,  and  let  the  prayers  of  the  sanctuary  go.  But  if  there 
does  not  come  a  blight  over  their  fading  hopes,  and  they  do  not 
find  that  moth  and  rust  corrupt  their  treasures,  then  we  have  mis- 
taken the  ways  of  God.  We  shall  watch  to  see  what  destiny 
overtakes  their  property  and  their  children  after  the  lapse  of  a 
fewr  years.  If  facts  may  testify,  the  interests  of  the  present  life 
as  well  as  the  life  to  come,  depend  on  the  identity  we  establish 
between  them  and  the  supplications  of  the  house  of  prayer.     The 


THE    SANCTUARY.  SI 

prompt  and  faithful  supporter  and  constant  attendant  upon  the 
sanctuary  may  calculate  to  prosper.  "  Them  that  honor  me  I 
will  honor."  The  less  frequent  attendance  and  the  less  prompt 
and  generous  support  may  be  associated  with  a  kind  of  paralysed 
and  stationary  prosperity.  "  To  the  froward  thou  wilt  show  thy- 
self froward."  The  entire  neglect  will  be  the  harbinger  of  dark- 
ness and  decay.  "  They  that  despise  me  shall  be  lightly  esteem- 
ed." Neither  prosperity  nor  character  are  sure  where  there  is 
wanting  the  guardianship  of  prayer.  Not  the  pointed  rod  which 
turns  away  the  lightnings,  answers  a  purpose  more  kind,  in  the 
natural,  than  prayer  in  the  moral  world. 

III.  The  house  of  God  is  the  radiant  point  of  sanctifiying  truth. 
It  was  the  prayer  of  the  Lord  Jesus  for  the  destined  heirs  of  sal- 
vation, "Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth."  And  God  has  re- 
vealed it  as  his  purpose,  "  By  the  foolishness  of  preaching  to  save 
them  that  believe."  Hence  from  the  lips  of  the  living  preacher  go 
out  those  doctrines  that  operate  to  sanctify  the  hearts  of  men. 
And  who  dare  hope  that  society  can  prosper,  where  no  hearts  are 
sanctified  ?  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth."  A  whole  unregene- 
rate  family  constitutes  a  very  dark  house,  where  insubordination 
kindles  many  a  fire  ;  and  a  town,  or  county,  or  state,  where  there 
were  none  regenerated,  would  be  an  unmanageable  community. 
Society  owes  more  than  it  will  acknowledge  to  the  influence  of 
piety.  It  lays  upon  men  a  restraint  even  where  the  number  of  the 
pious  is  small,  that  is  productive  of  more  peace  and  order  and 
prosperity,  than  all  other  means  combined.  Survey  those  lands, 
where  no  sanctifying  religion  operates  to  mould  the  manners,  and 
fix  the  principles,  and  restrain  the  passions  of  ungodly  men. 
•  They  are  desolated.  The  passions  excited,  with  no  power  present 
to  tame  or  restrain  them,  spread  a  destruction  wide  and  wasteful 
as  human  power  can  generate.  After  this  survey,  if  you  do  not 
feel  glad  that  your  lot  is  cast  into  a  gospel  land,  then  will  we 
abandon  the  argument  and  help  you  lay  the  temple  prostrate.  At 
one  glance  you  will  see  a  religion  that  eats  up  its  population  like 
a  pestilence.  At  another  you  will  see  prevailing  falsehood,  and 
fraud,  and  theft,  till  no  man  sees  another  in  whom  he  places  con- 
fidence. Domestic  happiness,  and  conjugal  fidelity,  and  parental 
and  filial  regard,  are  things  for  which  their  language  has  not  a 
name.  And  everywhere  where  the  gospel  is  not,  there  prevails  a 
government  that  rules  with  a  sceptre  of  iron.  The  hardest  des- 
potism is  rendered  necessary  by  the  absence  of  moral  restraints 
»  11 


82  THE    SANCTUARY. 

If  piety  must  be  or  misery,  there  must  be  that  truth  which  sanctifies, 
and  the  sanctuary  whence  that  truth  issues.  Throw  prostrate  the 
altar  of  God,  and  there  will  be  no  power  found  that  can  sustain 
the  sanctifying  doctrines  of  revelation.  "What  God  hath  joined 
together  let  no  man  put  asunder."  The  house  of  God  ever  has 
been  and  must  be  the  grand  receptacle  of  light  from  heaven,  and 
thence  it  issues  to  restrain  the  passions,  and  mould  the  manners, 
and  repair  with  the  divine  blessing  the  ruins  of  the  apostacy. 

IV.  The  instruction  of  God's  house  is  the  grand  agent  in  the  for- 
mation of  public  sentiment. 

I  now  refer  to  an  influence  that  goes  out  from  that  holy  place, 
to  affect  all  men,  whether  they  will  or  will  not  be  controlled  by 
that  influence.  To  the  ungodly,  public  sentiment  is  an  irresistible 
law.  You  could  bind  the  thief  and  the  robber  by  it.  Surround 
them  with  only  purity  of  sentiment,  and  you  would  make  them 
honest.  No  n  an  can  habitually  do  what  all  about  him  disapprove. 
The  most  depraved  would  be  perfectly  wretched,  embosomed  in  a 
holy  community,  till  they  could  break  from  their  prison,  and  find 
some  fastness  in  the  mountains,  where  they  could  associate  with 
men  of  their  own  stamp.  Human  laws  are  weak  and  inoperative, 
but  as  they  are  sustained  by  public  sentiment ;  murder  is  com- 
mitted with  impunity  in  those  lands  where  a  public  depraved  sen- 
timent is  stronger  than  law.  I  would  not  give  a  straw  for  that 
defence  that  law  holds  out  in  the  absence  of  a  correct  public 
opinion  to  sustain  it.  And  there  is  no  means  powerful  like  the 
house  of  God  in  the  formation  of  that  opinion.  There  issue  thence 
not  merely  the  doctrines  that  sanctify,  but  the  sub-principles  that 
moralize,  and  mould,  and  restrain  the  public  mind.  And  this  in- 
fluence it  exerts  not  merely  upon  the  sabbath  assembly,  but  the> 
men  that  despise  the  control  of  principles  that  either  God  or  man 
can  enforce.  The  men  who  attend  the  sanctuary  bear  out  into 
society  and  act  out  in  their  deportment  its  principles;  and  others 
catch  the  moralizing  influence  and  spread  it  wider  and  still  wider 
over  the  surface  of  an  apostate  and  degenerate  community,  till  the 
whole  mass  is  leavened.  Hence  that  portion  of  society  which 
stand  aloof  from  the  house  of  God,  and  perhaps  gnash  their  teeth 
at  its  holy  solemnities,  are  blessed  through  its  influence.  It  bears 
obliquely  upon  them,  but  is  mighty  like  no  other  law  they  listen 
to.  It  gives  them  indirectly  all  their  civil  privileges,  the  peace- 
able possession  of  their  rights,  security  of  life  and  exemption  from 
midnight   depredations   and   from   hourly  oppressions.     It  sets  a 


THE    SANCTUARY.  83 

watch  about  them  at  the  expense  of  others,  a  watch  which  they 
should  be  ashamed  to  let  their  fellow-men  sustain  alone,  but  with- 
out which  society  would  be  a  den  of  thieves.  When  we  say  of 
any  one  that  he  is  a  shameless  fellow,  what  more  can  we  say  to 
give  him  the  lowest  character  1  But  to  become  shameless,  what 
is  it  hut  to  hold  public  sentiment  in  utter  contempt  ?  It  is  this 
that  keeps  our  world  from  becoming  a  shameless  community,  and 
for  this  kind  guardian  of  our  best  earthly  interests  every  man  is 
indebted  to  the  sanctuary. 

V.  The  house  of  God  sustains  all  the  other  civilizing  and  health- 
ful institutions.  Identified  with  it  are  a  preached  gospel  and  the 
ministry  of  reconciliation.  These  all  sustain  each  other.  And 
hence  the  sin  of  disturbing,  with  controversy  and  disunion,  a 
regular  sanctuary-goincr  people,  is  one  of  no  ordinary  magnitude. 
The  Sabbath,  too,  is  sustained  by  the  sanctuary.  When  or  where 
was  there  ever  a  Sabbath  kept  by  a  people  who  were  regardless 
of  the  public  worship  of  God  %  Will  there  be  a  Sabbath  in  the 
private  circle,  where  there  is  no  solemn  Sabbath-keeping  assembly, 
and  the  inspiration  of  the  church-going  bell  is  not  felt  %  No,  no. 
Trace  the  world  over,  and  no  such  thing  can  be  found.  If  men 
tarry  at  home,  they  will  be  about  their  secular  concerns,  and  the 
day  will  be  amalgamated  with  the  days  not  sanctified.  Hence  in 
those  lately  dark  places  of  the  earth,  where  they  have  recently 
got  up  a  Sabbath,  they  have  simultaneously  erected  them  a  sanc- 
tuary, and  the  one  sustains  the  other.  And  all  the  means  of  edu- 
cation stand  on  the  same  basis.  Schools,  academies  and  colleges 
owe  their  very  existence  to  their  connection  with  the  house  of 
God.  The  ministers  of  religion  have  ever  sustained  these  insti- 
tutions, and  they  perish,  sure  as  the  frosts  of  autumn  strip  the 
wood  of  its  foliage,  soon  as  they  aim  at  independence  on  the  higher 
institutions  of  religion.  After  the  darkest  times,  when  learning 
seemed  to  have  taken  its  flight  from  the  earth,  its  embryo  was 
found  to  have  been  sustained  in  the  retreats  of  the  priesthood. 
The  retributions  of  heaven  have  developed  its  purpose,  that  reli- 
o-ion  and  science  be  indissolubly  yoked  to  the  sanctuary,  as  their 
foster-mother.  And  the  evidence  on  this  point  is  brought  to  our 
very  doors.  In  those  districts  of  our  regular  Sabbath-keeping 
congregations,  where  the  population  have  abandoned  the  sanctu- 
ary, their  schools  decline,  and  the  merest  being,  that  has  irnpudeiK  e 
enough  to  apply,  will  be  intrusted  with  the  immortal  interests  of 
their  children.     It   is  common  as   life,  to  find  some  low-minded, 


8i  THE    SAKCTU.AI1 

foul-mouthed  Sabbath-breaker  immured  in  the  schools  in  those 
districts,  which  are  not  represented  in  the  Sabbath  assembly.  And 
why  expect  it  otherwise  1  Men  will  not  look  far  above  their  own 
standard  to  find  a  teacher  for  their  children.  They  will  not  wish 
one  whose  example  reproves  their  own  practice,  and  whose  creed 
reprobates  their  infidelity.  Now,  let  a  whole  town  become  like 
one  of  these  abandoned  districts,  and  its  schools,  if  any  thing  that 
deserves  the  name  remains,  will  all  be  of  the  same  character.  A 
palpable  darkness  comes  over  the  whole  community.  All  im- 
provement of  intellect  is  undervalued,  and  the  people  ve-vge 
towards  heathenism  by  sure  and  rapid  strides.  A  coarseness  of 
attire,  and  a  clownishness  of  manners,  and  the  growth  of  all  the  low 
and  vulgar  vices,  close  in  now  upon  the  retreat  of  mind  and  morals. 
And  in  the  mean  time  men  suffer  in  their  interest  ten  times  the 
cost  of  sustaining  the  gospel.  Restraint  is  removed  from  vice, 
and  the  enemies  of  virtue,  sustained  by  a  perverse  public  senti- 
ment, walk  undisguised  their  guilty  round  of  midnight  depreda- 
tions. Vice,  that  law  was  invented  to  punish,  claims  its  protec- 
tion. Acts  of  inebriation,  and  lust,  and  profanity,  and  falsehood, 
and  every  other  daring  outrage  upon  the  laws  of  God  and  the 
peace  of  society  are  at  length,  perhaps,  unblushingly  committed, 
rendering  insecure  every  interest  of  man,  temporal  and  spiritual. 
The  prudent  man  must  now  expend,  upon  the  vices  of  his  children 
many  times  the  sum  that  would  have  nobly  sustained  the  gospel 
institutions.  But,  alas  !  he  withheld  his  support  from  these  to 
buy  his  offspring  the  means  of  their  eternal  undoing.  He  saved 
the  price  of  helping  to  build  the  sanctuary,  and  the  pittance  re- 
quired to  support  the  ministry,  and  equip  his  family  for  the  occu- 
pancy of  their  pew;  and,  added  to  these,  he  saved  all  the  earnings 
of  the  Sabbath-day,  but  he  saved  it  to  put  it  into  a  bag  with  holes  ; 
to  bequeath  it  to  an  infidel,  a  debauched  and -profligate  offspring. 
If  a  very  small  portion  of  the  estate  had  been  expended  for  their 
religions  education,  and  they  had  acquired  some  knowledge  of 
God,  and  a  conscience  rectified  by  his  word,  they  might  have  been 
men,  and  possessed  more  than  the  virtues  of  a  father,  and  been  en- 
trusted with  his  estate  and  the  honors  of  his  house,  to  hand  down 
his  name  and  his  praise  to  unborn  generations.  But  the  self-abus- 
ed lather  now  on  his  dying-bed  sees  nothing  else  to  do  but  put  his 
estate  into  the  purse  of  vagabonds  where  it  will  evaporate 
like  the  dew  of  morning,  or  rot  and  breed  corruption,  and  carry 
death  through  the  whole  field  of  its  pestiferous  exhalations.  It 
does  not  bless  his  sons,  but  renders  them  the  more  capable  of  be- 


THE    SANCTUARY.  85 

ing  incurably  profligate.  The  merest  poverty,  depriving  them  of 
the  means  of  beastly  indulgence,  might  have  begotten  hope  of  their 
redemption.  But  the  poor  father  must  now  disinherit  his  child- 
ren, or  totally  damn  them.  And  in  the  mean  time  through  his 
money  and  his  heirs  pours  out  pestilence  upon  society,  and  gene- 
rates a  plague  to  operate  the  ruin  of  unborn  generations.  But 
that  father  has  only  himself  to  blame.  His  son  formed  the  best 
character  he  could  with  the  means  his  father  furnished  him. 
Among  these  means  there  was  no  sanctuary,  nor  Sabbath,  nor 
ministry,  nor  valuable  library,  nor  school,  nor  domestic  piety,  nor 
parents'  holy  example,  to  give  him  character  and  virtue,  and  ren- 
der him  a  man.  And  while  this  individual  loss  is  going  on,  by  the 
sacrilege  of  the  sanctuary,  there  is  a  gradual  and  yet  perceptible 
sinking  of  the  interest  of  the  whole  community.  The  original  po- 
pulation are  perishing.  And  no  change  of  inhabitants  will  alter 
circumstances  for  the  better.  For  the  man  of  decent  habits  who 
has  any  character  or  interest  to  lose  will  not  take  up  his  residence 
in  a  territory  so  desolate  and  approaching  evidently  towards  a  still 
grosser  desolation.  Sinking  property  will  ever  be  held  above  its 
value  till  it  reaches  its  lowest  price.  Hence  no  exchange  of  po- 
pulation will  be  for  the  better,  but  all  for  the  worse.  They  may 
get  rid  of  many  a  low  and  mean  and  troublesome  family,  but  must 
invariably  receive  in  exchange  the  very  dregs  of  some  other  ill-fat- 
ed and  miserable  community.  It  will  now  infallibly  result  that 
every  inch  of  territory  is  subjected  to  perpetual  depreciation.  Had 
the  town  sustained  the  sanctuary  at  any  price,  and  from  no  other 
motives  but  to  keep  up  the  value  of  its  lands,  it  would  have  told 
well  on  their  interests.  But  the  day  of  their  prime  has  gone  by, 
and  a  public  sentiment  is  generated  that  is  adverse  to  that  only 
measure  that  would  cure  their  calamities.  It  may  be  that  a  single 
individual  of  large  interest  would  do  well  as  a  worldly  calculator 
to  build  a  sanctuary,  and  establish  a  ministry,  and  institute  a  Sab- 
bath. He  would  thus  secure  his  heirs  from  ruin  and  his  interest 
from  prolonged  and  fatal  depreciation.  The  very  best  sections  of 
Christendom  would  run  precipitately  back  to  heathenism,  only 
break  down  the  house  of  God.  Who  but  heathen  can  be  expected 
to  set  any  price  on  heathen  territory,  upon  habitations  which  have 
become  infested  with  a  moral  plague,  and  fields  over  which  there 
blow  perpetually  the  withering  and  the  deadly  blasts  of  a  burning 
desert.  And  there  is  fled  in  the  mean  time  about  all  that  render- 
ed life  valuable.  Conjugal  fidelity,  and  parental  tenderness,  and 
filial  confidence  and  duty  begin  to  be  more  scarce  and  less  valued 


86 


THE    SANCTUARY. 


than  in  Sabbath  and  sanctuary  times.  And  where  are  now  the  Ta- 
mily  altar,  and  the  social  bible-readir.g,  and  the  evening  fire-side 
hymn,  and  the  respect  for  age,  and  the  kind  attention  to  the  poor 
and  the  houseless;  where  all  the  precious  endearments  of  home  1 
And  where  the  authority  to  put  down  iniquity  \  And  the  whole- 
some public  sentiment  to  sustain  virtuous  deportment,  and  guard 
individual  rights,  and  cradle  into  calmness  the  tumult  of  riot'?  All 
these  disappear  along  with  respect  for  the  sanctuary  and  attend- 
ance upon  the  ordinances  and  institutions  of  religion.  It  is  not  in 
the  nature  of  things,  and  evidently  is  not  the  design  of  Providence, 
that  these  healthful  principles  shall  survive  the  moment  when  the 
bittern  and  the  owl  have  their  home  in  the  old  weather-beaten  and 
time-worn  sanctuary.  And  I  need  not  say  that  all  heathen  lands 
are  destitute  of  the  public  sentiments  and  the  humanizing  princi- 
ples that  bless  mankind  and  that  lie  at  the  foundation  of  social 
happiness.  And  facts  assure  us  that  a  territory  that  has  bee?i 
Christian  can  run  back  to  heathenism  rapidly  as  time  can  speed 
and  virtue  decline.  Hence  those  who  have  made  up  their  minds 
to  dispense  with  gospel  institutions  must  calculate  on  a  diminution 
of  their  catalogue  of  comforts,  beyond  what  any  miserable  people 
have  presumed,  till  they  had  made  the  awful  experiment.  CouM 
the  people  have  known  where  flourished  the  seven  churches  of 
Asia, — could  they  have  dreamed  what  a  desolation  would  sweep 
over  them,  laying  waste  scores  of  generations,  they  would  have 
taken  the  warning  given  them,  and  not  have  suffered  the  candle- 
stick to  be  removed  out  of  his  place.  And  could  any  abandoned 
section  of  Christendom  have  known,  ere  they  parted  with  the  gos- 
pel, how  soon  all  their  comforts  would  flee,  they  would  have  made 
one  more  dying  effort,  and  would  have  perished  if  they  must  by 
the  horns  of  the  altar.  And  even  now  if  there  could  be  awakened 
a  pulsation  of  spiritual  life,  the  rock  would  rise  from  the  quarryi 
and  the  timber  come  down  from  the  wood,  and  the  sanctuary  lift 
lis  spire,  and  the  "church-going  bell"  utter  hints  of  salvation 
through  all  that  dreary  territory  of  death.  Men  grow  poor  by 
robbing  God.  There  inevitably  follows  the  abandonment  of  the 
gospel  a  train  of  litigations  and  bankruptcies,  and  imprisonments; 
and  divisions,  which  no  human  power  can  control.  Some  solitary 
families  may  seem  for  a  time  to  thrive,  may  grow  wealthy  through 
the  \  ices  of  the  people,  or  because  they  had  no  share  in  procuring 
the  desolation,  and  are  not  included  in  the  ruin.  But  even  these, 
unless  they  flee  soon  from  the  midst  of  such  a  Sodom,  will  become 
partakers  of  her  plagues.     They  will  see  their  children   contami- 


THE    SANCTUARY.  87 

nated.  and  vile  encroachments  upon  the  stillness  of  their  Sabbaths, 
and  the  peacefulness  of  their  evenings,  and  the  innocent  enjoy- 
ments of  their  interest.  They  must  send  away  their  children  to 
be  educated,  and  send  out  their  capital  from  the  desolated  territo- 
ry, or  employ  it  contraband,  in  distilleries,  and  grog-shops,  and 
usury,  the  only  institutions  that  flourish  in  the  absence  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  and  then  God  will  curse  their  estate,  and  curse  their  children 
with  it,  and  their  good  name,  till  they  and  theirs  become  amalga- 
mated with  the  surrounding  moral  ruins.  Thus,  when  the  sanc- 
tuary is  let  go,  all  goes.  Men  find  their  counsels  turned  into  fool- 
ishness, and  they  pay  a  tribute  to  vice  twenty  times  the  assess- 
ments of  virtue.  Hence,  when  men  imagine  themselves  unable 
to  bear  the  expense  o{  divine  institutions,  they  should  inquire  if 
they  be  able  to  live  without  them. 

VI.  From  the  house  of  God  are  selected  the  subjects  of  his  grace. 

Those  only  who  frequent  the  sanctuary  are  at  all  likely  to  be 
regenerated.  We  have  pronounced  it  the  radiant  point  of  sancti- 
fying truth.  And  it  is  truth,  we  must  not  forget,  in  the  lips  of  a 
living  ministry  that  God  has  pledged  himself  to  bless.  "  By  the 
foolishness  of  preaching  he  saves  them  that  believe."  When  our 
Lord  had  commissioned  his  apostles,  to  gx>  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,  he  promised,  "  he  that  be- 
lieveth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  but  he  that  believeth 
not,  shall  be  damned."  Thus  the  gospel  that  they  would  carry,  and 
that  would  sound  from  their  lips,  and  that  of  their  successors,  was 
to  be  the  grand  instrument  of  salvation.  In  connection  with  this 
divine  promise,  facts  assure  us,  that  when  God  sends  a  revival 
among  a  people,  the  subjects  of  it  are  generally  taken  from  sanc- 
tuary-going families : — "  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth,  thy 
word  is  truth." — If  others  in  such  a  period  come  round,  and  seem 
interested,  and  are  awakened,  still  seldom  do  they  make  their  way 
to  Jesus  Christ.  More  generally  you  see  them,  soon  as  the  revival  is 
over,  returning  back  to  their  Sabbath-breaking  and  their  cups,  like 
"  the  dog  to  his  vomit,  and  like  the  sow  that  was  washed  to  her  wal- 
lowing in  the  mire,"  and  we  hear  not  from  them  till  perhaps  another 
revival'  summons  them  again  to  come  and  gaze  upon  the  moving 
scene.  But  those  who  give  evidence  of  renewed  hearts  are  more 
generally  from  the  people  who  have  sustained  the  honors  of  God's 
house.  In  them  Christ  is  found  the  hope  of  glory.  Hence  to  the  house 
of  God  the  Church  must  look  for  its  recruit,  and  the  world  for  its  sa- 
vour and  its  light.     And  when  the  public  worship  of  God  ceases,  we 


88  THE    SANCTUARY. 

hear  of  no  revivals,  or  if  we  hear  of  them,  we  frequently  hear  that 
their  fruits  have  perished  in  some  wild  and  wayward  fanaticism. 
Hence  the  Church  must  dwindle  and  become  extinct  without  the  sus« 
taininc  influence  of  the  sanctuary.  There  are  at  length  neither 
creed,  nor  covenant,  nor  communion,  nor  aught  else  remaining,  but 
some  indistinct  recollection  that  once  God  had  there  a  people,  or 
perhaps  some  hoary-headed  believers,  that  once  ate  the  conse- 
crated bread. 

And  what  is  there  worth  saving,  wnat  tnat  God  will  watch  over 
or  care  for,  where  he  has  no  people  ;  as  in  the  old  world  when  the 
ark  was  ready,  and  in  Sodom  when  Lot  was  gone  1  The  eye  of  a 
vigilant  Providence  sees  nothing  to  occupy  it  where  there  is  none 
of  his  image,  nothing  but  chaff  and  stubble — "  Ye  are  the  salt  of 
the  earth,  ye  are  the  light  of  the  world."  Humiliating  as  the 
thought  may  be,  none  may  alter  or  soften  it.  "  Jacob  is  the  lot 
of  his  inheritance."  If  men  are  mortified  that  such  is  their  cha- 
racter as  to  sink  them  below  the  smile  of  Heaven,  and  render 
them  and  theirs  not  worthy  to  be  guarded,  they  must  adjust  the 
concern  with  God.  If  they  will  not  build  him  a  house,  or  if  they 
abandon  the  place  where  his  honor  dwells,  they  cannot  complain 
if  he  care  not  to  build  them  a  sure  house  for  ever  5  it  is  only  walk- 
ing frowardly  toward  them  as  they  have  walked  frowardly  towards 
him.  He  will  think  it  right  to  make  every  other  interest  bend  to 
that  of  his  Church,  the  world  willing  or  not  willing,  pleased  or  dis- 
pleased. "  The  Lord  send  the  help  from  the  sanctuary."  It  would 
be  curious  to  mark  the  process  by  which  a  people  lose  the  blessings 
of  the  gospel  and  bring  upon  themselves  and  upon  posterity  the 
plagues  that  have  been  enumerated.     There  is  usually  discovered 

1.  A  satiety  of  hearing  the  word  of  the  Lord.  This  is  indicat- 
ed by  an  infrequent  attendance  upon  the  sanctuary,  by  a  tardy  ap- 
proach, by  a  half-day  worship,  by  a  dull  and  drowsy  attitude  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  by  a  neglect  of  the  week-day  occasions  of 
hearing  the  gospel,  and  by  a  score  of  other  signs,  which  say  that 
they  are  no  longer  hungry  for  the  word  of  the  Lord.  How  differ- 
ent from  all  this  was  the  spirit  of  the  Psalmist  when  he  sang  : 
"How  amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  0  Lord  of  hosts.  My  soul 
longeth,  yea,  even  fainteth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord."  Precisely 
the  opposite  of  all  this  longing,  and  fainting,  and  crying  out  after 
the  courts  of  the  Lord,  is  the  spirit  of  supineuess  and  death,  that  is 
seen  coming  over  a  people  on  whom  God  in  righteous  retribution 
is  about  to  send  a  famine  of  the  word.  As  every  movement  of 
the  sinking  patient  is  slow,  and  the  pulse  feeble  and  respiration  la- 


THE    SANCTUARY.  8S 

borious,  and  to  think  or  speak  a  burden,  till  death  at  length  is  seen 
standing  hard  by  his  pillow  ;  so  that  people  who  are  about  to  make 
the  experiment  of  living  without  the  gospel,  will  be  seen,  perhaps 
for  years,  putting  on  the  symptoms  of  moral  dissolution,  till  at 
length  there  remains  no  longer  the  power  of  action,  or  the  sense  of 
danger,  or  the  hope  scarcely  of  resuscitation  and  life.  And  we 
have  noticed 

2.  That  the  spirit  of  decay  esteems  the  support  of  gospel  insti- 
tutions a  burden.     The   cost  of  the   sanctuary,  and  the  ministry, 
and  the  thousand  varied   appendages   of  evangelical   worship  and 
ordinances  begin  to  be  considered  lost.     Then  comes  the  inquiry, 
What   am    I  the   gainer   by   sustaining  the  gospel  1     How  am  I 
drained  of  the  means  of  accommodating  my   family   with  conve- 
niences !     How  many  acres  of  territory  might  I  have  purchased 
with  the  sums   that  the   gospel  has  cost  me  !     How  poor  have  I 
kept  myself  and  my  family  by  the  offerings  of  the  temple  !     Could 
1  have  them  paid  back,  the  whole  would  be  a  fortune  for  my  child- 
ren !     Thus  men  grudge  the  Lord  the  sacrifices  he  demands  as  the 
very  price  of  their  prosperity  ;  and  the  children  learn  how  reluc- 
tantly their  parents  support  religion,  and  how  gladly  they  would 
rid  themselves  of  the  galling  burden.     Hence,  as  soon  as  their  pa- 
rents are  asleep  in  death,  and  their  property  is  in  their  hands,  they 
are  all  disciplined  for  the  business  of  pulling  down  the  institutions 
of  heaven,  and  making  the  experiment  of  bartering  away  the  truth 
for  money.     Unhappily,  all  their  respect  for  a  parent's  judgment 
goes  to  establish  them  in  the  belief  that  the   gospel  does   but  op- 
press and  impoverish  them.     Thus  the  parent  dug  the  grave  of  his 
offspring.     He  incautiously  taught  them  principles  that  undermine 
his  house  and  blast  his  memory.     He  had  not  counted  up  the  cost, 
how  the  absence  of  gospel  institutions  would  alter  and   injure  the 
character  of  his  offspring,  how  it  would  neutralize  the   Sabbath, 
and  remove  the  means  of  becoming  wise,  and  break  the  grapple  of 
conscience,  and  lessen  the   worth  of  morals  and  the  estimate  of 
character,  and  throw  down   his   children   from   the    elevation  they 
occupied,  and   his  whole   posterity   from  the  position  they  might 
have  held,  into  tlie  bosom  of  a  besotted,  and  mean,  and  miserable 
community : — how,   with  the   removal  of  the  gospel  there  would 
vanish  all  the  blessings  it  brought ;  the  sweets  of  domestic  inter- 
course, the  bonds  of  the  social  compact,  the  elevation  of  intellect, 
all  the  means   of  being   great   and  good   in  this  life,  and  holy  and 
happy  in  the  life  to  come.     Unhappy  father,  he  sprung  a  mine  un- 
der his  own  house  that  threw  his  offspring,  and  his  name,  and  his 
12 


90 


THE    SANCTUARY. 


estate,  to  the  winds  of  heaven,  while  a  tithe  of  his  income,  paid 
honestly  to  the  Lord,  would  have  ensured  the  whole,  down,  per- 
haps, to  the  funeral  day  of  the  world.  He  saved  indeed  his  mo- 
ney and  taught  his  children  to  save  it,  but  God  took  vengeance  on 
his  inventions.     And  there  follows  of  course, 

3.  A  disrespect  for  the  ministry  of  the  reconciliation. 

That  ministry  can  be  useful  no  longer  than  respected.  When 
men  begin  to  speak  of  the  office  as  a  mere  sinecure,  they  are  not 
to  be  expected  to  derive  any  great  profit  from  it ;  and  when  they 
treat  the  men  who  occupy  it  with  coarseness,  they  may  calculate 
that  they  are  ruining  their  offspring.  He  that  Heaven  has  com- 
missioned to  negotiate  with  a  rebel  world,  while  he  may  claim  no- 
thing on  the  score  of  personal  importance  or  elevation,  may  still 
demand  that  men  hold  the  office,  and  himself,  because  of  the  office, 
in  due  respect.  And  in  the  absence  of  this  respect  there  is  lost  to 
the  world  the  whole  influence  of  that  highest  means  of  its  re- 
demption, a  preached  gospel;  and  what  is  more,  there  is  laid  the 
train  that  is  to  carry  moral  devastation  down  through  unborn 
generations.     But, 

Finally — There  is  one  token  of  approaching  desolation  so  mark- 
ed in  its  character  as  to  deserve  a  distinct  and  prominent  notice. 
I  refer  to  the  case  when  the  people  of  God  feel  that  they  are  not 
obliged  to  make  greater  sacrifices  than  others  to  sustain  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  hand  down  to  unborn  generations  the  blessings  of  the 
gospel  of  peace.  I  consider  no  one  sign  so  articulate,  that  God  is 
about  to  remove  the  candlestick  out  of  its  place.  God's  people 
ought  to  do  more  than  others  ;  and  if  the  world  would  come  for 
ward  and  act  so  liberally  as  to  save  them  the  necessity,  it  would 
be  a  curse  to  them.  A  Christian  can  pray  better  when  he  is  mak- 
ing great  sacrifices  for  the  Lord,  and  will  grow  more  rapidly  in 
grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  God  will  feed  the  most 
plentifully,  and  smile  the  most  graciously  upon  the  child  that 
serves  him  the  most  cheerfully.  Christians  receive  more  bless- 
ings than  others  through  the  gospel.  In  a  minor  sense,  it  blesses 
all,  but  in  a  major  sense,  believers.  All  learn  truth,  and  receive 
elevation  of  character,  and  enjoy  comforts,  through  the  influence 
of  the  gospel  ;  but  the  believer,  through  its  influence,  is  sanctified 
and  made  meet  to  be  a  partaker  of  the  inheritance  with  the  saints 
in  light.  The  one  has  temporal  and  the  other  temporal  and  spir- 
itual blessings.  The  temporal  blessings  are  worth  a  thousand 
times  the  cost  of  them  to  the  unsanctified  ;  hence,  by  what  mea- 
sure can  we  calculate  their  worth  to  him  who  hopes  to  reach  hea- 


THE    SA.\CTUARY.  9] 

ven  through  them  1  It  is  for  them,  as  well  as  for  the  world,  a  wise 
appointment  that  they  shall  do  more  than  others.  We  would  not 
have  them  exempted  if  we  could. 

Now,  when  the  people  of  God  begin  to  stand  aloof  from  his 
sanctuary,  and  to  fear  they  are  bearing  an  undue  burden,  and  are 
ready  to  let  it  fall,  unless  others  will  lift  as  laboriously  as  they 
lift,  then  you  may  expect  a  famine  of  the  truth.  When  the  pro- 
fessed people  of  God,  who  are  called  by  his  name,  and  tell  of  be- 
ing bound  to  him  by  an  everlasting  covenant,  who  profess  to  have 
laid  up  their  treasure  in  heaven,  and  to  look  for  "  a  city  that  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God," — when  these  will 
shrink  from  any  sacrifice  to  sustain  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  and  suf- 
fer an  institution  that  prospers  all  others  to  fail  through  their  covet- 
ousness,  then  who,  can  it  be  expected,  will  stand  and  prop  the 
sinking  honors  of  God's  house  %  It  is  feared  we  could  point  you 
to  a  great  many  gloomy  sections  of  this  ruined  world  where  this 
very  cause  has  operated,  and  is  now  operating  to  turn  the  fruitful 
field  into  a  wilderness,  and  render  some  of  the  holiest  territories 
in  Christendom  cheerless  and  dreary  as  the  very  caverns  of  death. 
On  this  point  one  need  not  fear  to  say  too  much,  the  professed 
Christian,  who  grudges  the  drafts  made  upon  his  purse  by  the  gos- 
pel, and  is  ever  poor  when  its  claims  are  presented,  is  to  be  classed 
with  Demas  and  Judas,  and  to  be  held  up  to  the  world  as  its  o-reat- 
est  foe,  and  to  the  Church  as  its  darkest  and  deepest  blot. 
How  charming  is  the  place 

Where  my  Redeemer,  God, 

Unveils  the  beauties  of  his  face, 

And  sheds  his  love  abroad  ! 

Not  the  fair  palaces 

To  which  the  great  resort, 
Are  once  to  be  compared  with  this 
Where  Jesus  holds  his  court! 

Here,  on  the  mercy-seat, 

With  radiant  glory  crown'd, 
Our  joyful  eyes  behold  him  sit, 

And  smile  on  all  around. 

To  him  their  prayers  and  cries 

Each  humble  soul  presents  : 
He  listens  to  their  broken  sighs 

And  grants  them  all  their  wants. 

Give  me,  0  Lord,  a  place 

Within  thy  blest  abode, 
Among  the  children  of  thy  grace, 

The  servants  of  my  God. 


SERMON    V. 

MIRROR  OF  HUMAN  NATURE. 

PROVERBS    XXVII.    19. 
As  in  water,  face  answereth  to  face;  so  the  heart  of  man  to  man. 

This  text  has  received  various  interpretations ;  but  there  is 
among  them  one  more  generally  approved  by  the  friends  of  truth 
than  any  other,  and  which,  it  would  seem  to  me,  is  its  plain  and 
obvious  meaning  :  — As  a  man  looking  into  the  water,  (used  an- 
ciently as  a  mirror,)  sees  there  an  exact  transcript  of  his  own 
countenance,  so  every  heart  has,  by  nature,  precisely  the  same 
moral  character  with  every  other  unsanctified  heart.  However 
men  may  differ,  as  to  the  circumstances  of  their  being — as  to  their 
age,  country,  habits,  and  education — still  every  child  of  Adam,  till 
renewed  by  Divine  grace,  has,  in  the  view  of  Omniscience,  the 
same  moral  aspect. 

Many,  who  still  wish  to  be  considered  believers  in  Divine  reve- 
lation, have  asserted,  that  the  parts  of  Scripture  which  give  unre- 
generate  men  a  deformed  and  polluted  character  are  not  applicable 
to  men  of  the  present  day.  When  Paul  says  of  the  unregenerate 
world,  and  quotes  the  saying  from  another  inspired  author,  "  There 
is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one  ;  there  is  none  that  understandeth  ; 
there  is  none  that  seeketh  after  God  ;  they  are  all  gone  out  of  the 
way  ;  they  are  together  become  unprofitable  ;  there  is  none  that 
doeth  good,  no,  not  one  ;  their  throat  is  an  open  sepulchre  5  with 
their  tongues  they  have  used  deceit;  the  poison  of  asps  is  under 
their  lips ;  whose  mouth  is  full  of  cursing  and  bitterness ;  their 
feet  are  swift  to  shed  blood :  destruction  and  misery  are  in  their 
ways  ;  and  the  way  of  peace  they  have  not  known  ;  there  is  no 
fear  of  God  before  their  eyes."  When  he  says  all  this  it  is  round- 
ly denied,  that  in  civilized  lands — lands  enlightened  and  polished 
— there  can  be  found  beings  of  so  barbarous  a  character.  It  may 
possibly  suit  the  Turk,  the  Arab,  and  the  Tartar,  and  may  be  adapt- 
ed to  some  few  outcasts  in  more  favored  lands  ;  but,  as  a  general 
description  of  unregenerate  men,  it  is  rejected  with  proud  disdain. 

In    this  style  the    Bible    has  of  late    been  rudely    mangled,  till 


MIRROR    OF    HUMAN    NATURE.  93 

many  feel  themselves  quite  at  liberty  to  deny  the  application  to 
themselves  of  any  text  that  would  go  to  neutralize  their  creed  or 
wound  their  high  sense  of  the  dignity  of  human  nature.  It  is 
hence  considered  important  to  show, 

That  men,  in  all  countries  and  ages,  and  under  every  variety  of  cus- 
toms and  manners,  have  had,  and  continue  still  to  have,  naturally,  the 
same  moral  character. 

This  doctrine  it  will  be  my  object  to  illustrate.  But  I  shall  first 
notice  some  of  the  circumstances  which  have  contributed  to  make 
men  differ  in  their  conduct,  who  have  by  nature  the  same  moral 
character. 

In  the  first  place,  grace  has  made  a  wide  difference  in  men  who 
were  by  nature  alike.  This  has  been  the  case  in  most  countries, 
and  in  all  ages,  since  God  first  set  up  his  Church  in  the  family  of 
Adam. 

In  the  second  place,  the  difference  in  the  instinctive  passions  and 
affections  has  made  men  to  differ  in  their  conduct. 

In  the  third  place,  some  have  not  the  talents  for  doing  mischief 
that  others  have.  This  one  cause  may  operate,  when  there  is  no 
other,  to  produce  the  greatest  difference  of  conduct,  where  there 
is  the  same  temper  of  heart. 

In  the  fourth  place,  some  have  not  the  opportunity  to  do  mis- 
chief that  others  have.  There  may  be  the  disposition,  and  the 
talents  for  gigantic  iniquity,  but  opportunity  may  be  wanting. 
Nero  and  Julian  had  the  opportunity  while  many  a  wretch  during 
their  reign,  possessing  perhaps  equal  talents,  obtained  no  celebrity 
in  the  service  of  their  infernal  master.  There  are  men  base 
enough  to  burn  a  world,  who  will  die  after  having  done  but  little 
mischief. 

I  remark,  finally,  that  one  man  may  achieve  less  mischief  than 
another,  because  more  restrained.  One  man  is  held  back  from  in- 
iquity by  his  conscience.  In  another,  pride  prevents  him  from 
descending  to  the  deeds  of  sin  which  he  would  love  to  do.  In 
another,  interest  is  the  restraining  principle.  Hence  the  most 
decent  among  all  the  ungodly,  may  have  a  heart  that  will  compare 
in  its  every  feature,  with  that  of  the  thief,  the  robber,  and  the 
assassin  ;  though  restrained  from  their  deeds  of  death. 

Having  thus  noticed  some  of  the  circumstances  which  have 
made  men  to  differ  in  their  conduct  and  appearance,  who  have  by 
nature  the  same  character  of  heart,  I  proceed  to  illustrate  the  doc- 
trine,   That  men,  in  all   ages,  and  tinder  every  variety  of  customs 


94  MIRROR    OF    HUMAN    NATURE. 

and  manners,  have   had,  and  still  continue  to  have,  naturally,  tht 
same  moral  character. 

I.  We  might  infer  the  truth  of  this  doctrine,  prior  to  any  argu- 
ment, from  the  similarity  of  origin,  aspect,  and  general  habits,  that 
belong  to  all  ages  and  all  nations  of  men.  All  men  sprang  from 
the  same  first  parents;  in  their  veins  flows  the  same  blood  ;  they 
have  the  same  general  spirit ;  feed  on  the  same  food ;  and  have  all 
naturally  the  same  general  habits  ;  and  prior  to  any  extraneous 
applications,  have,  as  we  analogically  infer,  the  same  temper  of 
heart.  For  the  same  reason  that  we  expect  to  find  the  lamb  and 
the  dove  harmless,  and  the  lion  and  tiger  ferocious,  through  all 
their  generations,  and  in  all  countries  where  they  are  found  ;  we 
expect  man  to  be,  in  the  temper  of  his  heart,  the  same  in  all  ages 
and  in  all  nations.  When  we  have  settled  the  point  that  the 
human  family  are  all  of  one  species,  analogy  so  far  decides  the 
truth  of  our  doctrine,  as  to  cast  the  burden  of  proof  on  those  who 
venture  to  deny  it.  But  there  is  on  this  subject  more  direct  and 
positive  testimony.     I  would  then  remark. 

II.  That  we  can  hardly  fix  our  eye  on  any  individual  or  commu- 
nity of  antiquity,  but  we  can  find  its  exact  resemblance,  in  some 
individual  or  community  with  whose  character  we  are  familiar.  I 
shall  make  my  selections  chiefly  from  scripture  history,  and  shall 
notice  those  whose  deportment  made  it  manifest  that  they  were 
not  born  of  God,  or  if  otherwise,  were  left  to  act  out  their  native 
character.  When  I  look  back  to  the  family  of  Adam,  I  see  in 
Cain  the  prototype  of  many  a  man  born  sixty  centuries  after  him. 
He  saw  that  his  brother's  offering  was  more  acceptable  than  his 
own,  became  envious,  rose  from  envy  to  anger,  and  gave  vent  to 
his  malice  in  a  deed  that  rendered  him  a  fugitive  and  a  vagabond. 
Now  who  is  so  ignorant  of  human  nature  as  not  to  see  in  society 
men  of  precisely  the  same  description'  in  the  present  day  ;  men 
who  covet  another's  distinctions,  and  from  coveting  become  mali- 
cious, and  would  destroy,  if  human  law  did  not  interfere,  the 
object  of  their  spleen.  Every  generation  and  every  country  gives 
birth  to  just  such  men,  and  they  are  found  amid  every  community, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  order  of  men.  Witness  the  whole 
list  of  duellists,  from  the  prince  who  settles  his  quarrel  in  stj  le, 
to  the  poor  kidnapped  African  who  hews  to  pieces  his  antagonist 
with  his  hoe  or  his  scythe.  When  their  envy  does  not  terminate 
in  blood,  it  rises  often  to  a  horrid  pitch  of  desperation. 


MIRROR    OF    HITMAN    NATURE.  95 

In  the  family  of  Jacob  there  was  seen  all  that  variety  of  evil 
disposition  witnessed  in  later  families.  There  was  parental  par- 
tiality, and  filial  impiety  ;  there  was  envy,  and  jealousy,  and  pride, 
and  revenge,  and  vanity,  and  lust,  and  deceit,  and,  finally,  all  the 
unhallowed  passions,  that  go  to  poison  the  harmony  of  domestic 
circles  in  every  county. 

In  the  character  of  Balaam,  the  false  prophet,  who  pretended  a 
high  regard  to  the  divine  authority,  and  a  sacred  respect  to  the 
decisions  of  conscience,  while  yet  he  loved  the  wages  of  unright- 
eousness, and  would  gladly  have  permission  of  Heaven  to  curse 
the  Lord's  people,  we  have  the  features  of  many  an  evil  mind  in 
the  present  day-  Like  him,  when  they  cannot  do  wrong  conscien- 
tiously, they  lay  conscience  aside,  and  proceed  by  the  meanest 
measures  to  gratify  their  envy  of  the  Lord's  people.  Can  they 
bribe  Heaven,  or  force  the  Bible,  or  plead  the  example  of  the 
Lord's  people,  to  justify  them,  they  prefer  to  sin  conscientiously, 
but  finally  their  wrath  is  too  malicious  to  be  restrained  by  the  laws 
of  decency,  humanity,  or  honor. 

Look,  if  you  please,  at  Shimei,  who  cursed  David  in  the  day  of 
his  adversity,  and  tell  me  if  the  present  age,  and  all  countries,  are 
not  filled  with  men  of  precisely  the  same  spirit.  While  their 
neighbor  is  prosperous,  has  wealth,  and  power,  and  influence,  they 
are  the  merest  sycophants  ;  but  when  the  scale  is  turned,  and  they 
have  nothing  either  to  fear  or  hope  for,  they  can  display  the  mean- 
est spirit  of  malevolence.  They  have  souls  the  most  mercenary, 
and  no  opinion  of  their  own,  till  they  fall  in  with  some  current  of 
public  scorn,  when,  all  at  once,  they  seem  the  most  decided  of  all 
men.  Who  has  not  witnessed,  when  public  sentiment  has  set  in 
upon  some  good  man,  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  what  a 
multitude  will  then  for  the  first  time  discover  that  he  is  not  fit  to 
live.  Witness  that  most  noted  of  all  cases — when  our  Lord  was 
arrested,  the  very  multitude,  whose  blind  he  had  made  to  sec,  and 
whose  deaf  to  hear,  whose  sicknesses  he  had  healed,  whose  lepers 
he  had  cleansed,  and  whose  dead  he  had  raised,  could  immediately 
cry  out,  "  Crucify  him,  crucify  him."  A  few  hours  previously,  his 
enemies  were  afraid  to  arrest  him,  because  his  standing  was  so 
high  in  the  public  estimation.  But  his  character  was  unaltered. 
He  did  not  all  at  once  put  on  that  unworthiness  that  became  an 
excuse  for  their  wrath.  He  was  the  same  when  feeding  the  mul- 
titude, as  when  hanging  on  the  tree.  Tell  me,  if  from  the  time  of 
David  down  to  this  day,  society  has  not   been  thick  set  with  men 


96  MIRROR    OF    HUMAN    NATURE. 

of  precisely  the  same   spirit  with   that   miscreant  who  cursed  the 
king  of  Jiulah  in  his  flight. 

I  name  Joab,  David's  chief  captain,  ambitious,  jealous,  impudent, 
profane,  revengeful — and  ask  if  society  is  not  cursed  in  the  present 
day  with  just  such  men.  They  will  retain  their  place,  and  their 
honors  at  any  expense;  will  violate  truth,  and  betray  confidence, 
and  direct  their  stab  at  reputation  and  life  ;  will  carry  revenge  in 
their  bosoms  for  years,  and  will  finally  violate  all  the  laws  of 
righteousness,  and  cover  their  souls  with  indelible  guilt  to  gratify 
an  unbounded  ambition. 

Let  me  name  one  among  that  sex  where  it  grieves  me  to  find 
any  fault, — the  wife  of  Ahab  ;  and  tell  me  if  every  age  and  king- 
dom has  not  had  its  Jezebels.  You  remember  her  as  the  abettor 
of  falsehood,  fraud,  oppression,  persecution,  and  crime  in  every 
varied  form  into  which  unbounded  depravity  could  mould  itself. 
She  entailed  upon  her  husband  the  horrid  reputation  of  having 
done  more  to  provoke  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  to  anger,  than  all  the 
kings  that  were  before  him.  Now  you  have  but  to  divest  her  of 
royalty  and  power,  and  you  will  find  her  likeness  in  every  consi- 
derable group  of  the  world's  present  population.  She  was  noisy 
and  impudent,  bold  and  masculine,  controlled  her  husband,  guided 
his  measures,  made  him  avenge  her  quarrels,  instigated  him  to 
deeds  of  oppression,  hated  all  that  was  holy,  abused  the  Lord's 
prophet,  and  honored  Baal,  and  finally  was  eaten  of  dogs,  and  went 
to  her  own  place.  Now  can  it  be  doubted  but  that  you  could  *>nd 
in  every  district  of  this  world's  population  many  a  daughter  of 
depravity,  after  her  own  likeness,  whom  you  have  only  to  vest 
with  power  and  clothe  with  royalty,  and  yoke  to  a  weak  and 
wicked  prince,  and  you  have  another  Jezebel,  prepared  to  pollute 
all  that  is  fair,  and  blight  all  that  is  flourishing  in  the  Israel  of 
God] 

You  may  go  out  of  Israel,  and  survey  all  nations  of  all  ages,  and 
you  will  find  all  that  variety  of  character  noticed  in  Israel,  and 
seen  in  our  day,  and  our  land.  You  may  select  the  worst  man 
that  has  lived  in  any  age  or  kingdom,  or  the  best  of  all  the  ungod- 
ly, and  you  will  trace  his  resemblance  in  every  period  and  in  every 
tribe  of  the  human  family.  We  allow  that  circumstances  may 
favor  or  retard  the  growth,  and  the  unbridled  exercise  of  the  pas- 
sions in  one  nation,  or  at  one  period  more  than  another  ;  but  still 
a  general  comparison  of  this  world's  population,  at  different  peri- 
ods, will  lead  invariably  to  the  conclusion  that,  "as  in  water  face 
answereth  to  face,  so  the  heart  of  man  to  man,"— that  the  revolu 


mirror  of  huma;\  .\aitjre.  97 

tions  of  time  have  yet  brought  round  no  golden  age,  in  which  there 
was  not  displayed  the  same  temper  and  disposition,  and  when 
there  were  not  born  men  of  the  same  general  character.  I  pro- 
ceed to  a 

III.  Argument.  There  have  prevailed  in  all  ages  and  nations 
the  same  crimes,  calling  for  the  restraining  influence  of  the  same 
laws. 

Men  have  been  in  all  times  and  places  inclined  to  wrong  their 
fellow-men  of  their  property.  Hence  fraud,  theft,  robbery,  and 
oppression  have  been  blots  in  the  history  of  every  people  who  have 
inhabited  the  globe.  It  will  not  be  denied  that  the  immediate  de- 
scendants of  Abraham  were  the  most  moral  and  civilized  people 
of  their  time  ;  yet  these  crimes  prevailed  in  Israel.  One  would 
steal  an  ox,  or  a  sheep,  and  kill  it,  and  this  vice  must  be  restrained 
by  the  penalty  of  restoring  five  oxen  for  an  ox,  and  four  sheep  for 
a  sheep.  Another  would  turn  his  beast  into  his  neighbor's  field 
and  cause  it  to  be  eaten  up  ;  and  must  make  restitution  of  the  best 
of  his  own  field.  Another  would  remove  his  neighbor's  land- 
mark ;  in  which  case  there  must  light  a  curse  upon  his  head,  to 
which  all  the  people  must  say,  Amen.  There  were  those  who  vex 
and  oppress  the  stranger,  those  who  would  exact  usury,  those  who 
would  take  in  pledge  a  neighbor's  raiment,  those  who  would  not 
pay  the  tithes  that  God  had  enjoined,  those  who  would  take  a 
bribe,  who  would  follow  the  multitude  to  do  evil,  who  would  pro- 
fane the  Sabbatb,  who  would  bear  false  witness,  who  would  covet 
a  neighbor's  wife,  or  ox,  or  field.  And  all  these  crimes  prevailed, 
to  a  still  greater  degree,  among  the  nations  bordering  upon  Israel, 
who  had  not  upon  them  the  restraints  of  God's  written  law.  And 
who  will  deny,  that  these  crimes  are  still  common  1  Have  we  not 
the  usurer,  the  slanderer,  the  thief,  the  oppressor,  the  profane,  the 
adulterer,  and  the  Sabbath-breaker  1  Have  we  not  in  use  similar 
laws  to  those  which  curbed  to  decency,  and  honesty,  and  integrity, 
the  family  of  Abraham  1  What  reason  have  we  to  assert,  that  a 
single  statute  in  the  law  of  Moses  went  to  restrain  a  crime  that 
has  since  then  become  obsolete  1  Hence  what  reason  to  believe, 
that  human  nature  has  become  better  1  What  reason  to  believe, 
that  the  descriptions  of  depravity  which  applied  to  Israel,  Babylon, 
Egypt,  Syria,  and  Sidon,  or  even  to  Sodom,  will  not  apply  with 
equal  propriety  to  the  men  of  this  land,  and  of  all  lands  and  all 
generations  when  circumstances  favor  the  growth  and  the  practice 

13 


98  MIRROR    OF    HUMAN    NATURE. 

of  the   same  vices'?     "As  in  water  face  answereth  to  face,  so  the 
heart  of  man  to  man."     I  draw  my 

IV.  Argument  from  the  fact,  that  the  Bible  has  never  become 
obsolete. 

It  describes  men  of  other  periods,  and  the  description  suits  the 
present  generation.  Some  parts  of  the  Bible  describe  men  as  they 
acted  three  and  four  thousand  years  ago  ;  other  parts  as  they  con- 
ducted eighteen  hundred  years  since  ;  and  it  informs  us  how  men 
will  act  down  to  the  end  of  time.  Now,  sinners  in  the  present 
day,  soon  as  they  gain  some  knowledge  of  themselves,  find  a  faith- 
ful description  of  their  hearts  in  the  same  Bible.  It  proves, 
wherever  there  is  a  spirit  of  self-application,  "  a  discerner  of  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart."  We  have  sometimes  seen 
persons  greatly  astonished,  to  find,  all  at  once,  that  they  had  in 
their  house  a  neglected  book,  that  could  tell  them  all  the  secrets 
of  their  hearts.  And  this  circumstance  has  not  unfrequently  per- 
suaded them  that  the  Bible  was  written  by  the  finger  of  God. 

But  if  human  nature  has  gradually  become  better,  as  some  would 
pretend  to  believe  ;  if  the  awful  descriptions  of  depravity  given  us 
in  the  Bible  would  suit  only  the  generations  or  communities,  of 
whom  they  were  originally  given,  the  book  would  not  seem  adapt- 
ed, as  it  does,  to  men  as  they  now  feel  and  conduct.  When  the 
unregenerate  world  shall  have  become  as  much  better,  as  it  has  be- 
come quite  fashionable  to  believe,  the  Bible  will  be  no  longer 
adapted  to  our  condition.  It  will  not  then  be  a  light  to  our  feet 
and  a  lamp  to  our  path.  I  can  believe  that  the' spirit  of  the  divine 
law  will  be  in  force  in  heaven,  but  that  detail  of  the  law,  found  in 
the  Bible,  and  adapted  to  a  race  of  sinful  and  polluted  men,  must  go 
into  disuse  when  there  shall  be  born  a  race  free  from  entire  depra- 
vity. The  Bible  was  intended  to  follow  men  into  the  labyrinths  of 
vice,  and  there  warn,  and  admonish,  and  threaten,  and  reprove 
Hence  when  men  shall  not  thus  run  into  sin,  they  will  need,  and 
God  will  inspire  them  a  new  Bible.  It  was  intended  to  block  up 
the  way  of  death,  and  save  men  from  destroying  themselves ;  but 
when  men  shall  no  longer  love  to  tread  the  way  to  perdition,  the 
Bible  will  not  be  the  book  they  will  need,  and  God  will  recall  his 
word,  and  give  the  world  other  instructions,  adapted  to  their  al- 
tered and  better  condition.  Hence  whatever  evidence  we  have 
that  the  Bible  is  still  the  very  book  we  need,  we  have  equal  testi- 
mony that  men  are  by  nature  depraved,  as  they  ever  were.  For 
if  the  civil  law  of  Moses  would  suit  well  the  present   generation. 


MIRROR    OF    HUMAN    NATURE.  99 

though  written  more  than  three  thousand  years  since;  and  if  the 
Prophecies  and  the  Psalms,  written  five  and  seven  hundred  years 
later,  are  descriptive  of  just  such  men  as  we  are  ;  and  if  the  Gos- 
pels and  the  Epistles,  of  still  later  date,  seem  adapted  to  the  moral 
character  of  the  present  generation  ;  with  what  face  can  men  as- 
sert that  their  native  heart  has  changed  all  its  character  1  Must 
not  the  honest  man  believe  still,  that  "as  in  water  face  answereth 
to  face,  so  the  heart  of  man  V     I  close  with 

REMARKS. 

1.  We  see  one  source  of  those  corruptions  of  doctrine  with 
which  the  world  is  filled.  Men  have  determined  that  human  na- 
ture has  grown  better,  and  that  men  are  born  now  very  different 
beings  from  the  antediluvians,  or  the  Jews,  or  the  Romans,  or  the 
whole  Gentile  world  in  the  time  of  our  Lord.  Having  settled  this 
point,  independently  on  the  divine  testimony,  they  infer  that  the 
same  Bible  will  not  suit  the  different  ages  and  nations:  that  what 
God  would  say  to  the  ignorant,  barbarous  beings  that  once  peopled 
the  world,  he  would  not  say  to  the  present  enlightened  and  polish- 
ed nations  of  Christendom.  Thus  one  error  has  conducted  to 
another.  They  have  been  led,  by  the  deceitfulness  of  their  hearts, 
to  believe  one  lie,  and  then,  to  be  consistent,  must  believe  another. 
Had  they  but  correct  views  of  their  own  hearts,  they  would  be- 
lieve that  the  same  book,  which  lashed  the  consciences  of  sinners 
two  thousand  years  ago,  is  still  the  best  book  for  us  that  God  could 
inspire,  and  that  it  needs  no  altering.  This  is  the  opinion  of 
awakened  sinners.  When  God  makes  men  acquainted  with  them- 
selves, the  Bible  looks  them  through,  as  if  an  omniscient  eye  was 
fixed  in  the  centre  of  every  page ;  and  it  needs  then  no  mutilations 
or  amendments.  Oh,  would  those  who  think  they  see  an  inappro- 
priateness  in  the  Bible  doctrines,  look  once  into  their  own  hearts, 
that  look  would  be  a  sovereign  antidote  to  their  heterodoxy ;  and 
the  Bible  would  soon  be  found  appropriate  and  precious.  They 
would  patiently  read  its  most  doleful  pages,  and  trace,  with  moist 
ened  eye,  its  portraits  of  human  depravity;  discovering  every  fea- 
ture of  themselves  in  its  most  darkened  lines.  In  the  character  of 
the  old  world,  and  of  the  Sodomites,  Paul's  description  of  Gen- 
tiles, and  in  the  character  of  Judas,  they  would  see  no  touch  of  the 
divine  pencil  too  dark  for  a  delineation  of  their  own  carnal  mind. 
It  would  rather  seem  as  if  the  whole  had  been  intended  to  portray 
their  own  likeness,  in  the  fairest  colors  that  truth  could  use.  Their 
proud  brow  would   gather  sadness,  their  heart  would   sicken,  and 


100  MIRROR    OF    HUMAN    NATURE. 

falling   down   into  the  dust,  they  would  cover  their  faces  and  cry, 
Unclean!  unclean!   Wo  is  unto  me. 

2.  The  subject  justifies  a  kind  of  preaching,  as  plain  and  pointed 
as  any  thing  found  in  the  law  of  God,  or  in  the  communications  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles.  Those  who  have  anathematized  a  discri- 
minating, bold,  and  plain  exhibition  of  truth,  have  all  gone  upon  the 
mistaken  presumption,  that  men,  as  the  ages  have  revolved,  have 
gradually  bleached  their  moral  character.  They  have  no  idea, 
that  were  the  Lord  Jesus  to  visit  the  earth  again,  he  would  de- 
nounce us  as  a  sinful  and  adulterous  generation,  or  address  the 
very  worst  of  men  as  serpents,  and  a  generation  of  vipers,  hardly 
escaping  the  damnation  of  hell ; — he  would  not  now  say,  "  that  the 
whole  world  lieth  in  wickedness,"  and  that  "  except  a  man  be  born 
again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God  ;" — the  ignorant  and  bar- 
barous Jews  needed  to  be  born  again  ;  as  also  some  of  the  less  civil 
among  the  Romans,  and  a  few  of  the  more  unlettered  among  the 
Grecians;  but  the  term  has  no  meaning  in  an  enlightened  congre- 
gation in  America. 

But  all  this  is  false  and  mischievous.  Men  have  just  such  hearts 
as  they  always  had ;  and  need  a  gospel  as  plain  and  pungent  as 
that  preached  by  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  old  serpent  needs  to  be 
dislodged  now  from  his  usurped  throne  and  dominion,  by  the  same 
coarse  weapons,  if  you  please  to  call  them  such,  as  were  used 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  We  may  dream  that  we  are  con- 
versant with  celestial  beings ;  that  our  readers  are  all  in  a  fair 
way  for  heaven ;  but  while  we  are  amusing  them,  they  may,  one 
by  one,  steal  away  to  their  death-bed,  and  from  thence  to  a  bed  in 
hell.  And  what  minister  of  Christ  would  not  rather  make  them 
feel  unhappy  all  the  way  to  perdition,  than  find  at  last,  that,  while 
he  has  been  preaching  a  smooth  and  polished  gospel,  one  soul  has 
been  lost  for  ever  through  his  negligence  1 

Every  unregenerate  man  in  this  world  has,  in  the  view  of  Hea- 
ven, the  same  moral  character  with  those  who  vexed  the  righteous 
soid  of  Noah,  and  Lot,  and  Elijah,  and  Malachi,  and  Jesus  Christ, 
and  needs  to  be  addressed  in  the  same  plain,  and  pungent,  and  dis- 
criminating style.  Why  should  totally  depraved  men  wish  any 
other  gospel  than  that  prepared  for  the  totally  depraved  ?  What 
other  gospel  can  reach  their  case,  and  alarm  them,  and  save  them  1 
How  cruel,  if  they  do  wish  it,  to  amuse  them  with  fair  words,  and 
smooth  speeches,  and  thus  prevent  their  hearts  from  aching,  till 
their  destiny  is  sealed.  May  the  blessed  God  save  his  ministers 
from  such  deeds  of  treachery! 


MIRROR    OF    HUMAN    NATURE.  K  1 

No,  the  world  needs  just  such  a  gospel  as  was  preached  In  Je- 
rusalem, and  Rome,  and  Corinth — needs  to  hear  the  thunders  of  the 
same  law  that  issued  from  the  smoke  of  Sinai,  and  to  see  the  vivid 
flashes  that  glared  upon  its  summit.  Not  enough  better  has  the 
world  become  to  admit  the  softening  down  of  one  accent  of  those 
denunciations  that  fell  from  the  lips  of  Jesus.  And  he  who  thinks 
otherwise,  has  only  to  look  around  him,  and  within  him,  and  see 
now  the  human  heart  belches  forth  its  moral  corruption,  poisoning 
domestic  and  social  joy,  and  contaminating  every  district  of  this 
unfortunate  and  ruined  world.  Let  him  attend  our  courts  of  jus- 
tice, and  see  how  men  will  perjure  themselves;  let  him  read  the 
catalogue  of  divorces ;  let  him  spend  an  evening  in  the  grog-shop  ; 
let  him  stop  a  moment  at  her  door,  whose  "  house  is  the  way  to 
hell  }"*  let  him  enter  one  of  our  criminal  prisons ;  let  him  pene- 
trate once  into  the  secrets  of  his  own  heart,  and  stay  there  till  the 
light  is  let  in  ;  and  if  he  shall  then  wish  any  other  gospel  than  the 
one  he  has,  we  will  unite  with  him  in  beseeching  the  Eternal  to 
take  back  his  terrible  communications. 

3.  The  subject  furnishes  ungodly  men  the  means  of  knowing 
their  own  characters.  They  have  but  to  read  the  history  of  the 
world,  and  learn  what  sort  of  beings  once  peopled  it,  and  that  his- 
tory is  the  mirror  in  which  they  can  see  themselves.  We  do  not 
say  that  every  two  unregenerate  men  are  alike  in  their  exterior  ; 
but  we  assert,  on  the  testimony  of  God,  that  every  two  unregene- 
rate hearts  have,  in  the  view  of  God,  the  same  moral  character. 
Hence  the  most  decent  of  the  ungodly  may  look  at  the  most  aban- 
doned, and  learn  exactly  what  themselves  would  be,  were  God  to 
remove  all  restraint.  Hence  spake  our  Lord  of  whited  sepulchres, 
that  appeared  beautiful  indeed  without,  but  within  were  full  of  dead 
men's  bones  and  all  uncleanness.  And  he  elsewhere  assures  us, 
He  that  has  been  angry  with  his  brother  without  a  cause,  though 
he  may  not  have  spilt  the  blood  of  any  man,  is  a  murderer;  and 
he  who  has  cast  a  lascivious  look,  is  an  adulterer ;  and  he  who 
has  not  paid  his  tithes,  has  robbed  God.  Thus  Heaven  looks  at 
the  marrow  and  the  pith  of  character  ;  and  if  men  would  know 
themselves,  they  must  be  willing  to  be  measured  by  the  same  rule. 

4.  We  argue  from  this  subject,  that  men  must  all  pass  the  same 
second  birth  to  fit  them  for  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  whited 
sepulchre,  as  well  as  that  which  is  neglected  and  decayed,  needs 
to  be  cleansed  within,  else  it  remains  full  of  dead  men's  bones  and 

*  Prov.  vii.  27. 


102  MIRROR    OF    HUMAN    NATURE. 

all  uncleanness.  The  best  man  among  all  the  unregei  erated  is  a 
great  sinner,  and  must  become  greatly  ashamed,  and  must  hate 
sin,  and  must  put  his  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or  he  must  be 
as  surely  shut  out  of  heaven  as  the  vilest  man  that  breathes.  Men, 
we  know,  may  do  different  degrees  of  mischief;  one  may  draw 
sin  with  cords  of  vanity,  and  another  with  a  cart-rope;  and  still 
both  may,  with  equal  assurance,  be  pronounced  on  the  way  to  hell. 
And  in  that  world,  it  is  not  denied,  that  there  may  be  different  de- 
grees of  torment ;  but  it  is  denied,  that  either  the  better  sinner  or 
the  worse  can  escape  perdition,  unless  he  be  born  again.  Hence 
it  becomes  every  man,  honorable  or  mean,  to  be  inquiring  what 
he  must  do  to  be  saved.  The  man  who  stupidly  imagines  that 
any  elevation  of  character  raises  him  above  the  necessity  of  re- 
penting, and  of  taking  a  believing  grasp  of  the  atonement  by  Jesus 
Christ,  has  mistaken  his  own  character,  and  is  blind  to  his  ap- 
proaching destiny.  He  may  compass  himself  about  with  sparks 
of  his  own  kindling,  and  walk  in  the  light  of  his  own  fire,  but  shall 
have  this  at  the  hand  of  God,  that  he  shall  lie  down  in  everlasting 
sorrow.  Haste,  then,  ye  very  best  of  the  ungodly,  and  be  found 
at  a  Savior's  feet,  that  ye  may  have  life  through  his  name.  If  the 
world  esteems  you  a  benefactor,  and  you  can  see  no  fault  in  your- 
self, still  you  must  be  born  again,  or  die  in  your  sins,  and  where 
Christ  is,  can  never  come. 

Finally,  We  see  why  there  need  be  but  one  place  of  destiny  in 
the  coming  world  for  all  the  unregenerate.  The  little  shades  of 
difference  that  now  appear  in  the  ungodly,  are  too  insignificant  to 
mark  them  out  for  distinct  worlds.  When  God  takes  off  those 
restraints  that  now  make  unholy  men  differ,  they  will  be  so  much 
alike  that  none  will  impeach  his  justice  when  he  assigns  them  all 
the  same  outer  darkness,  the  same  gnawing  worm,  and  the  same 
quenchless  fire.  He  that  has  stolen  his  neighbor's  property,  and 
died  a  felon,  and  he  who  has  concealed  the  article  found  in  the 
street,  or  the  mistake  made  in  his  favor,  or  has  purposely  become 
a  bankrupt,  to  escape  the  obligations  of  honesty,  will  appear  too 
much  alike  in  the  judgment  to  require  any  material  diversity  in 
their  final  sentence.  The  same  perdition  will  suit  them  both, 
though  one  drops  down  to  hell  from  the  gallows,  and  the  other  is 
borne  there  on  a  downy  bed.  The  duelist  and  the  assassin,  the 
usurer  and  the  pickpocket,  the  forsworn  and  the  profane,  the  wine- 
bibber  and  the  sot,  the  fashionable  adulterer  and  the  inmate  of  the 
brothel,  must  be  seen  to  d i fie r  so  little,  when  God  shall  tear  away 
the  fictitious  drapery  from  the  more   honorable  sinner,  that  it  will 


MIRROR    OF    HUMAW    NATURE.  103 

seem  no  incongruity  to  place  them  at  last  in  the  same  hell.  God 
will  consider  his  law  as  openly  violated,  and  his  authority  as  egre- 
giously  insulted,  by  the  man  who  sinned  in  accordance  with  pub- 
lic sentiment,  as  by  the  man  who  did  his  deeds  of  depravity  in  full 
and  open  violation  of  the  civilities  and  customs  of  human  society 
Men  make  wide  distinctions  where  God  will  make  none.  Hence 
the  same  condemnatory  sentence,  the  same  prompt  execution  of 
it,  the  same  place  of  punishment,  the  same  duration  of  misery,  and 
the  same  total  despair,  will  be  the  destiny  of  the  patrician  and  the 
plebeian  transgressor.  Does  the  man  die  out  of  Christ,  this  is 
enough ;  no  matter  whether  he  was  lothed  in  purple  and  fine 
linen,  and  fared  sumptuously  every  day,  or  went  to  perdition  a 
beggar  or  a  slave.  It  will  be  the  same  thing  to  God ;  and  for  all 
the  millions  who  repent  not,  he  will  build  but  one  hell.  Perhaps 
the  meanness  and  coarseness  of  his  associates  may  prove  at  last, 
to  the  more  accomplished  sinner,  an  ingredient  in  his  cup  of  mis- 
ery that  shall  more  than  counterbalance  the  honors  and  the  pride, 
which,  in  this  life,  gave  him  his  fictitious  elevation  above  the  vul- 
gar transgressor.  Could  I  make  my  puny  voice  be  heard,  I  would 
thunder  this  sentiment  through  all  the  ranks  of  elevated  crime,  till 
the  highest  prince  should  find  his  adulterous  bed  a  couch  of  thorns, 
till  the  honorable  murderer  should  feel  in  his  own  bosom  "  the 
arrows  of  the  Almighty,"*  and  till  the  boldest  in  blasphemy  and 
the  meanest  in  knavery  should  fear  alike  the  same  award,  "  Depart 
ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels." 

*  Job.  vi.  4. 


SERMON  VI. 

THE  SON  OF  GOD  MUST  BE  REVERENCED. 

MATT.    XXI.    37. 

They  will  reverence  my  son. 

Our  Lord,  in  the  context,  represents  the  ingratitude  and  the 
barrenness  of  the  Jewish  church,  by  a  parable  of  a  vineyard  leased 
for  several  successive  years  to  unworthy  husbandmen,  who  would 
not  yield  the  owner  any  of  its  fruits;  but  treated  unmercifully 
every  servant  sent  to  receive  them.  They  "  took  his  servants, 
and  beat  one,  and  killed  another,  and  stoned  another.  But,  last 
of  all,  he  sent  unto  them  his  son  ;  saying,  They  will  reverence  my 
son.  But  they  caught  him,  and  cast  him  out  of  the  vineyard,  and 
slew  him." 

We  read,  that  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  the  house  of 
Israel,  and  Judah  his  pleasant  plant.  He  had  given  them  his  writ- 
ten word,  and  had  sent  among  them  his  prophets.  He  had  dis- 
played before  them  his  glory,  and  had,  as  it  were,  surrounded 
them  by  a  munition  of  rocks.  The  early  and  the  latter  rains  had 
rendered  their  lands  fertile,  and  the  blessing  of  God  had  prospered 
them,  in  all  that  they  set  their  hands  to  do.  Thus  Israel  was 
emphatically  a  vineyard.  But  when  God  had  a  right  to  expect 
that  the  vines  he  had  planted  and  nourished  would  bring  forth 
grapes,  they  brought  forth  wild  grapes.  The  very  people  he  had 
chosen,  killed  his  prophets,  polluted  his  worship,  and  hewed  down 
his  altars;  and  finally  imbrued  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  his  Son. 

Hence  the  parable,  delivered  by  him  who  spoke  as  never  man 
spake,  must  have  had  amazing  point  and  force.  It  aroused  their 
anger,  and  they  would  at  once  have  laid  hands  on  him,  if  they  had 
not  feared  the  multitude.  God  had  a  right  to  expect  that  they 
would  welcome  to  their  sanctuary  the  promised  Redeemer,  and 
would  hail  his  birth  as  the  pledge  of  their  redemption.  But  in 
their  cruelties  to  the  Son  of  God,  they  acted  out  the  native  tem- 
per of  the  human  heart,  and  showed  themselves  to  be  just  such 
men  as  lived  before  and  have  lived  since  the  period  of  the  Savior's 
advent.     What  is  said  of  Israel  may  be  said  of  men  in  all  ages:— 


THE  SON  OF  GOD  MUSf  BE  REVERENCED.  105 

It  might  have  been  presumed  that  they  would  treat  kindly  the  Son  of 
God. 

This  doctrine  may  be  established  by  the  following  considera- 
tions : — 

I.  That  men  would  treat  him  kindly,  might  have  been  justly 
presumed,  by  the  divinity  and  glory  of  his  highest  nature.  He  had  a 
divine  as  well  as  human  nature:  he  was  "  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh."  Previous  to  his  coming,  it  had  been  as  distinctly  asserted, 
that  he  was  divine,  as  that  he  would  be  human.  That  prediction 
of  him,  "  To  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given  :  and  the 
government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder,  and  his  name  shall  be  call- 
ed Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Fa- 
ther, the  Prince  of  Peace,"  had  been  read  by  the  posterity  of 
Abraham  ;  and  foretold  him  in  his  divine  and  in  his  human  charac 
ter.  They  had  reason  to  expect  a  Savior,  who  built  the  worlds, 
and  who  governs  the  worlds  he  built.  Hence  the  thought  of  treat- 
ing him  with  contempt  was  impious — like  offering  direct  insult  to 
Jehovah.  And  he  had  no  sooner  appeared,  than  both  his  natures 
became  manifest.  As  man  he  hungered,  while  as  God  he  created 
bread  to  feed  the  multitude  :  as  man  he  thirsted,  but  as  God  he 
converted  the  water  into  wine  5  as  man  he  could  suffer,  and  bleed, 
and  die,  while  as  God  he  could  make  the  sufferer  whole  ;  and  even 
summon  the  dead  from  their  graves.  Thus  the  accusers,  the 
judges,  and  the  executioners  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  could  have  no 
want  of  evidence  that  he  was  the  mighty  God.  Hence,  it  might 
have  been  presumed,  that  if  he  must  die,  God  himself  must  slay 
him.  He  must  come  to  his  sepulchre  by  the  immediate  hand  of 
Omnipotence.  No  one  would  dare  to  betray  him,  no  soldiery 
would  have  hardihood  enough  to  arrest  him,  no  miscreant  would 
sit  to  judge  him,  no  multitude  would  insult  him,  none  would  dare 
to  crucify  him.  And  we  should  seem  to  reason  correctly  in  all  this, 
carrying  ourselves  back  to  the  period  before  his  coming.  And 
still  we  should  reason  contrary  to  matters  of  fact. 

We  should  have  said,  anterior  to  his  offering  himself  to  men  as 
their  Mediator  and  their  friend,  that  they  would  all  accept  his 
proffered  friendship.  When  God  himself  offers  to  save,  how  can 
man  reject  him  I  He  who  now  stretches  out  his  hands  to  the  wretch- 
ed and  the  lost  of  my  readers,  is  the  same  infinite  Redeemer  who 
called  Lazarus  from  the  grave,  who  fed  the  multitude,  who  stilled 
the  waves,  who  burst  the  bands  of  death,  and  proved  his  divinity 
by  ascending  triumphant  on  high.  Angels,  and  other  beings  who 
14. 


106  THE    SON    OF    GOD    MUST    BE    REVERENCED. 

might  know  what  an  offer  men  would  thus  have  of  salval  on  by 
Jehovih  himself,  could  not  have  believed  that  sinners  would  treat 
him  as  they  do; — that  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  they  would  hear 
his  overtures,  and  turn  their  back  upon  him.  They  would  not 
have  conceived  it  possible  that  men,  after  all  he  has  done,  would 
question  his  divinity,  and  rob  him  of  his  glory,  and  persecute  his 
people. 

If  God  should  render  himself  visible,  and  stand  from  Sabbath  to 
Sabbath  with  pardons  in  his  hands,  pressing  men  to  accept  forgive- 
ness and  live,  the  obstinacy  of  sinners  would  appear  just  what  it  is. 
For  one  who  is  divine  does  thus  stand.  He  appropriates  to  him- 
self all  the  glories  of  the  Godhead,  has  the  titles,  does  the  works, 
possesses  the  attributes,  receives  the  worship,  and  claims  the 
honors  of  the  Father.  He  is  adored  in  heaven,  under  the  appella- 
tion of  the  Lamb,  in  every  anthem.  And  still  he  stands  knocking 
unheeded  at  the  door  of  the  sinner's  heart,  till  his  head  is  wet 
with  the  dew,  and  his  locks  with  the  drops  of  the  night  ;  till  we 
hardly  know  which  is  the  most  surprising,  his  condescension  or 
the  sinner's  obstinacy.     "  They  will  reverence  my  son." 

II.  It  might  have  been  presumed  that  the  Lord  Jesus  would  be 
kindly  treated  by  men,  from  the  perfect  excellence  of  his  character  as 
a  man.  There  was  nothing  in  him  to  provoke  the  anger  of  good 
beings.  There  was  neither  pride,  nor  jealousy,  nor  selfishness, 
nor  passion,  nor  any  of  those  evil  affections  that  so  often  involve 
men  in  disgraceful  broils.  He  was  meek  and  lowly  of  mind.  He 
had  a  character  of  perfect  loveliness.  His  lips  were  charged  with 
blessings,  and  not  with  curses  :  "there  wns  no  guile  found  in  his 
mouth."  He  loved  the  souls  of  men,  more  than  he  loved  his  life. 
There  was  nothing  in  him  for  men  to  blame  or  quarrel  with,  but 
every  thing  that  could  be  desired  to  draw  forth  their  strongest 
emotions  of  gratitude  and  love 

Who  could  conceive  of  a  race  of  beings  so  vile,  that  they  would 
quarrel  with  an  angel ;  yet  angels  have  no  such  worth  as  was 
found  in  the  Son  of  God.  The  prophets  had  human  nature  left,  and 
might  provoke  the  rage  of  their  enemies,  and  tantalize  their  perse- 
cutors. They  might  demand  the  fruit  of  the  vineyard  in  a  manner, 
not  the  most  condescending  and  kind,  and  might  contribute,  by 
their  own  unworthy  conduct,  to  fan  the  fires  that  were  kindling  to 
consume  them.  And  the  apostles  were  men  of  like  passions  with 
those  who  mocked  them,  and  stoned  them.  While  they  demand 
ed  boldly,  and  promptly,  the  fruit  of  the  vineyard,  they  might,  per 


THE  SON  OF  GOD  MUST  BE  REVERENCED.  107 

haps,  sometimes  make  the  demand  rudely.  But  "they  will  rever- 
ence my  son."  Nothing  that  was  wrong  in  prophets  and  apostles 
was  found  in  him  ;  and  what  was  wanting  in  them,  was  in  him. 
He  made  every  doctrine  plain,  and  every  duty  clear  and  obvious. 
He  never  pressed  the  conscience  till  he  had  enlightened  the  un- 
derstanding, nor  used  an  argument  that  was  not  sound  and  good. 
His  honesty,  and  integrity,  and  wisdom,  entitled  him  to  the  credit 
and  kindness  of  all  men. 

Now,  are  ungodly  men  aware,  that  it  is  this  same  kind  and  good 
Redeemer,  who  now  offers  to  conduct  them  to  the  abodes  of  glo- 
ry, but  whose  kindness  they  spurn,  and  whose  love  they  despise  \ 
Could  it  have  been  believed  by  those  who  knew  him  and  adored 
him,  that  men  would  thus  treat  him,  as  do  all  the  impenitent  ! 
"  They  will  reverence  my  son." 

III.  It  might  have  been  presumed,  that  men  would  treat  kindly 
the  Lord  Jesus,  from  the  reasonableness  of  his  claims.  He  came  not 
to  reap  where  he  had  not  sown,  or  gather  where  he  had  not 
strewed.  He  came  not  to  demand  allegiance  when  another  had  a 
better  right  to  the  sceptre  than  himself;  he  came  not  to  a  world 
that  had  another  for  its  creator,  its  benefactor,  and  redeemer.  He 
is  emphatically  represented  as  having  come  "  to  his  own,  but  his 
own  received  him  not."  This  world  belongs  to  the  Lord  Jesus, 
from  its  foundation  to  its  topstone.  To  him  pertain  the  wisdom 
of  having  planned  it,  the  glory  of  having  built  it,  the  right  to 
govern  it,  and  the  authority  to  judge  it.  All  creatures  in  him  live, 
and  move,  and  have  their  being.  Hence  he  has  a  right  to  our 
services,  independently  on  his  redeeming^  right.  The  breath  he 
gives  he  may  require  to  utter  itself  in  praise  ;  the  arm  he  nerves 
he  may  tax  with  duty  ;  and  the  eye  he  enlightens  he  may  reason- 
ably expect  to  regard  him  with  perpetual  complacency. 

And  when  we  take  into  account  the  ransom  price  he  paid,  his 
own  blood,  by  which  he  purchased  anew  the  world  that  was  his 
before,  his  claim  to  us  and  ours  is  too  manifest  to  be  disputed. 
"  He  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from 
all  iniquity,  and  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of  good 
works."  In  demanding  our  hearts,  then,  he  demands  what  is  his 
by  a  double  right ;  the  right  of  creation  and  of  purchase.  We 
owe  to  him  all  we  have,  and  all  we  are,  and  all  we  hope  for.  We 
can  adore  no  other  sovereign  without  treason  against  him,  and 
serve  no  other  master  without  robbery.  All  the  angels  of  God 
are  directed  to  worshiD  him  ;  and  if  angels,  who  are  his  by  feebler 


108  THE    SON    OF    GOD    MUST    BE    REVERENCED. 

ties,  must  pay  him  supreme  respect,  then  his  right  to  us,  and  his 
property  in  us,  none  but  devils,  surely,  can  have  the  audacity  to 
question.  Hence,  from  the  justness  of  his  claims,  it  might  have 
been  presumed  that  men  would  treat  well  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
The  vineyard  and  all  its  fruits  are  his. 

IV.  It  might  have  been  presumed  that  men  would  treat  well  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  the  condescending  kindriess  of  his  intentions. 
He  stood  in  no  need  of  us.  He  would  have  had  an  empire  large 
enough  to  be  the  organ  of  his  praise,  if  we  had  perished.  "  The 
chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thousand,  even  thousands  of  angels." 
And  if  men  had  been  passed  by,  and  not  redeemed,  he  would,  no 
doubt,  have  drawn  out  to  view,  in  some  other  way,  his  mercy  and 
his  wisdom,  which  now  display  themselves  in  the  economy  of  re- 
demption. He  might  have  redeemed,  for  aught  we  know,  the  lost 
angels  ;  or  might  have  displayed  redemption  among  the  population 
of  some  other  forlorn  and  ruined  world,  or  might  have  revealed 
his  gracious  character  to  us,  as  he  has  his  eternity,  through  the 
word  of  inspiration.  Christ  was  not  dependent  on  us  either  for  the 
stability  of  his  throno,  or  the  promulgation  of  his  glory,  or  the  feli- 
city of  his  being.  No  motive  brought  him  to  our  world  but  pure 
benevolence.  He  "  so  loved  the  world"  that  he  gave  himself  as 
its  ransom.  Its  miseries  moved  his  pity,  and  he  stooped  to  help 
us.  He  would  not  have  come,  had  he  not  been  kind  and  gracious. 
True,  he  showed  a  special  regard  to  the  law  ;  would  have  it 
honored  ;  would  not  allow  one  jot  or  tittle  of  it  to  fail ;  and  hence 
he  may  be  viewed  as  having  come  "  to  establish  the  law  ;"  but  it 
must  be  remembered,  that  the  law  might  have  been  honored  in  its 
execution  upon  the  guilty  ;  so  that,  independently  on  the  idea  of 
saving  sinners,  there  was  no  need  of  the  death  of  Christ,  in  order 
to  honor  the  law.  Hence  his  errand  into  our  world  was  emphati- 
cally an  errand  of  love.  "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  The  love  of  Christ  was  the  ba- 
sis of  the  covenant  of  redemption.  It  led  him  to  lay  aside  his 
glory,  and  cover  himself  with  a  veil  of  flesh,  and  become  "ac- 
quainted with  grief." — "  Though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  he 
Decame  poor,  that  we,  through  his  poverty,  might  be  rich."  He 
who  built  all  worlds,  condescended  to  say  of  himself,  "The  foxes 
have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of 
man  hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head."  Thus,  "by  grace  are  we 
saved." 


THE    SON    OF    GOD    MUST    BE    REVERENCED.  109 

Now,  it  might  have  heen  presumed  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
on  an  errand  so  benevolent  would  have  been  treated  well.  His 
design  was  too  kind  to  deserve  any  other  than  the  kindest  and 
most  prompt  reception.  Had  he  gone  to  devils  instead  of  men,  it 
would  seem  impossible  but  they  must  have  received  him  kindly, 
when  on  such  an  errand,  with  such  heavenly  designs.  The  very 
pit,  it  would  seem,  must  have  echoed  with  his  praise.  Hence,  if 
men  have  a  better  character,  as  they  boast  they  have,  ask  them 
how  they  receive  the  message  of  divine  mercy.  Does  the  Lord 
Jesus  possess  the  throne  of  your  heart  1  Is  he  the  sovereign  ob- 
ject of  your  fear,  your  love,  your  hope,  and  your  worship  1  If 
not,  then  cast  from  you  that  exalted  opinion  of  yourself,  which 
raises  you  a  single  degree  above  the  tenants  of  the  pit. 

V.  It  might  have  been  presumed,  that  men  would  treat  well  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  from  his  known  ability  to  save.  Had  he  come  in 
such  weakness  as  would  have  rendered  the  enterprise  doubtful  on 
which  he  had  entered,  there  might  have  been  a  temptation  to  des- 
pise him.  Had  he  failed  in  making  the  atonement,  or  been  unable 
to  change  the  heart,  or  proved  inadequate  to  the  work  of  leading 
on  his  people  to' victory  and  glory,  after  he  had  enlisted  them,  then 
had  he  brought  all  the  measures  of  his  mercy  into  contempt,  and 
angels  would  have  refused  to  do  him  homage.  But  he  was  able  to 
do  all.  He  had  but  to  lay  down  a  life  which  none  could  take  from 
him,  and  the  price  of  our  redemption  was  paid.  He  had  but  to 
speak  the  word,  and  the  veriest  rebel  bowed  to  his  mandate.  And 
he  has  always  with  consummate  skill,  led  on  the  sacramental  hosts 
of  his  elect  to  the  abodes  of  paradise.  Hence,  he  is  said  to  have 
"  trodden  the  wine-press  alone  ;"  he  is  represented  as  "  travelling 
in  the  greatness  of  his  strength  ;"  is  said  to  "  gird  his  sword  upon 
his  thigh  ;"  and  to  "  ride  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer." 

Now,  we  needed  just  such  a  Redeemer :  one  who  was  "  mighty 
to  save."  We  were  in  a  condition  too  forlorn  to  be  redeemed  by 
any  other  than  an  almighty  Savior.  Hence,  when  such  a  Savior 
was  offered,  how  could  men  do  otherwise  than  kindly  receive  and 
joyfully  embrace  him  1  How  could  he  fail  to  gain  their  confidence 
and  love,  and  be  chosen  Captain  of  their  salvation,  their  Lord,  and 
their  king!     "They  will  reverence  my  son." 

VI.  This  might  have  been  presumed,  from  his  ability  to  destroy,  as 
well  as  to  save.  The  Savior  comes,  it  is  true,  with  an  offer  of  mer- 
cy j  but  he  comes,  too,  clothed  with  all  the  authority  of  the  God- 


110  THE  SON  OF  GOD  MUST  BE  REVERENCED 

head.  He  will  one  day  say,  as  in  the  parable,  "  These,  mine  ene- 
mies, who  would  not  that  I  should  reign  over  them,  bring  them 
hither,  and  slay  them  before  me."  The  offers  he  makes  to  sinners 
they  cannot  with  impunity  reject.  A  blessing  offered  us  by  our 
fellow-men  may  be  received  or  not,  as  we  please,  and,  if  rejected, 
there  accrues  no  guilt :  not  so  the  offer  of  mercy  by  Jesus  Christ. 
He  comes  to  demand  our  hearts  as  his  throne  ;  and  will  bless  us 
if  we  receive  him  ;  but  we  are  cursed  if  we  reject  him. 

And  the  sinner,  it  would  seem,  must  know  that  he  is  strong  to 
destroy.  He  hurled  the  rebel  angels  from  heaven,  and  fastened 
them  in  chains  under  darkness  till  the  judgment  of  the  great  day. 
He  drowned  a  world,  when  it  would  not  have  him  to  reign  over  it. 
And  all  his  foes  he  has  sent  to  a  hopeless  perdition,  as  fast  as  they 
have  evinced  themselves  incorrigibly  wicked.  Kind  as  are  now 
his  overtures,  and  extensive  his  promises,  and  prolonged  his  endu- 
rance, still,  if  you  remain  impenitent,  he  must  stain  his  raiment 
with  your  blood.  His  eyes  will  be  as  flames  of  fire  :  and 
out  of  his  mouth  will  go  a  sharp  sword  to  smite  the  ungodly ;  and 
on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh  will  be  seen  written,  "  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords."  How  tremendous  the  thought,  that  the 
very  Lord  Jesus,  at  whose  feet  so  many  sinners  have  found  par- 
don, will  rise  upon  the  finally  incorrigible  in  all  the  greatness  of 
his  strength,  and  "  tread  them  in  his  anger,  and  trample  them  in 
his  fury  !"  To  such  a  Prince,  how  fair  the  presumption,  that 
every  knee  would  bow  and  every  tongue  confess 

Finally,  it  might  have  been  presumed  that  sinners  would  treat 
kindly  the  Lord  Jesus,  from  their  necessities.  He  found  them 
"  wretched,  and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked."  He 
passed  by,  and  saw  them  as  an  infant  "  cast  out  into  the  open 
field,"  in  the  day  that  it  was  born.  We  had  fallen  under  the 
curse  of  the  broken  law — had  neither  righteousness,  nor  holiness, 
nor  happiness,  nor  hope.  There  was  nothing  for  us  but  misery 
now,  and  "a  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment,  and  fiery  indignation, 
that  must  devour  the  adversary."  Thus,  our  necessities  put  us  in 
need  of  a  friend — an  almighty  friend— one  that  could  pity  and  !  clp 
the  most  miserable.  Could  it,  then,  have  been  presumed,  that, 
should  such  a  friend  offer  his  aid,  beings  so  lost  and  miserable 
could   reject  him  !  ! 

One  could  sooner  conceive  that  a  beggar  would  spurn  the  plen- 
ty and  the  pleasures  of  a  palace,  and  choose  to  lodge  in  the 
street  ;  or  that  the  blind   would  choose  to  grope  their  way  to  the 


THE  SON  OF  GOD  MUST  BE  REVERENCED.  Ill 

grave,  when  they  might   have  vision  ;  or  that   a  dying  man  would 
refuse  the  touch  that  might  give  him  life  and  health. 
I  close  with  three 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  sinner's  final  ruin  is  unnecessary.  All  the  purposes  of 
his  personal  perdition  may  now  he  answered  in  the  Savior.  The 
law  can  be  honored,  and  God  honored,  and  he  escape  damnation. 
All  the  purity  of  the  precepts,  and  all  the  attributes  of  the  God- 
head, are  displayed  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  far  more  amply  than 
in  the  volume  of  "smoke  that  ascendeth  up  for  ever  and  ever." 
O  yes  ;  the  cross,  that  everlasting  monument  of  a  dying  Savior, 
reveals  the  Deity  far  more  intellig-ibly  than  the  "  everlasting  fire." 
Hence,  the  sinner  is  lost,  not  because  of  any  necessity  for  his 
ruin  ;  not  because  of  any  doom  that  chained  him  down  to  death  ; 
not  because  his  salvation  was  impossible  ;  not  because  heaven 
could  devise  no  other  expedient  for  securing  the  divine  veracity  ; 
not  because  of  anything  we  can  think  of — but  that  he  "chose 
darkness  rather  than  light" — and  "  death  rather  than  life."  Hence, 

2.  His  ruin  will  be  self-induced.  By  this,  I  do  not  mean  merely 
that  he  is  a  voluntary  agent  in  breaking  the  divine  law.  This  sin 
always  implies.  I  intend  more  than  this.  The  sinner  puts  forth 
his  hand,  and  thrusts  from  him  the  charter  of  forgiveness.  He 
might  have  had  life  after  he  was  condemned  ;  after  his  death-war- 
rant was  written  and  sealed  ;  after  the  pit  had  been  prepared  to 
receive  him  Nay,  when  hell  itself  was  begun  in  his  bosom,  and 
the  divine  \nger  was  consuming  him — even  then  eternal  life  was 
possible,-  but  he  "  chose  death  !"     Hence, 

Finally,  his  ruin  will  be  wanton.  He  will  be  viewed  for  ever  as 
having  sported  with  his  soul  ;  as  if  it  had  been  a  pearl,  and  he  had 
run  with  it  to  the  mouth  of  a  pit,  and  cast  it  in  ;  or  as  if  it  had 
been  a  combustible  world,  and  he  with  a  torch  had  set  it  on  fire 
Me  employed  himself  in  scattering  fire-brands,  arrows,  and  death, 
and  stdl  professed  himself  to  be  in  sport.  The  man  who  plunges 
the  knife  into  his  own  heart,  does  not  more  wantonly  die,  than 
the  sinner  is  wantonly  damned.  Oh,  how  affecting,  that  hell 
should  be  thus  peopled  by  a  world  of  suicides,  who  dared  the 
vengeance,  and  tantalized  the  compassion,  and  despised  the  for- 
bearance of  the  Eternal  I  It  might  reasonably  have  been  presum- 
ed, "  T/iey  will  reverence  my  son."  But  no  !  insulted  Jehovah  ! 
they  pour  indignity  upon  his  name  and  his  cross,  despise  his  mes- 
sengers,  and  "perish  in  their  sins,"  rather  than  do  him  homage, 
and  humbly  seek  redemption  through  his  blood. 


SERMON    VII. 
THE  TWO  CHAMPIONS  CONTRASTED. 

ISAIAH    XL.    30,   31. 

Even  the  youths  shall  faint  and  be  weary,  and  the  young  men  shall  utterly  fall :  but  they  that 
wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength  ;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles;  they 
shall  run,  and  not  be  weary;  and  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint. 

The  sentiment  is  often  entertained,  that  religion  is  suited  only 
for  the  weak,  the  aged,  and  the  infirm  ;  but  is  quite  2iseless,  if  not 
trijuriotis,  to  the  young,  healthful,  and  prosperous.  When  we 
have  yielded  all  the  respect  we  can  to  men  who  advance  this  sen- 
timent, we  must  still  pity  their  delusion.  It  can  never  be  said  that 
piety  injures  the  young  man.  He  may  cultivate  in  connection 
with  it  all  the  amiable  properties  of  human  nature.  May  be  mild 
and  affable  ;  may  be  decent  and  ardent ;  modest  and  courageous. 
These  lovely  and  noble  qualities  religion  does  not  eradicate,  but 
cherish.  Can  it  cast  a  shade  of  deformity  over  them,  to  add  the 
love  and  fear  of  God,  who  is  supremely  amiable  1  Are  men  so 
hostile  to  their  Maker,  that  respect  for  him,  and  obedience  to  him, 
must  make  a  wound  incurable  in  one's  reputation'?  Then  must  it 
be  acknowledged,  that  this  is  indeed  a  fallen  world. 

Is  it  feared  that  religion  in  the  young  man  will  cramp  his  genius, 
and  stop  the  march  of  intellect  1  It  would  be  strange  indeed,  if  a 
taste  for  the  noblest  of  all  sciences,  the  knowledge  of  God  and  his 
truth,  should  narrow  the  mind,  and  limit  the  flight  of  genius. 
Such  a  result  would  contradict  all  experience,  and  give  the  lie  to 
the  first  principles  of  mental  science. 

Is  it  feared  that  piety  will  wither  and  paralyze  the  native  fear- 
lessness of  youth,  and  render  tame  and  cowardly  the  man  whose 
courage  and  daring  might  have  astonished  the  world]  Does  then 
the  love  of  God,  the  very  principle  that  makes  alliance  with  the 
hosts  of  heaven,  and  with  God  himself,  diminish  our  courage,  and 
make  us  fly  "when  no  man  pursuethl"  We  should  expect  it  to 
be  far  otherwise,  ami  should  look  for  a  bravery  that  no  danger 
could  daunt,  when  there  is  for  our  defence  a  host  of  angels,  and 
One  "higher  than  the  highest."  The  Psalmist  reasoned  thus,  and 
said,  "  The  Lord  is  my  strength,  of  whom  shall  1  be  afraid  1"    And 


THE    TWO    CHAMPIONS    CONTRASTED.  113 

Paul  said,  "I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth 
me." 

What  is  it,  then,  that  in  the  esteem  of  the  ungodly,  renders  re- 
ligion so  uncomely  in  the  young  man  1  Where  does  it  fix  defor- 
mity 1  True,  it  does  render  him  less  covetous  of  this  world's 
goods,  and  less  ambitious  of  its  honors,  less  daring  in  its  deeds 
of  darkness,  less  deceitful,  and  less  intriguing.  But  is  he  the  less 
a  man  and  deserving  of  less  esteem  1  In  such  a  suggestion  there 
is  an  infidelity  too  bare-faced  to  be  hidden.  The  amount  of  it  is, 
that  piety  implies  the  fear  of  God  ;  and  this  is,  to  the  ungodly,  the 
most  offensive  of  all  attributes. 

The  text  will  lead  us  to  look  at  the  two  characters — the  youth 
who  sets  out  to  press  his  way  through  life  and  death  by  the  dint 
of  native  courage,  and  the  one  who  Avaits  on  the  Lord,  and  thus 
gathers  strength  from  heaven  to  bear  him  on  to  victory  and  glory. 

I  would  here  premise,  that  this  is  a  stormy  life.  Upon  every 
man,  more  or  less,  the  tempests  will  beat.  Be  his  character  godly 
or  ungodly,  he  will  have  foes,  and  meet  dangers,  and  suffer  hard- 
ships, and  feel  afflictions,  and  will  say,  before  he  gets  through, 
that  he  is  passing  a  desert  world.  Now  we  must  encounter  the 
calamities  of  life  by  native  prowess,  or  by  the  courage  of  piety  : 
Which  will  aid  us  the  best  1  This  is  the  question  which  I  wish 
may  be  pondered  with  solemnity  for  a  few  moments. 

/  shall  mention  some  of  the  storms  of  life,  that  we  shall  all  be  sure 
to  meet ;  and  inquire,  as  I  pass  on,  which  has  the  safest  defence — the 
mere  man  of  the  world,  or  the  man  of  piety. 

I.  We  shall  all  probably  part  with  beloved  friends.  The  ties 
that  bind  them  to  us  are  slender,  the  sport  of  every  wind  that 
blows,  and  every  dew  that  falls.  They  are  ours  only  by  loan,  and 
must  be  resigned.  We  may  have  warnings  of  their  departure,  or 
may  have  none.  They  may  be  torn  from  us  at  the  moment  of  our 
highest  attachment — when  our  life  is  bound  up  in  theirs — when  it 
shall  seem  to  us  that  we  have  nothing  to  stay  for,  if  they  must  leave 
us.  This  calamity  will  certainly  come,  alike  upon  the  good  man 
and  the  unbeliever.  Which  will  sustain  it  best  ?  They  stand  to- 
gether by  the  death-bed  of  a  mother,  a  father,  a  sister,  a  brother : 
they  have  the  same  instinctive  passions  ;  they  both  feel  the  stroke, 
and  must  try  to  outlive  it.  But  by  what  principles  shall  they  brace 
their  minds  against  the  storm  \ 

The  unbeliever  may  hope  to  forget  his  sorrow,  or  find  some 
other  friend  as  good,  or  draw  from  something  else,  the  comfort  he 
15 


lit  THE    TWO    CHAMPIONS    CONTRASTED. 

has  enjoyed  in  his  dying  friend.  But  all  this  is  a  distant  and  un- 
certain relief.  He  will  find  it  difficult  to  forget  his  friend,  and  he 
dare  not  wish  to,  and  months,  or  even  years,  must  elapse  before 
he  can  hope  to.  Nor  will  he  find  it  easy  to  supply  the  place  of 
his  friend.  Such  friends  do  not  rain  down  from  heaven,  do  not 
spring  up  from  the  ground,  cannot  be  bought.  A  mother,  for  in- 
stance,— who  can  supply  her  place  1  Who,  like  her,  will  wear  out 
her  nature  to  serve  you,  and  watch  by  your  sick  bed,  and  feel 
every  pang,  and  wipe  away  your  tears  1  What  friend  will  become 
dear  to  you  as  your  brother,  and  suffer  to  befriend  you,  and  endure 
any  thing  but  death  to  save  you  ]  I  know  "there  is  a  friend  that 
sticketh  closer  than  a  brother  ;"  but  he  is  the  friend  of  the  god- 
ly, not  yours.  And  you  will  find  it  difficult,  if  you  have  lost  a 
friend,  to  secure  the  same  amount  of  enjoyment  elsewhere. 
Friends  are  our  choicest  blessings.  Wealth  is  trash,  and  fame  is 
air ;  but  a  friend,  in  this  cold-hearted  world,  is  a  precious  pearl. 
See  then  how  distant  and  doubtful  is  the  consolation  of  the  un- 
godly. 

Take  some  of  the  still  nearer  and  dearer  friends,  and  the  case 
is  more  hopeless  still.  The  mother  must  see  her  child  taken  into 
the  cold  embrace  of  death.  And  she  tries,  does  she  1  to  live 
through  it  without  divine  support.  Now  where  and  when  will  she 
find  one,  who  will  call  her  mother,  and  feel  her  pains,  and  Avateh 
her  tears,  and  sooth  her  miseries  1  Oh,  I  hear  her  say,  unless  she 
has  still  another  son,  "My  gray  hairs  will  come  down  with  sorrow 
to  the  grave.     I  shall  go  weeping  to  the  sepulchre  for  my  son." 

Or  the  dying  friend  is  a  wife.  Go  now,  and  find,  if  you  can, 
one  who  will  be  a  mother  to  your  children.  Try  if  you  can  for- 
get her  endearments.  Try  if  you  can  find  in  any  other  object  the 
amount  of  joy  you  had  in  her.  Oh,  how  the  agonies  of  the  ungod- 
ly wring  pity  from  our  hearts.  This  is  the  onset  when  "  the 
youths  shall  faint  and  be  weary,  and  the  young  men  shall  utterly 
fall.''  No  native  vigor  can  enable  one  to  brow-beat  a  storm  like 
this,  and  not  be,  in  the  result,  a  hopeless  and  desponding  sufferer. 
The  heart  loses  its  courage,  soon  as  it  enters  the  conflict.  No 
cold  philosophy  can  reason  down  affection,  or  mitigate  the  agonies 
of  separation.  And  the  poor  surviver,  if  an  unbeliever,  can  only 
"  lie  down  in  sorrow." 

But  not  so  the  Christian,  who  waits  upon  the  Lord.  He  has  in 
heaven  a  better  Friend  than  he  has  lost,  and  can  smile  at  the 
ravages  of  death,  as  hurting  only  some  of  his  minor  interests.  He 
can   immediately  transfer  the  affection  lie  fixed  upon  his  friend    to 


THE    TWO    CHAMPIONS    CONTRASTED.  H5 

Cod  ;  and  reap,  in  an  hour,  a  return  infinitely  better  than  my  fruits 
of  earthly  friendship.  He  holds  all  his  living  friends  as  the  loan 
of  Heaven,  ready  to  be  transferred  to  their  original  Proprietor. 
And  in  the  hour  of  trial  his  soul  utters  with  deep  sincerity,  "  The 
Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord."  He  has  not  to  wait  till  he  can  forget  his  friend,  or 
find  another,  or  procure  a  substitute.  He  "waits  upon  the  Lord," 
and  is  thus  strengthened  for  the  hour,  and  becomes  happy  in  the 
midst  of  tears.  He  passes  through  the  waters,  but  God  is  with 
hiin ;  and  through  the  floods,  but  they  do  not  overflow  him.  He 
walks  through  the  fire,  but  is  not  burned,  neither  does  the  flame 
kindle  upon  him.  His  song  is,  "  The  Lord  liveth ;  and  blessed  be 
my  Rock  ;  and  let  the  God  of  my  salvation  be  exalted."  He  never 
calculated  on  any  very  durable  good  from  earthly  things,  as  does 
the  unrenewed  man.  Hence  he  is  not  disappointed.  His  best 
hopes  are  not  cut  ofT,  nor  his  richest  prospects  darkened.  God 
has  been  as  good  to  him  as  his  promises,  and  better  than  his  own 
fears.  His  trials  will  soon  end  in  heaven.  There  he  will  join  a 
circle  of  friends  to  whom  he  has  been  long  more  attached  than  to 
any  other.  Thus  he  mounts  as  on  eagles'  wings,  scales  the  very 
heavens,  runs  and  is  not  weary,  walks  and  is  not  faint. 

At  how  many  funerals  have  we  witnessed  this  wide  contrast  be- 
tween the  native  prowess  of  a  mind  unsanctified,  and  the  fortitude 
of  a  man  of  God  strengthened  for  the  trial  by  the  light  of  his 
countenance. 

Come,  then,  my  young  friends,  let  me  assure  you,  how  only  you 
can  be  happy  in  the  hour  of  bereavement.  You  may  suppress  your 
tears  when  you  attend  the  funeral  of  your  mother,  or  your  brother, 
but  nature  will  feel.  You  may  put  on  the  stoic,  but  the  heart  will 
bleed.  You  may  try  to  cheer  your  spirits,  but  your  strength  will 
fail,  unless  God,  in  that  hour,  is  your  refuge,  your  very  present 
help.  If  you  intend  to  live  without  him,  you  need  hope  for  no 
thing  but  that  his  waves  and  his  billows  will  often  come  over  you, 
while  there  will  be  no  comforter.  You  have  twenty  dear  friends, 
and  one  may  die  each  year,  these  twenty  years  ;  and  ere  then  you 
may  die  yourself.  Thus  the  heart  will  bleed,  and  you  will  be  cov- 
ered with  the  weeds  of  death  all  the  way  to  the  sepulchre.  1 
should  not  choose  to  be  one  of  your  friends,  unless  I  could  believe 
that  you  would  think  of  me  when  I  was  gone  one  year  :  that  my 
funeral  solemnities  would  create  a  cloud,  that  would  cast  its  shade 
upon  you  till  the  sun  had  performed  at  least  one  annual  revolution 
Let  each  friend  make  the  same  demand,  and  you  have  no  divine 


116  THE    TWO    CHAMPIONS    CONTRASTED. 

support  under   your  bereavements,  and  you  readily  see  that  the 
whole  of  life  is  a  cloudy  and  dark  day. 

I  have  noticed  yet  the  loss  of  friends  by  death  only  ;  but  we  may 
lose  them  more  tremendously  by  desertion.  Let  the  hour  come 
when  it  shall  not  be  popular  to  be  your  friend,  and  when  many 
who  have  sought  your  acquaintance,  and  received  your  hospitality, 
and  waited  to  know  and  do  your  pleasure,  shall  hide  their  face 
from  you  ;  then  is  the  hour  when  "the  youths  shall  faint  and  be 
weary,  and  the  young  men  shall  utterly  fall ;  but  they  that  wait 
upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength ;  they  shall  mount  up 
with  wings  as  eagles ;  they  shall  run  and  not  be  weary,  and  they 
shall  walk  and  not  faint."  I  know  there  is  a  buoyancy  in  the  hu- 
man heart,  that  may  seem  for  a  moment  to  sustain  you.  You  can 
despise  the  man  whose  sycophancy  deceived  you,  but  who  was 
never  your  friend,  and  has  now  only  uncovered  to  you  the  rotten- 
ness of  his  heart.  You  can  resolve  to  despise  the  men  who  are 
the  friends  of  your  prosperity,  but  not  of  your  adversity  ;  and  they 
deserve  to  be  despised:  but  you  will  feel  a  pain  dart  through  you 
in  that  hour,  which  you  must  sustain,  either  by  your  native  prow- 
ess or  by  a  higher  courage.  Would  you  trust  in  an  arm  of  flesh  1 
Ah  !  but  this  arm  fails  you  ;  and  then,  where  will  you  lean  1  Now, 
the  good  man  has  no  misgivings  in  such  an  hour.  With  him  it  is 
a  living  maxim,  "  it  is  a  very  small  thing  that  I  should  be  judged 
of  you,  or  of  man's  judgment ;  but  he  that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord." 
Paul  could  keep  up  all  his  courage  while  in  the  midst  of  a  people 
who  not  long  before  would  have  plucked  out  their  eyes  and  given 
them  to  him,  but  were  now  become  his  enemies  because  he  told 
them  the  truth.  And  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  had  all  the  ten- 
derness of  our  nature,  could,  without  despair,  hear  the  cry,  "  Cru- 
cify him!  crucify  him!"  uttered  by  that  same  multitude  whose 
blind  he  had  made  to  see,  whose  lame  to  walk,  whose  lepers  he 
had  cleansed,  whose  sick  he  had  healed,  and  whose  dead  he  had 
raised.  All  this  one  can  easily  sustain  who  has  an  almighty  friend 
in  heaven.  He  can  pour  a  holy  contempt  upon  the  wavering  men 
who  have  no  principle,  and  will  desert  him  when  he  needs  their 
friendship  most.  He  can  stand  erect,  because  God  is  with  hicn. 
But  how  can  you  stand,  who  have  no  such  friend,  but  whose  whole 
kindred  are  in  this  deceitful  world  1  Here  is  the  spot  where 
it  will  again  happen  that  "  the  youths  shall  faint  and  be  weary,  and 
the  young  men  shall  utterly  fall  ;  but  they  that  wait  upon  the  Lord 
shall  renew  their  strength;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as 
eagles;  they  shall  run  and  not  be  tveary  ;  and  they  shall  walk  and 
not  faint." 


THE    TWO    CHAMPIONS    CONTRASTED.  H") 

II.  Amid  the  changes  of  this  ill-fated  world  we  shall  all  be  liable 
to  suffer  the  loss  of  property.  No  treasure  but  that  which  is  laid 
up  in  heaven  is  secure  :  our  houses  may  burn  down  over  our  heads  ; 
our  streams  may  fail ;  a  foe  may  rob  us  of  our  rights ;  we  may  be 
called  to  spend  all  we  have  upon  physicians ;  we  may  lose  our 
spirit  of  enterprise ;  our  reason  may  desert  us.  All  the  good 
things  of  this  life  are  ready  to  take  Avings  and  fly  away. 

Now,  can  the  man  who  has  no  treasure  in  heaven  sustain  his 
spirit,  as  can  the  man  of  faith  and  of  prayer  1  By  what  consider- 
ation can  he  comfort  his  soul,  when  ye  shall  have  taken  away  his 
gods'?  When  he  is  robbed  of  his  best  treasures,  of  all  he  has  in 
the  life  that  now  is,  while  he  has  nothing  in  the  life  to  come,  how 
can  he  fail  to  sink  \  Says  the  sacred  penman,  "  Their  rock  is  not 
as  our  Rock,  our  enemies  themselves  being  judges."  He  who  has 
no  interest  in  that  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  hea- 
vens, how  can  he  part  with  his  temporal  habitation  ?  He  who  has 
no  treasure  which  moth  and  rust  cannot  corrupt,  how  can  he  part 
with  his  corruptible  riches'?  He  who  has  no  greatness  or  glory 
in  the  kingdom  of  God,  how  can  he  dispense  with  that  which  ren- 
ders him  great  in  the  present  world  1  Made  once  poor  for  time, 
how  can  he  hope  for  any  thing  else  but  eternal  bankruptcy !  If  he 
should  hope  to  rise  again,  still  this  is  "  a  hope  deferred  which  mak- 
eth  the  heart  sick."  If  he  try  to  be  great  in  his  poverty,  still,  in 
a  world  like  this,  he  will  find  it  difficult,  not  to  say  impossible.  If 
he  would  try  to  be  happy,  while  yet  he  is  small,  here  pride  erects 
an  insurmountable  barrier.  He  lacks  all  the  means  of  being  happy. 
The  good  he  values,  his  only  good,  is  gone.  The  heaven  he  built 
for  himself  had  no  foundation,  and  the  storms  have  swept  it  away. 
Poor  soul,  how  completely  is  he  made  a  bankrupt  and  a  beggar  ! 
and  how  impossible  that  he  should  retrieve  his  circumstances,  till 
he  is  altered  essentially  in  his  disposition  and  character! 

But  things  are  not  thus  desperate  with  the  good  man  when  he 
finds  his  estate  diminished.  We  read  of  those  who  "took  joyfully 
the  spoiling  of  their  goods,  knowing  in  themselves  that  they  had 
in  heaven  a  better  and  an  enduring  substance."  The  friends  of 
God  have  laid  up  for  themselves  "  treasures  in  heaven,  where  nei- 
ther moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break 
through  nor  steal."  They  have  provided  themselves  with  "  gar- 
ments that  wax  not  old,"  and  have  "  a  house  not  built  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens."  In  the  midst  of  losses  they  often  see  that 
the  riches  they  have  parted  with  stood  between  them  and  God, 
and  made  them   less  happy  and   less  holy  than  they  may  be  with- 


IIS  THE    TWO    CHAMPIONS    CONTRASTED. 

out  them.  They  held  the  heart  divided,  and  kept  it  cold,  and 
worldly,  and  selfish,  and  sordid.  Now  the  clog  is  removed,  and 
they  can  mount  up  as  on  the  wings  of  eagles.  They  have  now 
nothing  but  heaven  to  care  for ;  what  they  have  lost  they  could  have 
used  but  a  little  while,  and  they  can  mount  higher  without  it. 
They  still  have  all  that  God  ever  promised ;  their  bread  and  their 
water  is  made  sure.  If  they  can  never  be  rich  here,  still  they  can 
hope  for  durable  riches  and  righteousness  in  the  life  to  come.  If 
they  must  toil  hard,  still  their  rest  will  at  last  be  long  and  sweet. 
If  they  must  be  small  and  unnoticed,  still  there  awaits  them  "  a 
crown  of  glory  "  in  the  life  to  come.  Thus,  how  evident  that  no 
native  prowess  can  enable  one  to  conflict  with  the  storms  of  lifo 
like  the  grace  of  God. 

III.  But  let  us  try  the  prowess  of  the  two  champions  in  another 
conflict.  While  one  storm  shall  beat  upon  friendship,  and  another 
upon  property,  another  still  may  make  its  assault  upon  character. 
This  you  know  is  valuable  as  life.  "A  good  name  is  better  than 
precious  ointment."  Being  depraved,  we  are  vulnerable  at  every 
point.  "  There  is  no  man  that  liveth  and  doeth  good  and  sinneth 
not."  We  break  the  laws  of  God  and  of  man  ;  we  violate  the  dic- 
tates of  conscience,  and  the  rules  of  righteousness  ;  and  that  man 
knows  nothing  of  himself,  that  does  not  acknowledge  all  this, — 
hence  we  become  justly  exposed.  Men  can  injure  us,  and  say  the 
truth. 

But  what  is  more  yet,  the  utmost  uprightness  of  character  does 
not  secure  from  the  attack  of  slander.  If  men  cannot  find  enough 
that  is  true,  they  can  unblushingly  fabricate  the  rest.  And  -no 
man,  godly  or  ungodly,  is  wholly  secure.  The  godly  are  fore- 
warned, that  as  men  have  called  the  Master  of  the  house  of  Beel- 
zebub, so  much  rather  will  they  calumniate  the  household.  And 
now,  which,  think  you,  will  be  the  best  support  through  this  storm, 
native  prowess,  or  supernatural  grace  \  You  have  known  the  un- 
godly man  to  be  slandered.  Men  have  accused  him  of  deeds  he 
never  did,  have  wronged  him,  and  abused  him.  And  he  set  him- 
self to  oppose  the  tempest.  He  cursed  his  accusers,  and  returned 
every  blow  they  dealt,  and  raved  at  the  foe,  and  sinned  more 
grossly  than  he  ever  had  before.  He  plotted  revenge,  and  pursued 
it,  and  perhaps  obtained  it.  But  after  all  was  done,  was  he  not 
rather  the  vanquished  than  the  conqueror  1  Did  he  stand  on  more 
elevated  ground  when  he  quit,  than  when   he   began  the  conflict  \ 


THE    TWO    CHAMPIONS    CONTRASTED.  119 

Ah,  he  overcame  the  evil  with  evil,  and  sunk  the  deeper  by  hit  at- 
tempts to  rise. 

Let  us  view  the  most  favorable  case.  The  man  abused  is  un- 
godly, but  has  the  properties  that  constitute  an  amiable  man.  He 
meets  the  assault  with  all  the  calmness  and  all  the  patience  he  can 
command.  He  reasons,  "  If  they  destroy  my  reputation,  they  take 
my  interest  too,  and  then  what  have  I  left."  Having  no  sense  of 
sin,  he  is  not  humble,  and  will  not  be  very  patient.  He  will  not 
exercise  a  spirit  of  forgiveness,  nor  a  spirit  of  meekness,  nor  see 
the  wisdom  of  God  in  the  appointment,  nor  hope  for  an  augmenta- 
tion of  his  enjoyments  as  the  final  result.  Hence  he  must  be  un- 
happy and  must  be  a  loser.  His  courage  may  in  a  sense  sustain 
him,  but  while  he  stands  he  will  still  be  wounded,  and  perhaps  de- 
stroyed. 

Now  the  man  of  God  in  such  a  conflict  has  a  heavenly  armor. 
In  the  very  onset  he  takes  the  shield  of  faith.  He  is  patient,  be- 
cause he  sees  it  to  be  the  hand  of  God.  He  is  calm  from  the  con- 
viction, that,  dark  as  the  storm  may  lower,  he  is  safe.  If  his  cha- 
racter should  be  injured,  it  only  assimilates  his  condition  to  that 
of  his  divine  Lord.  He  has  that  sense  of  sin  that  renders  him 
humble.  He  exercises  a  spirit  of  meekness  and  of  forgiveness,  and 
this  renders  him  happy.  In  the  event,  as  a  divine  appointment,  he 
sees  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  hopes  and  believes  that  in  the  issue 
God  will  be  glorified,  and  his  own  best  good  promoted.  "  To 
me,"  he  can  say  with  the  apostle,  "  it  is  a  very  light  thing  that  I 
should  be  judged  of  you,  or  of  man's  judgment."  Can  he  only 
hope  to  stand  approved  in  the  last  great  day,  all  decisions  of  falli- 
ble men  to  the  contrary,  have  not,  with  him,  the  weight  of  a 
feather. 

Would  an  angel  care,  if  the  whole  population  of  this  world 
should  assemble  in  a  mass,  and  pronounce  him  a  sinner  or  a  fool ! 
He  would  know  that  he  might  still  hold  the  same  standing  in  the 
sight  of  God.  So  the  man  of  faith  can  soar  and  act  the  angel  in 
the  hour  of  onset.  He  does  not,  and  dares  not  depend  on  any  na- 
tive strength  of  his  own,  "  but  waits  upon  the  Lord,  and  renews 
his  strength." 

IV.  We  are  all  liable  to  disease  and  death.  God  has  not  ex- 
empted his  people,  and  certainly  not  his  enemies,  from  this  cala- 
mity. Disease  and  death  are  the  wages  of  sin.  And  here  it  often 
happens  literally,  that  "  even  the  youths  are  faint  and  weary."  We 
have  seen  nature   struggling   with  disease  even  in  the  very  moru- 


120  THE    TWO    CHAMPIONS    CONTRASTED. 

ing  of  life.  The  young  man,  strong  and  vigorous  to-day,  panting 
for  breath  to-morrow,  and  in  a  few  days  sinking  into  an  untimely 
sepulchre. 

Now  the  man  who  hopes  to  meet  all  this  by  native  courage,  it 
would  seem  must  be  destitute  of  the  power  of  reasoning.  The 
very  nature  of  the  calamity  augurs  that  he  will  have  neither 
strength  nor  courage  to  bear  it.  It  is  the  very  first  effect  of  dis- 
ease to  render  faint  and  weary — to  dishearten  and  unnerve.  The 
veriest  Goliath  is  a  child,  when  he  wrestles  with  the  plague  or  the 
pestilence.     How  then  can  he  stand  in  the  contest  1 

The  mind  is  enfeebled  with  the  body  :  hence  he  cannot  reason 
down  his  alarms  and  his  apprehensions;  cannot  sustain  his  own 
sinking  spirits.  He  who  a  few  days  since  would  not  have  feared 
to  meet  single-handed  the  hardiest  foe  that  might  take  the  field, 
cannot  now  raise  his  head,  and  is  in  fear,  where  no  danger  is.  He 
may  have  some  consolation  from  the  hope  of  recovery.  But  this 
one  hope,  tremulous  and  often  forlorn,  is  the  only  stay  of  his.  soul 
that  remains.     If  he  must  die,  he  is  lost  for  ever. 

But  here  the  man  of  God  does  not  thus  sink  and  perish.  He  is 
conscious  that  he  deserves  the  chastisement ;  hence  has  no  quarrel 
with  the  power  that  afflicts.  He  submits  and  is  calm.  He  has  the 
promise  that  God  will  sustain  him,  will  be  with  him  in  six  troublesi 
and  in  seven  will  not  forsake  him.  "  When  flesh  and  heart  fail 
him,  God  will  be  the  strength  of  his  heart  and  his  portion  for  ever, 
— all  things  shall  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God;" 
and  these  promises  were  all  made  with  design  to  be  fulfilled 
Hence  the  good  man,  when  he  suffers,  can  leave  himself  with  God. 
Every  care  and  every  interest  he  rolls  over  upon  his  generous  and 
almighty  Supporter.  To  him  "  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is 
gain."  He  can  cheerfully  wait  his  "appointed  time,"  and  can 
hope  that  there  is  laid  up  for  him  "a  crown  of  life  that  fadeth 
not." 

But  what  is  over  and  above  all  this,  he  enjoys  the  smiles  of  God. 
These  lighten  his  pains  and  give  him  joy  and  peace.  Hence  sung 
the  weeping  poet, 

"  The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate, 
Is  privileged  beyond  the  common  walk 
Of  virtuous  life,  quite  on  the  verge  of  heaven." 

On  the  very  dying-bed  have  we  heard  the  triumphant  song.  "  I 
mount,  1  fly."  Infidelity  may  declare  all  this  visionary ;  but  it  is 
none   the   less  a  reality.     It  is  what  God  has  promised,  what  his 


THE    TWO    CHAMPIONS    CONTRASTED.  12l 

people  expect,  what  the  diseased  and  the  dying  have  told  us  they 
enjoyed,  and  is  no  more  incredible  than  the  new  birth,  at  which 
the  ruler  of  the  Jews  marvelled. 

Now  take  from  the  mass  of  the  ungodly  the  sturdiest  youth  you 
can  name,  and  let  him  go  to  his  chamber  and  grapple  with  disease 
and  death;  and  place  in  the  adjoining  chamber  the  man  of  prayer, 
in  precisely  the  same  distressing  attitude  ;  and  tell  me  which  shall 
have  the  palm.  The  one  shall  use  all  his  native  mind  and  muscle, 
shall  brace  himself  against  the  paroxysms  of  disease,  and  cheer  up 
his  spirits,  and  resist  the  fear  of  death,  and  to  the  full  extent  of 
his  power,  stay  his  false  hope,  and  wake  up  his  courage.  His 
brave  associates  shall  come  round  him  and  ply  their  sophistry  to 
put  down  his  pains,  and  put  out  the  eye  of  conscience,  and  hide 
hell  from  him,  and  God  from  him,  and  his  own  history  from  him. 
And  no  Bible  shall  be  near  him,  nor  pastor  near  him,  nor  prayers 
be  offered.  He  shall  have  through  the  whole  conflict  all  the  help 
that  earth  and  hell  can  give  him.  The  other  shall  but  make  use 
of  prayer  and  faith,  shall  stay  himself  upon  his  Redeemer,  and 
encourage  himself  in  the  Lord  his  God,  and  cast  the  anchor  of  his 
hope  within  the  veil.  Now  tell  me  which  of  the  two  will  triumph 
in  the  storm.  Ah  !  I  see  the  strong  one  bow.  Ye  that  hate  the 
Lord,  let  me  assure  you,  your  champion  is  foiled  in  the  contest, 
"Even  the  youths  shall  faint." 

V.  I  have  thought  of  several  other  occasions  where  the  ungodly 
man  and  the  man  of  faith  will  have  opportunity  to  test  their  prow- 
ess in  the  same  conflict,  but  I  will  add  only  one.  They  must  both 
pass  the  review  of  the  last  judgment.  "  We  must  all  stand  before 
the  judgment-seat  of  Christ."  And  to  set  any  value  upon  a  spirit 
of  enterprise  or  of  daring,  that  will  not  carry  us  through  that  last 
scene,  is  to  play  the  fool.  I  wish  to  cultivate  the  principles  that 
will  carry  me  through. 

Now  follow,  if  you  please,  one  of  the  most  daring  of  the  unbe- 
lievers to  the  last  tribunal.  How  will  he  manage  there  1  Can  he 
hide  his  sins  1  Can  he  palliate  them,  or  neutralize  them1.  Can 
he  prove  that  the  law  was  too  severe,  or  the  penalty  unjust  \  Can 
he  offer  any  eloquent  plea  why  he  should  be  acquitted  1  Will  any 
anffcl  plead  for  him  1  Will  the  blessed  Redeemer  be  his  advocate  ? 
Will  his  courage  live  and  thrive  in  that  conflict  1  If  weighed  in  the 
balance,  will  he  not  be  found  wanting  1  If  convicted,  will  not  sen- 
tence go  forth  against  him  1  Will  devils  be  afraid  to  convey  him  to 
the  place  of  torment  ]  Suppose  him,  if  you  please,  to  have  weathered 
16 


122  THE    TWO    CHAMPION'S    CONTRASTED. 

every  other  storm,  how  will  he  conflict  with  "everlasting  burn- 
ings !  By  what  daring  arguments  will  he  keep  hope  alive  in  hell, 
and  resist  the  embrace  of  despair,  or  put  out  the  "  unquenchable 
fires  ?"  Come,  ye  that  intend  to  brave  it  through  without  grace, 
that  dare  to  live,  and  expect  to  die,  without  an  interest  in  the 
Lord  Jesus,  approach  the  precincts  of  the  pit,  and  inquire  how 
your  champion  fares  in  this  last  conflict !  Does  he  stand  or  fall  1 
Does  his  courage  abide  by  him  1  May  you  venture,  or  not,  to  join 
your  destiny  with  his  1  Let  this  point  be  settled  before  you  ven- 
ture into  your  dying  chamber  without  the  grace  of  God. 

And  how  does  it  fare  with  the  man  of  faith  in  the  same  conflict  1 
He  ventures  not  to  come  to  the  judgment-seat  alone,  supported  by 
any  courage  which  his  depraved  heart  can  generate.  He  comes 
clothed  with  a  Savior's  righteousness,  owns  his  guilt,  and  pleads 
the  atoning  blood  of  the  Redeemer.  When  bid,  "  Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world ;"  his  reply  is  "  When  saw  we  thee  an 
hungered,  and  fed  thee  1  or  thirsty,  and  gave  thee  drink  \  When 
saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in  1  or  naked  and  clothed 
thee  1  Or  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto 
thee  1"  Then  will  be  heard  from  the  throne  of  judgment,  "  Inas- 
much as  you  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  You  recollect  the  amazing 
result.  They  who  come  to  that  throne  in  their  own  name,  and 
hoped  to  stand  by  their  own  native  prowess,  "  shall  go  away  into 
everlasting  punishment,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.'''' 

Let  me  say,  then,  fellow-sinner,  while  you  resolve  to  trust  in 
man,  or  in  any  thing  short  of  an  omnipotent  Savior,  there  remains 
for  you  "no  hope  "  but  a  "fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and 
fiery  indignation."  If  it  seem  to  you,  however,  that  your  cause 
will  succeed,  you  have  only  to  make  the  trial.  Storms  will  beat 
upon  you  :  but  if  you  still  think  your  own  heart  can  generate  all 
the  prowess  you  shall  need  in  the  conflicts  of  life,  and  death,  and 
judgment,  then  you  must  try.  It  is  my  duty,  however,  to  assure 
you,  "  that  even  the  youths  shall  faint  and  be  weary,  and  the  young 
men  shall  utterly  fall." 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  "  strong  consolation  to  you  who 
trust  in  the  Lord.'1''  The  promise  is,  that  "  you  shall  mount  up  on 
wings  as  eagles,  shall  run  and  not  be  weary,  and  walk  and  not 
faint."  Now  God  will  do  all  that  he  has  said  ;  will  succor  you 
as  he  has  promised,  will  enlighten  your  darkness,  will  provide  you 
a  retreat  in  temptation,  will  cover  your  head  in  the  day  of  battle, 


THE    TWO    CHAMPIONS    CONTRASTED.  123 

will  give  his  angels  charge  concerning  you,  and  in  their  hands 
they  shall  bear  you  up,  till  you  have  trodden  the  whole  desert 
through,  and  passed  over  Jordan,  and  entered  the  New  Jerusalem, 
to  go  no  more  out  for  ever. 

While,  then,  "the  wicked  perish  at  the  presence  of  God" — while  it 
becomes  them  to  "  weep  and  howl  for  their  miseries  that  shall  come 
upon  them" — "  let  the  righteous  be  glad  ;  let  them  rejoice  before  God  ; 
yea,  let  them  exceedingly  rejoice." 


SERMON    VIII. 

THE  SOUL  RELUCTANTLY  MADE  FAST  TO   EARTH. 

psai.m  cxix.  25. 
My  soul  cleavetli  unto  the  dust :  quicken  thou  me  according  to  thy  word. 

The  Christian  is  a  man  of  heavenly  birth.  That  world  where 
Christ  is  he  considers  his  home,  and,  till  he  arrives  there,  he  views 
himself  a  pilgrim  and  a  stranger.  There  are  his  best  friends,  there 
he  has  deposited  his  treasures,  and  thither  faith  often  directs  his 
flight,  and  fixes  his  delightful  gaze.  Hence  the  Christian  is  never 
more  unhappy  than  when  he  becomes  attached  to  the  things  of  the 
earth.  If  the  dove  should  lose  her  wings,  with  which  she  used  to 
soar  among  the  branches,  and  be  constrained  to  crawl  with  rep- 
tiles, and  feed  on  the  serpent's  food,  she  would  not  be  more  expa- 
triated, than  the  man  of  heavenly  birth  when  cleaving  to  the  dust. 
Such  a  state,  guilty  as  he  may  be  in  every  step  of  his  decline,  can 
hardly  be  said  to  be  his  choice.  It  is  a  state  over  which  he  mourns, 
and  at  which  he  is  himself  astonished.  He  is  dissatisfied,  and,  like 
a  dislocated  bone,  aches  to  be  restored.  If  he  should  find  him- 
self contented  and  happy,  while  alienated  from  God,  it  would  cut 
off  his  last  shred  of  hope.  The  less  he  hopes,  and  the  more  un- 
happy, the  more  hopeful  is  his  case. 

The  text  contains  a  confessioti,  a  prayer,  and  a  plea. 

I.  It  contains  a  confession,  "My  soul  cleaveth  to  the  dust."  The 
Psalmist  felt  that  his  mind  had  become  sordid.  The  things  of  the 
earth  occupied  too  much  his  attention,  and  engrossed  too  exclu- 
sively his  affections ;  and  the  dreadful  consequence  was  that  he 
lost  his  relish  for  heavenly  things.  He  was,  in  his  own  esteem,  a 
wretched  outcast,  and  calculated  to  remain  a  vagabond  till  God 
should  be  pleased  to  quicken  him.  If  any  would  know  whether 
this  is  their  state,  I  will  endeavor  to  afford  them  help.  It  is  a  dis- 
eased state  of  a  heavenly  mind,  and  the  disease,  like  all  others,  has 
its  peculiar  characteristics. 

1.  One  in  such  a  state  will  neglect  duty.  It  is  a  burden,  because 
there  is  no  pleasure  felt  in  the  performance.  Thus  he  may  justify 
his  neglect,  and  may  half  believe  that  what  he  thought  duty,  in 


THE    SOUL    RELUCTANTLY    MADE    FAST    TO    EARTH.  l'^ 

the  days  of  his  espousals,  was  a  mistake.  But  surely,  then  was 
the  time,  and  not  now,  to  decide  what  is  duty.  Then  the  con- 
science was  tender,  then  was  felt  a  lively  gratitude,  and  a  strong 
sense  of  obligation.  Then  the  rules  of  duty,  as  far  as  they  were 
known,  were  regarded.  The  question  then  is,  what  did  we  think 
to  be  duty  in  the  day  of  our  espousals  to  Christ  1  Do  we  act,  as 
we  then  resolved  to  act  in  all  the  varied  relationship  of  life,  and 
especially  in  our  relationship  to  Christ  1  Do  we  pray  as  often  and 
as  fervently  \  Do  we  read  the  Scriptures  as  diligently  and  as 
prayerfully  1  Do  we  walk  as  circumspectly  1  Are  we  as  faithful 
to  admonish,  as  free  to  speak,  for  God,  as  diligent  in  searching  the 
heart  1  And  is  the  thought  of  sin  repelled  with  that  promptness 
and  with  that  holy  decision  exercised  during  the  first  week  of  our 
regenerate  state  ?  Or  do  we  cleave  to  the  dust  1  Then  we  soared 
on  heavenly  wings,  our  conversation  was  above,  our  treasures 
there,  our  home  there,  our  all  there. 

If  you  doubt,  whether  in  the  fervency  of  your  first  love  was  the 
time  to  fix  the  laws  of  duty,  I  ask  when  can  we  best  judge  how 
worthy  God  is  to  be  loved  and  served,  if  not  when  our  hearts  have 
been  warmed  with  his  love  1  When  would  you  be  willing  that 
your  friend  should  decide  how  he  should  treat  you  X  When  his 
attachment  was  strong,  or  when,  for  some  assignable  cause,  his 
affections  had  become  alienated  ?  The  amount  of  these  remarks 
is,  God  has  given  us  general  laws,  and  commissioned  conscience 
to  apply  them  to  our  particular  circumstances.  When  shall  con- 
science enter  upon  this  duty  %  If  when  tender,  and  before  it  has 
been  injured  by  the  coldness  and  wickedness  of  a  relapsed  state, 
how  will  matters  stand  with  us,  as  it  regards  the  discharge  of  duty, 
on  measuring  ourselves  by  this  rule  1 

2.  A  state  of  relapse  is  generally  marked  by  a  heartless  perform,' 
ance  of  those  duties  which  are  not  entirely  neglected.  A  wander- 
ing mind  in  prayer,  accompanied  with  deadness,  dulness,  formality, 
and  a  total  absence  of  all  that  fervor,  affection,  tenderness,  and 
heavenly  aspiration  which  characterize  the  duties  of  the  saint 
awake,  are  the  dire  symptoms  of  this  disease  of  the  soul.  As  an 
observing  believer  once  remarked,  "Christians  in  such  a  state 
pray  as  if  they  were  not  acquainted  with  God."  They  do  not  go 
to  him  melted  with  filial  affection.  They  lie  like  slaves  beneath 
the  throne.  Ask  them  to  pray,  and  they  exhibit  guilt ;  and  come 
to  the  mercy-seat,  as  the  convict  approaches  the  gallows,  with  the 
halter  about  his  neck.  They  will  hide  in  corners  that  they  may 
not  be  asked  to  officiate  in  the  duties  of  religion,  and  consider  it  a 


126  THE    SOUL    RELUCTANTLY    MADE    FAST    TO    EARTH. 

calamity  to  be  discovered.  They  are  sometimes  distressed  at  the 
approach  of  the  communion  season.  They  are  too  guilty  to  have 
a  right  there,  and  too  dull  to  have  an  errand  there.  The  very  Sab- 
bath aggravates  their  miseries,  by  compelling  them  to  attend  to 
duties  for  which  they  have  lost  the  relish.  Thus  the  frost  of  an 
untimely  winter  chills  every  duty,  and  blights  every  privilege. 

3.  The  state  I  describe  is  always  attended  with  a  pressure  of 
worldly  care.  The  mind  ever  presses  after  some  object.  To  the 
believer,  acting  in  character,  God  is  that  object.  His  heart  is 
above,  his  hopes  are  there,  and  there  centre  his  warmest  affec- 
tions. But  when  he  descends  from  that  centre,  he  comes  within 
the  attraction  of  earth,  and  basely  gives  the  creature  those  affec- 
tions he  used  to  fix  on  God.  It  is  as  true  that  where  the  heart  is 
there  will  his  treasures  be,  as  that  where  the  treasure  is  there  will 
the  heart  be.  And  our  treasure  will  always  need  our  care,  will 
engross  our  time,  and  employ  our  energies.  Hence  the  Christian 
whose  faith  is  low,  and  who  lets  go  his  grasp  of  heaven,  as  neces- 
sarily becomes  a  worldling,  as  the  man  who  has  never  risen  above 
the  clod  he  treads.  How  long  he  may  remain  astray  is  uncertain, 
surely  not  so  long  but  that  God  will  quicken  him  before  he  die. 
But  his  injured  Lord  may  bring  him  back  with  stripes.  The  more 
he  loves  his  children,  the  more  certain  is  it  that  he  will  chastise 
them.  Probably  not  long  will  he  be  permitted  to  be  a  worldlings 
if  God  has  intended  any  very  eminent  station  for  him  in  heaven. 

4.  The  wandering  believer  must  be  the  subject  of  small  enjoy- 
ments. The  new-born  man  can  never  love  this  poor  world  with  all 
his  heart.  He  could  have  a  higher  relish  for  its  pleasures  if  he 
had  never  known  a  better  good,  if  he  had  never  had  a  glimpse  of 
heaven.  The  peasant  is  quite  content  with  his  cottage,  but  make 
him  once  a  prince,  and  then  reduce  him  to  poverty,  and  his  cot- 
tage has  lost  all  its  charms.  He  may  through  necessity  tarry  there, 
but  it  can  never  be  animated  as  it  used  to  be  with  his  smiles,  and 
his  songs.  So  the  Christian,  however  worldly  he  may  become, 
however  sordid  and  tcrrine,  can  never  entirely  forget  that  in  hea- 
ven he  has  a  better  home.  Having  made  by  faith  one  excursion 
into  the  third  heavens,  it  must  be  impossible  that  he  should  after- 
ward do  anything  more  than  pitch  his  tent  below  ;  he  cannot  pro- 
ject the  idea  of  a  permanent  home  in  a  world  that  loves  him  so 
little,  or  rather  hates  him  so  cordially.  Hence  the  impenitent  man 
ran  find  in  earthly  things  a  more  satisfying  good  than  the  strayed 
believer 


THE    SOUL    RELUCTANTLY    MADE    FAST    TO    EARTH.  121 

And  while  he  is  thus  forbidden  to  be  happy  in  the  things  of 
earth,  he  is  also  cut  off  from  any  sweet  intercourse  with  Heaven. 
He  loses  his  hope  of  future  blessedness.  And  the  more  readily  he 
relinquishes  a  hope  which  has  no  present  holiness  of  life  for  its 
support,  the  better  evidence  will  he  give  that  Christ  is  formed  in 
him  the  hope  of  glory.  He  in  this  gives  evidence  that  he  under- 
stands the  nature  of  holiness  :  that  it  must  bear  fruit.  Or  he  may 
retain  his  hope,  but  it  will  not  be  very  big  with  consolations.  His 
spring  of  comforts  is  dried  up.  The  Sabbath  used  to  be  to  him  a 
day  of  holy,  happy  rest,  but  now  its  hours  are  dark,  and  disturbed 
with  the  goadings  of  a  guilty  conscience.  The  gospel  was  once 
to  him  a  river  of  life.  He  guided  his  steps  by  its  precepts;  he 
hung  his  hopes  on  its  promises  ;  he  fed  his  soul  on  its  doctrines, 
and  his  prospects  were  illumined  by  its  prophecies.  He  heard  it 
with  joy,  considered  it  the  voice  of  Heaven,  and  pressed  it  to  his 
bosom  as  his  richest  treasure.  Now  it  has  become  a  sealed  book, 
a  dead  letter.  In  the  ordinances,  he  used  to  banquet  with  his 
Lord,  forgot  his  cares,  softened  his  trials,  had  sweet  foretastes  of 
heaven,  and  stanched  every  wound  with  the  balm  of  life.  But 
they  are  now  become  mere  beggarly  elements.  The  closet  is 
covered  with  the  darkness  of  Egypt ;  where  he  used  to  be  so  happy, 
where  he  caught  his  prospects  of  heaven,  where  he  often  wept 
away  his  miseries,  and  had  enjoyments  with  which  the  stranger 
intermeddleth  not.  His  alliance  to  the  saints,  once  the  sweetest 
bond  on  earth,  has  lost  almost  all  its  charms.  Thus  the  saint 
relapsed  is  cut  off  from  the  enjoyments  of  both  worlds.  His  con- 
version has  spoiled  the  present  world,  that  it  cannot  be  to  him  a 
source  of  high  delight,  and  his  relapse  has  placed  a  cloud  between 
him  and  heaven.  A  heavenly  mind  in  such  a  state,  is  more  an  oh- 
ject  of  commiseration  than  any  other  on  which  the  sun,  in  all  his 
course,  can  look.  To  cleave  to  the  earth  after  being  born  of  God, 
is  a  fall,  like  which,  there  has  been  nothing  similar  since  the  angels 
made  their  bed  in  hell. 

The  moral  disease,  which  I  have  thus  endeavored  to  describe, 
is  prevalent,  contagious,  sinful,  and  ruinous.  It  is,  in  every  view 
we  c;>.n  take,  the  deadliest  plague  that  ever  spent  its  fury  upon  a 
heaven-born  soul. 

It  is  prevalent — many  of  our  churches  throng  with  professors 
who  are  so  earthly  and  sensual  as  hardly  to  be  distinguished  from 
the  mass  from  which  they  have  been  selected.  And  it  sometimes 
happens  in  a  Church,  that  there  are  so  few  that  may  be  considered 
exceptions,  that  one  would  suppose  they  had  acted  in  concert,  and 


128  THE    SOUL    RELUCTANTLY    MADE    FAST    TO    EARTH. 

had  agreed,  unanimously,  to  become  apostates.  Were  not  tho 
evil  so  prevalent  it  would  be  less  deplorable.  Could  we  always  be 
sure  that  there  were  enough  awake  to  watch  the  interests  of  the 
Church,  the  danger  would  diminish  ;  they  might  exert  an  agency, 
if  any  foe  approached,  to  arouse  their  brethren.  The  very  savages 
could  teach  us  a  lesson.  When  they  meet  to  indulge  themselves 
in  the  pleasures  of  inebriation,  they  are  careful  to  select  several 
of  their  company,  who  shall  have  no  share  in  the  brutal  pleasure, 
that  they  may  keep  watch  over  their  brethren  in  their  defenceless 
state.  It  would  be  well  if  a  Church,  when  they  intend  to  sleep, 
would  appoint  their  sentinels,  who  might  alarm  them  if  danger 
approached,  and  wake  them  before  the  bridegroom  came. 

This  dire  disease  is  contagious.  If  the  Christian  could  sleep,  or 
become  stupid  or  worldly,  without  infecting  his  brethren,  it  would 
be  a  smaller  evil.  But  we  are  so  constituted  that  imitation  is  one 
of  the  most  powerful  principles  of  our  nature,  and  is  a  prime-agent 
in  the  formation  of  character,  and  we  naturally  imitate  those  we 
love.  Hence,  when  a  believer  falls  to  sleep,  becomes  worldly,  or 
neglects  the  means  of  grace,  those  who  love  him  stray  with  him. 
And  the  influence  he  has,  while  it  qualifies  him  to  do  the  more 
good,  enables  him  also  to  extend  sterility  and  death  to  the  full 
extent  of  that  influence. 

It  is  not  easy  to  describe  the  sinfulness  of  thus  forsaking  God. 
It  is  offering  him  direct  and  legible  insult.  It  reads  to  the  world 
this  lying  lesson  :  "  We  have  tried  the  pleasures  of  religion,  and 
find  them  poor.  Its  duties  and  its  cares  result  in  disappointment 
and  misery  ;  and  we  return  to  serve  mammon."  Whether  God 
will  endure  this  insult,  judge  ye. 

It  cannot  be  a  light  thing  to  break  covenant  with  a  pardoning 
Redeemer,  and  trample  under  our  feet  the  seals  and  blood  of  that 
covenant.  To  give  all  his  promises  the  lie,  and  to  barter  away 
our  hopes  of  heaven,  for  the  pleasures  of  a  dream,  is  a  course  of 
conduct  which  God  will  not,  cannot  readily  forgive. 

But  the  crime  will  glare  yet  more  when  we  read  its  ruinous 
consequences.  The  backslider  endangers  his  own  soul.  I  know 
that  God's  everlasting  covenant  secures  the  salvation  of  every  be- 
liever, but  how  shall  it  be  known  who  is  a  believer  1  "We  shall 
know  the  Lord  if  we  follow  on  to  know  him"  We  shall  be  saved, 
"  if  we  endure  to  the  end."  We  shall,  finally,  be  fitted  for  the  king- 
dom, if  u-c  do  not  put  our  hand  to  the  plough  and  look  back.  God 
will  work  in  us  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure,  but  we  are 


THE  SOUL  RELUCTANTLY  MADE  FAST  TO  EARTH.        129 

to  work  out  our  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling.     Hence  the  be 
liever,  by  remaining  in  a  state  of  relapse  a  single  day,  darkens  his 
evidence  of  faith,  and   increases  the  dreadful   probability  that  his 
hope  is  false,  and  his  state  alarming.     Thus  he  suspends  his  own 
soul  over  the  bottomless  pit. 

And  we  have  already  said  that  his  disease  is  contagious.  Thus 
he  exposes  his  brethren  to  the  same  hopeless,  comfortless,  and 
fearful  state.  The  injury  he  does  himself  may  be  the  smallest 
part  of  the  evil.  He  wounds  himself,  but  he  may,  by  his  example 
and  his  influence,  inflict  a  deeper  and  a  deadlier  wound  in  the 
hearts  of  his  brethren.  Bad  conduct  will  have  more  influence 
than  good.  In  doing  wrong  we  fall  in  with  the  full  tide  of  human 
depravity,  and  press  men  downward,  the  way  they  incline  to  go.  It 
is  far  easier  to  damn  men  than  to  save  them.  With  a  very  small 
exertion  one  may  stain  his  garments  with  blood,  but  to  save  a  soul 
from  death  is  a  great  work. 

And  we  must  not  forget  that  not  upon  his  brethren  merely  does 
the  backslider  exert  a  baneful  influence,  but  upon  all  about  him  ! 
Sinners  never  feel  so  justified  in  their  deeds  as  when  they  copy  the 
example  of  a  professed  believer.  Many  a  time  have  they  shamed 
us  with  this  remark,  "  If  mine  is  the  path  to  hell,  your  Christians 
will  perish  with  me."  And  how  dreadful  to  escape  to  heaven,  and 
carry  with  us  the  recollection  that  we  have  sent  others  to  hell ! 
To  look  about  us,  as  we  enter  heaven,  and  see  on  our  skirts  the 
stain  of  the  blood  of  souls!  To  descry  from  the  battlements  of 
the  upper  temple,  our  neighbors,  our  brethren,  our  children  in  the 
pit,  lost  through  our  example  !  Then,  brethren,  we  shall  want  a 
place  to  weep.  And  many  a  time,  it  would  seem,  must  the 
heavenly  song  be  interrupted,  by  the  recollection  of  the  mischief 
we  have  achieved. 

And  who  can  say  that  the  redeemed  soul  may  not  itself  be  a 
loser  forever  by  every  instance  of  relapse.  It  stints  his  growth. 
Could  you  make  a  plant  to  grow,  if  you  should  remove  it  from  the 
sun  and  the  rain,  and  place  it  in  a  vault.  Leave  it  there  but  a  single 
week  and  then  return  it  to  its  wonted  bed,  and  who  can  doubt,  but 
that  the  injury  it  has  sustained,  will  be  visible  on  the  approach  of 
winter  1  And  why  will  not  the  believer,  if  he  arrive  at  heaven, 
be  forever  a  smaller  vessel  of  mercy,  because  of  his  baekslidings  1 
While  he  cleaves  to  earth  he  ceases  to  grow  in  knowledge  and 
in  grace.  The  work  of  sanctification  is  stationary,  and  the  powers 
of  the  soul  cease  to  expand.  It  is  a  state  of  disease,  and  the  spirit 
pines,  till  the  return  of  health.  There  is  no  relish  for  the  previous 
17 


130  THE    SOUL    RELUCTANTLY    MADE    FAST    TO    EARTH. 

provisions  of  the  gospel,  the  soul's  food.  Hence  it  decays  ;  loses 
its  beauty  and  its  strength  ;  is  the  prey  of  famine,  and  thus  stints 
its  future  growth.  One  may  lose  as  much  in  a  period  of  decline, 
as  it  can  gain  in  thrice  that  period.  And  why  will  not  the  evil  be 
visible  forever  1  The  degree  of  blessedness  to  which  we  shall  be 
admitted  when  we  die,  will  bear  proportion  to  the  life  we  live. 
"  Every  man  shall  receive  according  to  his  works."  He  whose 
pound  had  gained  five  pounds  was  made  ruler  over  five  cities ;  and 
he  whose  pound  had  gained  ten  over  ten.  There  will  be  a  differ- 
ence in  heaven  we  know,  as  one  star  differeth  from  another  star 
in  glory.  And  we  cannot  see  how  obedience  can  be  rewarded, 
unless  our  future  crown  shape  its  glory  by  our  present  improve- 
ments. 

It  is  believed  that  glorified  spirits  will  be  the  subjects  of  endless 
increase  in  joy  and  blessedness.  Hence,  if  we  begin  our  heavenly 
growth  with  different  statures,  why  will  not  the  difference  widen, 
and  widen,  and  widen  for  ever  1  Each  will  be  perfectly  happy  j 
each  will  find  its  cup  of  enjoyment  full ;  but  one  will  be  a  larger 
vessel  of  mercy  than  another.  Hence,  why  will  not  the  fatal  effects 
of  our  guilty  relapses  extend  and  widen  through  all  the  years  of 
heaven  ?  And  what  pity  a  heavenly  mind  should  have  any  thing 
to  impede  its  growth.  How  incalculable  is  the  calamity  that  a 
spirit,  born  with  the  faculty  of  endless  expansion,  should  be  cum- 
bered and  compressed  with  clods  of  clay  !  Yet  such  is  the  dis- 
tressing fact ;  a  fact  at  which  the  angels  might  well  be  grieved, 
and  at  which  God  himself  pours  out  lamentation,  "  Oh  that  thou 
hadst  hearkened  to  my  commandments  !  then  had  thy  peace  been 
as  a  river,  and  thy  righteousness  as  the  waves  of  the  sea."  De- 
pend upon  it,  brethren,  that  is  a  great  calamity  which  can  awaken 
such  sympathy  and  create  such  regret  in  the  eternal  mind. 

If  any  objector  should  say,  "  If  God  so  tenderly  loves  his  people, 
why  does  he  permit  them  to  do  themselves  such  incurable  mis- 
chief 1"  The  answer  is  obvious  ; — God  does  not  intend  to  make 
them  as  happy  as  he  could  make  them.  He  could  have  made  them 
angels  instead  of  men.  He  could  have  made  them  men,  and  yet 
possessed  of  nobler  capacities,  fitting  them  for  sublimer  enjoy- 
ments. But  every  question  on  these  subjects  is  impudent.  And 
for  the  same  reason  that  God  created  them  as  he  did,  he  permits 
them  all  to  be  less  happy  than  they  might  be,  and  makes  some 
happier  than  others.  To  measure  their  future  happiness  by  their 
present  conduct,  is  to  treat  them  like  rational  creatures,  and  if  he 


THE  SOUL  RELUCTANTLY  MADE  FAST  TO  EARTH.        131 

at  last  raise  them  to  a  glory  bright  as  their  capacities  can  endure 
it  is  all  they  can  ask,  or  expect,  or  receive. 

Some  have  supposed  that  the  promise,  "  All  things  shall  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,"  implies  that  their  very 
backslidings  will  advance  them  in  holiness.  Perhaps  this  is  a 
mistake.  It  would  be  hardly  safe  to  entrust  such  an  imperfect 
creature  with  such  a  promise.  It  is  safe  to  assure  him  that  all  the 
events  of  divine  providence,  shall  conspire  to  render  him  holy  and 
happy  ;  but  let  him  know  that  his  own  sins  will  have  the  same 
effect,  and  he  is  bribed  to  transgress.  He  is  tempted  to  indulge 
in  sin  because  he  wishes  to  be  holy  :  but  this  would  be  an  absurd 
experiment. 

No  doubt  some  have  advanced  faster  towards  heaven  after  a 
state  of  relapse.  God  in  dealing  with  his  people  may  direct  that 
their  "  backslidings  shall  reprove  them."  But  whether  as  a  gene- 
ral principle  it  is  true,  that  to  forsake  God  is  the  readiest  way  to 
make  us  more  like  him,  demands  a  doubt.  The  grace  of  God  may 
abound  toward  his  recovered  children  ;  he  may  forgive  them  and 
love  them  after  they  have  grievously  offended  him  ;  and  may  ad- 
vance the  work  of  grace  in  their  hearts,  though  they  deserve  to 
perish  ;  but  why  ascribe  to  their  sins,  what  is  due  to  the  grace  of 
their  Redeemer  1  Peter  was  a  valuable  apostle,  but  perhaps  none 
the  more  valuable  for  having  denied  his  Lord.  When  he  was 
converted  he  strengthened  his  brethren,  but  would  perhaps  have 
strengthend  them  more  had  he  needed  converting  but  once.  If 
the  backslider  could  hope  in  the  midst  of  his  wanderings,  that  his 
sins  would  prove  a  blessing,  that  hope  would  be  illy  calculated  to 
bring  him  back  ;  and  if  there  was  such  a.  promise,  he  might  grasp 
at  such  a  hope.  There  is  something  dreadful  in  the  thought  that 
the  believer  should  embrace  an  idol,  and  feel  himself  comforted  in 
his  crime  by  the  prospect  of  thus  increasing  his  sanctification,  and 
brightening  his  crown  of  glory.  If  the  experiment  would  be  dan- 
gerous such  an  application  of  the  promise  is  false  ;  and  the  back- 
slidings of  the  believer  himself  is  not  among  the  all  things  that 
vhall  eventuate  in  his  everlasting  good. 

II.  The  prayer — "quicken  thou  me."  In  a  sense,  the  whole  text 
is  a  prayer  When  David  confesses  "  My  soul  cleaveth  to  the 
dust,"  he  must  be  viewed  as  laying  open  his  case  to  God.  He 
thus  dates  his  prayer,  in  the  very  dust  of  death,  as  you  have  some- 
times seen  a  petition  dated  in  the  recesses  of  a  dungeon.  I  think 
see  in  all  this  deep  humility  and   open   ingenuousness      He  felt 


132  THE    SOUL    RELUCTANTLY    MADE    FAST    TO    EAKTI1. 

and  confessed  that  his  habitation  was  in  the  dust,  and  in  that  posi- 
tion not  attempting  concealment,  commences  his  petitions.  As  if 
he  had  said,  "  Here,  Lord,  I  am  embracing  the  dust."  Never  was 
a  heavenly  mind  in  a  more  miserable  condition.  All  ambition  to 
rise  is  gone.  My  situation  is  precisely  the  object  of  my  choice. 
"  I  cleave  to  the  dust." 

Believer,  if  you  fear  that  your  condition  is  but  too  well  described 
in  this  humiliating  confession,  and  you  would  hope  to  be  restored 
again  to  the  favor  of  God,  erect  your  prayer  on  a  very  ingenuous 
confession  of  your  sins.  If  you  venture  upon  any  petition  to  your 
injured  Sovereign,  date  that  petition  from  the  place  of  your  guilty 
retreat.  Without  any  reserve,  mention  in  the  ears  of  your  Re- 
deemer, the  place  of  your  abode,  and  the  meanness  and  guiltiness 
of  your  present  employment.  Suppose  the  prodigal  had  dated  a 
line  to  his  father  at  that  moment  when  he  came  to  himself,  how  do 
you  imagine  it  would  have  read  1  I  apprehend  this  would  have 
been  its  purport  1  "  From  a  far  country,  poor  and  friendless, 
without  home  or  shelter  ;  destitute  of  a  father  or  counsellor  ;  in 
the  employ  of  a  menial  servant,  feeding  swine  ;  naked  and  perish- 
ing with  hunger."  How  a  line  thus  dated  would  have  melted  the 
heart  of  his  father.  And,  brethren,  if  any  of  you  have  wandered, 
and  are  willing  to  return  to  God,  you  must  practice  the  same  in- 
genuousness. You  can  date  your  prayer  after  this  manner,  "  From 
a  world  lying  in  ignorance  and  wickedness,  where  1  have  engaged 
to  shine  as  a  light,  while  my  example  increases  the  aggregate  of 
darkness  ;  an  inconsistent  professor  ;  a  senseless,  careless,  stupid 
worldling  ;  buried  up  in  cares  that  have  no  concern  with  thy  king- 
dom ;  too  guilty  to  hope,  too  dull  to  pray,  and  too  depraved  to 
repent."  Such  a  confession,  deeply  felt  and  cheerfully  made,  may 
be  the  prelude  to  any  prayer  you  may  utter.  "And  before  you 
call  God  will  answer,  and  while  you  are  yet  speaking  he  will  hear." 

We  see  in  the  prayer  of  the  text  a  deep  sense  of  dependence. 
(  Quicken  thou  me.  David  felt  that  none  but  God  could  revive  him. 
His  case  was  hopeless,  unless  there  came  help  from  Heaven.  He 
was  too  far  gone  to  be  resuscitated  by  any  other  power  than  that 
which  raises  the  dead  to  life.  God  must  be  his  helper,  or  he  never 
rises  again  from  the  horrible  pit.  Probably  he  had  made  some  in- 
effectual efforts  to  restore  himself,  and  had  by  every  such  effort 
sunk  the  deeper  from  the  reach  of  human  aid.  The  exertions  of  a 
sleeping  man  to  wake  himself,  are  of  all  efforts  the  most  worthless. 
Convinced  at  length  that  he  must  die  in  his  dreams  or  be  waked 
by  another,  he  raises  his  eyes  to  heaven,  "quicken  thou   me." 


THE    SOUL    RELUCTANTLY    MADE    FAST    TO    EARTH.  133 

Christian  brethren,  if  any  one  of  you  find  your  case  a  similar 
one,  your  eye  must  be  fixed  on  the  same  Divine  helper.  And  yet 
you  must  strongly  feel,  that  the  more  need  there  is  that  God 
should  quicken  you,  the  more  guilty  you  are,  and  the  more  unde- 
serving of  his  merciful  interpositions.  This  remark  is  predicated 
upon  the  simple  fact,  that  we  are  agents,  that  we  go  into  voluntary 
exile,  and  remain  there  because  it  is  our  choice.  But  all  this  in- 
creases the  necessity  of  divine  aid.  If  we  are  so  base  that  we  can 
choose  to  depart  from  the  Lord,  he  must  subdue  that  dreadful 
choice  or  our  case  is  hopeless.  Let  us  then  feel  our  need  of  Di 
vine  aid,  and  hang  all  our  hopes  upon  the  timely  interposition  of 
his  quickening  power. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  backslider  entirely  neglects  to 
pray,  in  which  case  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  he  cuts  himself  off 
from  the  last  resource  of  help.  While  the  wanderer  can  summon 
courage  to  pray,  and  can  weep  over  his  wanderings,  there  is  hope 
in  his  case.  However  weik  one  may  be  in  himself,  prayer  takes 
hold  of  everlasting  strength.  It  enlists  angels,  it  enlists  God  him- 
self on  the  side  of  the  believer.  It  wakes  in  his  behalf  the  watch- 
ful eye  of  Heaven.     But  I  proceed  to  notice 

III.  The  plea  used  by  the  Psalmist  in  his  guilty  and  gloomy 
circumstances.  "  Quicken  thou  me  according  to  thy  word"  i.  e., 
according  to  thy  gracious  promises.  In  making  this  plea,  the 
Psalmist  discovered  both  his  humility  and  his  faith.  It  was  evi- 
dence of  his  humility  as  it  was  his  only  plea.  He  asks  no  favor  be- 
cause he  was  the  king  of  Israel.  He  pleads  not  that  he  was  the 
man  after  God's  own  heart.  Nor  even  does  he  mention  his  cove- 
nant relation  to  God,  though  this  would  have  been  a  proper  plea. 
God  of  his  mere  mercy  had  made  promises  to  his  people  ;  these 
he  believed,  and  on  these  he  hung  his  hopes,  and  grounded  his 
prayer,  "Quicken  thou  me  according  to  thy  word." 

Brethren,  there  is  no  plea  in  our  distresses  so  prevalent  with 
God,  as  that  in  which  we  plead  his  promises.  He  loves  to  do, 
and  he  intends  to  do  as  he  has  said.  He  issued  the  promises  with 
a  perfect  knowledge  of  our  sins,  and  our  unworthiness.  He  has 
never  repented  of  one  promise  that  he  ever  made,  nor  wishes  to 
be  excused  from  their  accomplishment.  "  He  is  the  same  yes- 
terday, to-day  and  for  ever,"  and  all  the  promises  are  in  Christ, 
yea,  and  in  him,  amen. 

God  loves  to  have  his  people  acquainted  with  the  gracious 
things  he  has  said.     When  we   have   been  wandering  in  the  fields 


13-i  THE    SOUL    RELUCTANTLY    MADE   FAST    TO    EARTH. 

of  promise,  our  prayers  smell  of  their  perfume.  We  must  hav& 
often  read  the  promise,  and  must  have  treasured  it  up  in  the  mind 
before  we  can  apply  it  to  our  case,  and  make  it  our  plea  at  the 
throne.  Hence,  when  we  go  to  God,  filling  our  mouths  with  his 
promises,  he  knows  that  we  are  acquainted  with  his  word.  And 
we  may  in  such  circumstances  come  boldly  to  the  throne,  assured 
that  we  shall  "  obtain  mercy  and  find  grace  to  help  in  every  time 
of  need."  It  is  very  remarkable  that  to  almost  every  individual 
case  there  is  at  least  one  promise,  if  not  more. 

Brethren,  if  any  of  you  feel  guilty,  you  may  plead,  "  Thou  art  a 
God  ready  to  pardon,  gracious,  and  merciful,  slow  to  anger,  and 
of  great  kindness."  Or  you  may  pour  out  your  soul  in  this  lan- 
guage,  "  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  thee,  that  pardoneth  iniquity,  and 
passeth  by  the  transgression  of  the  remnant  of  his  heritage."  If 
God  hide  his  face  from  you,  you  may  make  this  plea,  "  In  a  little 
wrath  I  hid  my  face  from  thee  for  a  moment,  but  with  everlasting 
kindness  will  I  have  mercy  on  thee,  saith  the  Lord  thy  Redeemer." 
If  your  trials  multiply,  if  your  estate  consume,  and  your  friends 
die,  if  one  trial  comes  in  upon  another  as  wave  follows  wave  in  a 
stormy  sea,  you  may  plead  this  promise,  "When  thou  passest 
through  the  waters  I  will  be  with  thee,  and  through  the  floods, 
they  shall  not  overflow  thee,  when  thou  walkest  through  the  fire 
thou  shalt  not  be  burned,  neither  shall  the  flames  kindle  upon 
thee."  I  will  be  with  thee  in  six  troubles,  and  in  seven  I  will  not 
forsake  thee."  If  no  light  from  heaven  seems  to  shine  upon  your 
path,  you  may  plead  this  promise,  "Whosoever  believeth  in  me 
shall  not  abide  in  darkness."  If  you  fear  that  God  has  utterly 
forsaken  you,  you  are  not  without  a  promise,  "  For  a  small  mo- 
ment have  I  forsaken  thee,  but  with  great  mercies  will  I  gather 
thee."  If  you  apprehend  that  you  have  wearied  his  patience, 
and  that  having  revived  you  so  often,  he  will  never  revive  you 
ao-ain,  you  may  remind  him  of  this  precious  text,  "My  mercy 
will  I  keep  forevermore,"  and  this,  "Mercy  and  truth  shall  go  be- 
fore thy  face."  If  you  even  fear  that  God  may  break  his  promise, 
there  is  a  plea  for  you,  "The  mountains  shall  depart  and  the  hills 
be  removed,  but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither 
shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that 
hath  mercy  on  thee."  If  it  should  seem  to  you  that  God  even  de- 
li -lit s  iii  afflicting  you,  as  if  he  meant  to  break  down  your  spirits 
by  the  combined  efforts  of  various  calamities,  you  may  plead  this 
lise,  "  Though  the  Lord  cause  grief,  yet  will  he  have  compas- 
sion, according  to  the  multitude  of  his   mercies."     But,  brethren, 


THE    SOUL    RELUCTANTLY    MADE    FAST    TO    EARTH.  135 

I  have  entered  a  field  which  I  did  not  hope  fully  to  explore  Al- 
most every  page  of  the  book  of  God,  and  in  some  instances,  every 
line  contains  a  promise.  Could  I  recollect  them  half,  I  could  oc- 
cupy your  time  till  that  sun  had  set,  and  risen  and  set  a  score  of 
times.  I  could  tell  you  of  the  promises  made  to  them  that  fear 
God,  to  them  that  hope  in  him,  to  them  that  love  him,  to  them 
that  obey  him,  to  them  that  trust  him,  and  to  them  that  honor  him. 
But  if  the  backsliding  Christian  can  only  be  waked  from  the 
slumbers  of  his  relapse  he  can  read  the  long  catalogue  of  promises, 
and  make  them  all  his  own,  and  found  upon  each  some  plea  at  the 
throne.  Oh !  how  sweet  to  come  thus.  Remembering  the  kind 
things  that  God  has  said,  and  resting  the  soul  firmly  on  the  truth 
of  his  word,  the  backslider  should  hasten  to  the  throne.  To  stay 
away  is  to  prolong  his  miseries ;  to  stay  away,  is  death. 


1.  The  subject  gives  us  a  humiliating  picture  of  the  human 
heart.  That  men  should  not  wish  for  communion  and  fellowship 
with  God,  who  never  yet  have  tasted  and  seen  that  the  Lord  is 
gracious,  is  not  surprising;  but  that  the  Christian  should  forsake 
the  Lord,  and  go  after  his  idols,  what  a  proof  of  remaining  cor- 
ruption !  We  have  heard  of  the  savage,  who,  after  being  civilized, 
wished  to  return  again  to  the  wilderness,  and  the  chase.  We  have 
heard  of  the  prodigal,  who,  after  being  restored  to  his  father  and 
his  home,  returned  again  to  his  paths  of  profligacy.  But  what 
have  we  ever  heard  of  that  resembled  the  consummate  folly  of  him 
who,  having  tasted  the  sweets  of  Christian  enjoyments,  could  bar- 
ter away  his  hopes  and  his  pleasures  for  the  enjoyments  of  time 
and  sense ;  could  quit  the  bosom  of  his  Redeemer,  where  he  was 
so  happy,  and  try  to  live  again  on  the  husks  that  the  swine  eat. 
Do  you  think  there  is  one  in  heaven  that  could  be  persuaded  to  lay 
aside  his  harp  and  come  down  to  our  world  again  if  you  would 
give  him  the  whole  of  it  1  And  Christians  have  tasted  of  heaven, 
and  may  drink  deeper  of  its  joys  if  they  please,  and  how  can  they 
ever  barter  them  away. 

2.  The  subject  gives  us  enlarged  views  of  the  mercy  of  God, 
that  he  will  make  beings  so  depraved  the  objects  of  his  affectionate 
regard.  How  strange !  Look  at  some  lapsed  believer,  scarcely 
differing  from  the  world  in  a  thing  that  can  be  named ;  sleeping, 
it  may  be,  most  profoundly,  while  the  outcry  of  anxious  souls  is 
heard  all  around  him ;  less  thoughtful  than  men  who  have  never 
tasted  nor  seen  that  the  Lord  was  gracious,  buried  up   in  worldly 


136       THE  SOUL  BELUCTANTLY  MADE  FAST  TO  EARTH. 

care,  and  engrossed,  soul  and  body,  in  the  affairs  of  the  life  that 
now  is !  And,  tell  me,  is  there  any  measure  to  that  mercy,  which 
can  pardon  all  this,  and  raise  such  a  soul  to  heaven.  How  un- 
worthy of  heaven,  and  how  unfit  for  heaven,  and  how  ungratefu* 
to  the  God  of  heaven  j  and  still  the  mercy  of  God  can  lead  him  to 
cast  all  his  iniquities  behind  his  back,  and  still  save  the  poor  mi- 
serable backslider.  I  know  that  the  backslider  should  entertain 
no  such  hope,  but  should  believe  himself  in  the  gall  of  bitterness, 
and  under  the  bonds  of  iniquity.  But  if  one  such  case  has  been 
since  there  was  a  church,  and  we  should,  at  last,  see  that  soul  in 
heaven,  how  it  will  exalt  the  campassion  of  a  pardoning  God  !  How 
his  long-suffering  patience  will  shine,  as  in  glowing  capitals,  among 
the  perfections  that  will  be  seen  to  cluster  in  his  nature. 

Finally,  my  Christian  brethren,  I  have  taken  up  this  subject  with 
the  apprehension  that  some  of  my  readers  may  be  slumbering  at 
this  very  moment,  There  is  some  cause,  and  where  is  that  cause, 
and  what,  that  the  work  of  God  seems  at  a  stand  among  that  class 
that  seemed  the  first  to  wake.*  There  are  many  of  your  acquaint- 
ances, probably,  in  middle  life,  who  know  that  they  are  sinners, 
and  feel  that  sin  has  ruined  them,  and  would  give  a  moiety  of  their 
estate  were  they  safe  from  the  fear  of  hell ;  and  there  they  stand, 
ready  to  go  forward  if  they  must,  or  backward  if  they  may.  Now, 
is  there  not  some  stumbling  block  not  removed  out  of  the  way  ? 
The  preacher  would  ask  his  own  heart,  Is  it  there  %  And  he 
would  ask  every  brother,  Is  it  there  ?  Oh,  it  would  be  dreadful  if 
any  of  us  should  stand  in  the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  keep  souls  out 
of  heaven.  It  would  be  dreadful  not  to  do  that  which  would  bring 
them  to  heaven.  To  find  a  soul,  at  last,  on  the  left  hand,  and  know 
that  we  had  blocked  up  his  way  to  life.  We  shall  then  feel  that  we 
had  better  have  died  when  the  Lord  began  to  work  ;  our  death  might 
have  awakened  him,  and  while  he  has  stumbled  and  fallen,  at 
our  example,  he  might  have  wept  and  repented  over  our  grave. 

How  can  a  professor  calculate  that  any  thing  shall  ever  wake 
him,  if  he  sleep  now]  We  tell  the  impenitent,  and  we  have  much 
Scripture  and  many  facts  to  support  the  remark,  that  if  he  wakes 
not  now,  he  must  probably  sleep  the  sleep  of  death  eternal.  And 
if  so,  with  how  much  assurance  may  we  say  to  the  slumbering 
professor,  that,  probably,  he  is  not  asleep  but  dead,  and  must  be 
aroused  by  the  same  new-creating  voice,  that  must  bring  to  life 
the  dead  ia  trespasses  and  sins,  or  he  never  bestirs  him  in  the 
ways  of  God.     If  he  can  now  see  all  classes  of  sinners  quitting  the 

*  Alluding  to  a  work  of  God  then  ia  progress. 


THE    SOUL    RELUCTANTLY    MADE    FAST    TO    EARTH.  137 

ways  of  death,  and  sitting  down  clothed  and  in  their  right  mind  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus,  what  event  more  electrifying  can  he  hope  to  wit- 
ness, till  he  see  the  dead  rise  and  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven.  He  would  do  well  to  resign  his  hope,  and  place 
himself  among  the  anxious  and  the  inquiring,  and  begin  a  Chris- 
tian life  anew.  The  exhortation  of  the  apostle,  "Repent,  and  do 
thy  first  works,"  is  applicable  in  all  its  force  to  the  professor  of 
godliness  who  finds  himself  inactive  and  uninterested  in  a  work 
such  as  God  is  doing  in  this  place.  It  is  wicked  for  him  to  cal- 
culate that  he  has  been  born  of  God,  to  presume  that  God  will 
make  him  happy,  or  to  hope  that  he  has  any  inheritai  ce  in  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  of  Christ.     Amen. 

18 


SERMON   IX. 

A  LIKENESS  TAKEN  IN  THE  FIELD- 

1    CORINTHIANS    X.    31. 

Whether,  therefore,  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God. 

There  is  one  feature  in  the  mind  of  God  that  none  have  ever 
been  infidel  enough  to  doubt, — his  unlimited  love  of  happiness. 
He  delights  to  pour  out  blessedness  into  every  heart  that  he  finds 
prepared  to  receive  it.  When,  at  length,  his  kindness  came  in 
contact  with  a  lost  and  ruined  world,  it  contrived  and  developed  a 
plan  of  redemption.  "  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world 
to  himself."  He  "  was  rich  yet  for  our  sakes  he  became  poor, 
that  we  through  his  poverty  might  be  rich  ;"  and  the  followers  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  must  be  like  him.  "  If  any  man  have  not 
the  spirit  of  Christ  he  is  none  of  his."  Hence,  the  first  inquiry  of 
every  new-born  soul  will  be  with  him  of  Tarsus,  "  Lord,  what 
wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  1"  The  proper  answer  to  this  question 
will  show,  how  the  Christian  is  to  act  out  the  spirit  of  his  Master  in 
efforts  to  promote  the  conversion  and  the  salvation  of  the  world 

I.  Let  me  begin  by  saying  that  the  Christian  should  devote  to 
this  work  his  personal  services.  It  is  the  work  we  see  God  doing, 
and  both  duty  and  interest  require  that  we  be  workers  together 
with  God.  And  the  only  measure  there  can  possibly  be  applied 
to  the  service  is  the  power  we  have  to  serve.  "  Whatsoever  thy 
hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might."  By  this  rule  God  has 
limited  his  requisitions.  "  If  there  be  first  a  willing  mind  it  is  ac- 
cepted according  to  that  which  a  man  hath,  and  not  according  to 
that  which  he  hath  not."  The  hand  is  used  in  Scripture  to  mean 
our  whole  natural  ability.  It  is  even  used  in  the  same  sense  in 
reference  to  God.  "The  hand  of  the  Lord  is  not  shortened  that 
it  cannot  save  ;"  whatever  faculty,  then,  of  our  nature  there  is, 
God  has  claimed  it  for  himself. 

If  we  can  think  and  reason  we  are  to  employ  our  understanding 
in  save  men.  We  can  know  their  character  and  their  danger,  and 
expose   their   condition,    and,  by   a    thousand    motives,    urge  theil 


A    LIKENESS    TAKEN    IN    THE    FIELD. 


139 


speedy  escape  from  the  wrath  to  come,  their  emancipation  from 
the  power  of  sin  and  Satan,  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons 
of  God.  In  this  very  work  the  infinite  mind  of  G^d  is  occupied, 
nor  can  we  say  that  he  has  any  employment  to  which  he  plies  his 
thoughts  with  more  untiring  industry  than  in  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion. Hoav  does  he  propose  to  sinners  that  they  let  him  reason 
with  them,  and  what  arguments  that  none  but  God  could  invent 
does  he  urge  upon  their  consideration  !  "  Though  your  sins  be 
as  scarlet,  they  shallbe  as  wool,  though  they  be  red  like  crimson, 
they  shall  be  as  snow."  How  mistaken,  then,  are  the  little  beings 
in  the  shape  of  men,  who  suppose  they  have  minds  too  dignified 
to  be  employed  in  the  redemption  of  souls  !  They  would  not, 
perhaps,  grudge  to  be  occupied  on  the  bench  or  at  tne  bar,  but  it 
would  degrade  them,  it  seems,  to  plead  the  cause  of  an  insulted 
God  with  a  rebellious  world.  They  would  spend  life  in  studying 
out  the  laws  of  nature,  or  in  defining  the  properties  of  a  plant,  a 
mineral,  or  an  insect,  but  look  down  contemptuously  upon  the 
business  of  making  men  acquainted  with  God,  and  winning  them 
back  to  loyalty  and  duty  !  The  work  of  counting  money  and  ap- 
praising merchandise  is  not  beneath  them,  but  it  would  be  quite  a 
stoop  to  be  employed  in  studying  the  word  of  God,  and  gathering 
arguments  with  which  to  thwart  the  gainsayings  of  an  infidel  and 
perverse  generation  !  But  if  the  human  mind,  as  infidels  have 
plead,  is  a  scintillation  from  the  infinite  mind,  how  can  it  have  a 
nobler  employment  than  in  winning  souls  to  Him  1 

It  is  the  legitimate  work  of  every  mind  to  hail  the  perishing 
within  its  reach,  and  shed  upon  them  an  enlightening  and  sancti- 
fying influence  !  Not  the  authorized  ministers  of  the  sanctuary 
alone  should  feel  the  pressure  of  this  enterprise,  but  every  intel- 
lect that  took  pattern  from  its  Maker,  and  wears  a  trace  of  his 
likeness.  The  power  of  reasoning  was  given  to  us  to  associate 
us  with  God  in  doing  the  same  work,  as  far  as  may  be,  that  he 
does,  and  the  human  mind  should  feel  itself  meanly  occupied,  if 
even  from  necessity,  held  away  from  its  appropriate  work,  and 
compelled  for  a  time  to  be  devoted  to  the  drudgeries  of  this  life. 
If  one  has  not  the  knowledge,  or  the  talent,  or  the  leisure,  or  au- 
thority to  preach  the  everlasting  gospel,  he  may  not  be  idle. 
There  is  some  field  open  at  his  door  to  do  good.  He  can  learn, 
and  wield  with  the  hundreds  that  cross  his  track,  the  arguments 
that  sustain  the  religion  of  the  gospel,  can  fling  out  his  warnings 
upon  the  ear  of  the  gay,  and  the  worldly,  and  the  dissipated,  and 
the  drunken,  and  the  profane.     He  can  watch,  and  wake  the  slum- 


14*0  A    LIKENESS    TAKEN    IN1    THE    FIELD. 

bering  believer,  and  cheer  and  sustain  the  ministry,  and  standi 
the  heart  of  the  disconsolate,  and  plan  the  measures  of  benevo- 
lence, and  put  in  successful  motion  a  thousand  other  minds,  mighti- 
er  perhaps  than  his  own,  that  shall  push  on  the  enterprise  of  re- 
demption, after  his  own  has  escaped  to  heaven,  and  his  bones  have 
been  mouldered  a  thousand  years.  He  may  be  a  small  man  in  his 
own  esteem,  and  insignificant,  too,  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  still  may 
give  healthful  impulse,  and  a  right  direction,  to  a  moving  world. 
"  Worm  Jacob  may  take  in  his  hand  a  new,  sharp,  threshing  in- 
strument, having  teeth,  by  which  he  shall  thresh  the  mountains 
and  beat  them  small,  and  make  the  hills  as  chaff,  and  the  wind 
shall  carry  them  away,  and  the  whirlwind  shall  scatter  them." 
Let  the  Christian  be  only  willing  to  be  in  his  place,  and  there 
will  be  presented  soon  some  nook  for  him  to  occupy,  where  he 
can  strengthen  and  edify  the  spiritual  temple. 

And  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  there  is  no  amount  of  other 
duty,  in  which  we  operate  by  proxy,  that  can  possibly  exonerate 
us  from  persuing  all  that  may  be  of  this  personal  service  for  the 
Lord  Jesus.  No  matter  what  the  aggregate  of  duty  done  through 
other  agencies,  we  must  do  this  service  too.  If  we  could  educate 
a  thousand  ministers,,  and  buy  the  services  of  ten  thousand  others, 
and  freight  the  Word  of  Life  to  a  score  of  nations,  and  thus,  by 
proxy,  evangelize  half  a  world,  if  there  was  still  a  soul  within  our 
reach  over  whom  we  could,  by  the  use  of  our  own  minds,  exert  a 
sanctifying  control,  we  must  answer  to  God  for  the  proper  use  of 
that  opportunity.  Still  it  would  remain  incumbent,  "  whatsoever 
thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might."  Still  must  we  be 
instant  in  season  and  out  of  season,  in  warning,  and  rebuking,  and 
admonishing  the  wayward  and  the  perishing.  The  maxim  would 
then  apply,  "  These  ought  ye  to  have  done,  but  not  to  have  left 
the  other  undone."  There  is  no  proviso  in  the  law  of  God  freeing 
me  from  being  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  in  the  sense  now  advocat- 
ed, if  I  could  send  out  among  the  lost  an  army  of  evangelists 
numerous  enough  to  begirt  the  world. 

Nor  can  any  Moses  plead  that  he  is  slow  of  speech,  and  throw 
the  whole  responsibility  on  Aaron.  There  is  no  mind  so  mean  but 
there  is  some  mind  it  can  reach  and  instruct,  some  conscience  or 
heart  it  can  approach  and  rectify,  and,  by  the  Spirit's  co-operation, 
mould  into  holy  and  heavenly  form.  Let  men  only  become  will- 
ing to  be  the  Lord's  servants,  and  he  will  find  them  a  field  of  labor. 
And  how  can  the  good  man  be  willing  that  there  should  be  any 
heart  about  him  unsanctified,  or  mind  unenlightened  !    Can  he  rest 


A    LIKENESS    TAKEN    IN    THE    FIELD.  141 

in  indolence  when,  if  he  would  act,  he  could  enlarge  his  Lord's 
empire  1  Can  he  see  his  Master  dishonored,  and  his  law  trampled 
upon,  when  his  own  exertions  would  produce  obedience  1  And 
how  then  can  he  have  hope  that  he  loves  his  Master.  Piety  is  a 
living  principle,  a  power  that  can  generate  action  and  give  im- 
pulse. The  healthful  state  of  the  soul  depends,  I  know,  on  the 
agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  yet,  as  God  will  give  his  Spirit  to  them 
who  ask  him,  his  people  can  always  put  forth  an  energy  that  shall 
act  on  others.  Hence,  if  the  man  of  God  might,  with  a  good  con- 
science withhold  his  personal  services,  he  would  not,  but  will  place 
himself  between  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  stay  the  plague  that 
is  paralyzing  the  energies  of  a  world. 

When  the  Church  shall  feel  on  this  point  with  sufficient  strength 
every  Christian  will  be  virtually  a  preacher,  and  God  will  ordain 
strength  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings.  Every  profes- 
sion of  godliness  will  recruit  the  soldiership  of  Christ,  the  stam- 
mering tongue  will  speak  plainly,  and  many  will  run  to  and  fro,  and 
knowledge  will  be  increased.  Men  who  have  purposed  to  reject 
Jesus  Christ  will  feel  unhappy  till  they  give  up  the  controversy  ; 
and,  at  length,  no  one  shall  have  need  to  say  to  his  brother,  Know 
the  Lord,  for  all  shall  know  him,  from  the  least  even  unto  the 
greatest. 

It  may  be  that  God  calls  us  to  serve  him  with  the  pen.  The  man 
who  has  talents  at  this  service  may  not  withhold.  The  pen  is  that 
engine  by  which  one  mind  may  bear  with  energy  upon  other 
minds,  and,  associated  with  the  press,  is  that  lever  that  can  pry 
up  a  world.  And  this  weapon,  which  shook  the  world  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  will  shake  it  yet  more  mightily  as  the  millennial 
coming  shall  be  seen  projecting  up  the  sky. 

The  world  understand  the  worth  and  the  might  of  the  pen,  and 
the  Church  might  have  learned,  if  she  had  not  been  slow  to  learn. 
The  lowest  scribbler  can  send  his  lying  puffs  abroad  in  behalf  of 
the  theatre,  and  the  politician,  who  cannot  spell  his  mother  tongue, 
will  write  and  print  his  electioneering  paragraph,  then  why  should 
not  the  Christian  who  can  wield  an  able  pen  be  occupied  in  this 
service  while  the  world  is  perishing  And  if  one  cannot  use  this 
instrument  of  good  himself,  he  can  procure  it  used.  And  we  may, 
borne  of  us,  yet  live  to  see  half  a  million  of  writers  employing  ten 
thousand  presses  in  defending  the  truth,  and  sustaining  the  honor 
of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

And  if  our  minds  seem  not  to  us  our  noblest  part,  then  may  we 
and  something  to  do  for  God  with  our  hands.  We  can  toil  instead 


142  A    LIKENESS    TAKEN    IN    THE    FIELD. 

of  those  who  have  hotter  minds,  and  le1  them  serve,  in  our  behalf, 
the  interest  we  love.  Here  something  has  been  done,  but  not  the 
thousandth  part  of  what  should  be.  Let  the  hours  that  are  thrown 
away  by  the  great  mass  of  the  Christian  community  be  employed 
in  laboring  for  God,  and  the  avails  would  soon  renovate  the  world. 
And  the  labors  done  with  such  design  would  produce  habits  tha^ 
would  tell  on  the  health,  and  plenty,  and  cheerfulness,  and  sancti- 
fication  of  the  Church.  By  such  a  practice,  when  universal,  hxyn 
would  crime  disappear,  and  credit  rise,  and  health  increase,  and 
life  be  prolonged,  and  the  laboring  Community  throughout  Christ- 
endom stand,  at  length,  on  an  elevation  that  would  cover  the  whole 
territory  with  a  halo  of  glory.  Thus  the  personal  services  of 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  Church  of  God  may  be  put  in 
requisition  to  redeem  back  an  alienated  world  to  its  rightful  Lord 
and  Master.  God  of  mercy  grant  that  the  question  may  soon  cease 
to  be  asked,  either  in  or  about  the  vineyard,  "  Why  stand  ye  hero 
all  the  day  idle  1 " 

II.  I  assert,  that  the  Christian  must  use  his  influence  in  honoring 
his  Master.  I  refer  now  not  solely  to  that  direct  effort  that  one 
man  makes  to  control  another,  but  to  that  ascendency  of  moral 
principle  which  one  acquires,  by  which  he  leads  other  minds  on 
in  his  own  track.  It  consists  in  a  good  name,  and  implies  a  good 
example,  and  may  have  relation  to  family  and  blood,  and  place  and 
opportunity.  Every  man  has  more  or  less  influence,  can  exert 
control  over  some  minds,  and  sway  all  who  will  suffer  themselves 
to  drop  into  his  wake. 

Wicked  men  have  influence,  and  will  seldom  fail  to  use  it  to 
further  the  interests  they  love,  and  destroy  the  souls  they  are  obli- 
gated to  save.  HOW  baneful  has  been  its  use  in  all  the  pages  of 
human  history.  The  influence  of  Jeroboam  ruined  ten  of  the  tribes 
of  Israel  ;  and  the  house  of  Aliab,  his  descendant,  bred  mischief 
in  his  kingdom  that  never  could  he  cured  till  the  kingdom  was 
extirpated;  and  the  influence  of  Jezebel  laid  a  train  of  mischief 
and  guilt  that  even  her  own  blood  could  not  wash  away-  And  all 
who  are  acquainted  with  history  know  how  blighting  has  been  the 
influence  of  Voltaire,  spreading  over  a  whole  continent,  and  reach- 
ing down  now  through  a  century  ;  destined,  we  fear,  to  mark  its 
track  with  the  blood  of  souls  through  the  spare  of  a  thousand 
years.  And  the  miserable  Paine,  who  had  all  his  baseness  of  prin 
ciple,  though  wanting  his  greatness  of  mind,  did  mischief  in  his 
little  day,  and  put  moral  machinery  in  motion  that  has  been  widen 


A    LIKENESS    TAKEN    IN    THE    FIELD.  143 

ing  the  sphere  of  devastation,  till  thousands  of  souls  will  acknow- 
ledge him  the  father  of  their  damnation. 

Now  the  people  of  God  can  put  forth  the  same  kind  of  influence 
in  a  better  cause.  They  can  mould  the  manners  of  men,  and  shape 
their  principles  for  heaven,  and  turn  the  eye  of  the  multitude  to 
truth,  and  duty,  and  God,  hy  the  use  of  their  influence,  the  agent 
by  which  others  have  spread  through  creation  darkness  and  misery. 
Let  them  throw  their  whole  hearts  into  this  better  interest,  and  be 
as  prompt  and  indefatigable  for  God  as  were  these  sons  of  Belial 
for  their  master ;  and  we  see  not  why  men  may  not  reach  the  same 
gigantic  influence  in  the  ways  of  God,  and  make  their  life  as  con- 
spicuous in  the  Church  as  were  these  foes  of  God  in  the  ranks  of 
death. 

There  can  surely  be  acquired  more  greatness  of  soul,  and  more 
fixedness  of  principle,  and  more  steadfastness  of  purpose,  in  the 
cause  of  God  than  in  the  service  of  the  adversary.  And  there  can 
be  used  as  much  industry,  and  courage,  and  perseverance,  in  mak- 
ing the  world  holy,  as  in  degrading  it.  We  can  place  against  the 
polluted  names  we  have  rehearsed  a  Baxter,  a  Brainard,  a  Martyn, 
a  Hale,  a  Luther,  a  Wesley,  and  a  Whitefield,  and  a  thousand  other 
names  ;  and  what  these  holy  men  were  others  can  be,  and  we 
might  have  a  whole  generation  on  the  stage  at  once.  As  the  starry 
night  has  its  galaxy,  so  the  moral  world  will  have,  when  the  Lord's 
people  shall  try  to  shine  in  all  the  glory  of  their  Master.  They 
can  easily  make  their  influence  be  felt  as  it  never  has  been,  and  as 
soon  as  lliey  shall  try,  their  exertions  will  tell  on  the  character  of 
the  Church  and  the  world. 

On  the  Church  an  influence  may  be  used  with  advantage,  as 
there  cannot  be  supposed  any  prejudice  to  counteract  it.  We  can 
lead  on  the  people  of  God  to  hiofher  spiritual  attainments,  to  a 
more  devoted  benevolence,  to  greater  industry,  to  more  prayer, 
and  bible  reading,  to  a  closer  covenant  keeping,  and  to  equipment 
and  discipline  in  the  whole  round  of  heavenly  soldiership.  The 
men  of  the  world  exert  constantly  a  deadening  and  adulterating 
influence  upon  the  Church,  which  should  be  industriously  counter- 
acted by  the  servants  of  Jesus  Christ.  What  does  the  covenant 
mean,  if  Christians  are  not  to  be  putting  forth  an  influence  toward 
each  other  that  shall  tend  to  their  mutual  sanctific.ation  1  And  how 
can  the  Church,  as  a  community,  throw  out  a  sanctifying  influence 
upon   the   wide   world    till   this   is   done  ? 

It  is  one  of  the  first  duties  of  the  ministry,  you  know,  to  edify 
the  body  of  Christ,  and  why  should   not  each   believer  exert  upon 


144  A    LIKEXESS    TAKEN    IN    THE    FIELD. 

her,  as  far  as  possible,  the  same  control?  When  we  shall  make 
the  people  of  God  feel  that  we  love  them,  and  our  example  shall 
testify  that  we  are  followers  of  Christ  as  dear  children,  we  shall 
take  a  hold  of  their  hearts,  and  exert  over  them  an  influence  that 
shall  he  moulding  them  into  holy  and  useful  habits.  We  can 
help  form  their  creed,  and  rouse  their  courage,  and  correct  their 
wanderings,  and  inspirit  them  to  increased  energy,  and  skill,  and 
impetus,  till  the  Church  shall  shine  forth  like  the  morning.  And 
while  we  are  thus  blessing  the  Church  we  shall  be  able  to  influ- 
ence the  world  also.  We  sometimes  mistake  the  amount  of  our 
influence  with  worldly  men,  and  think  it  small,  when  more  exer- 
tion would  show  it  to  be  mighty.  Let  us  bear  with  a  steady  and 
uniform  pressure  against  their  vices,  and  urge  upon  them  the 
thoughts  of  death  and  the  judgment,  and  the  perdition  that  en- 
sues, and  we  shall  find  afterward  that  we  have  controlled  them.  We 
may  rouse  their  impatience,  however,  at  the  moment  when  they  are 
coming  under  the  power  of  our  influence.  I  know  the  world  would 
lessen,  and  have  always  hated  the  Church's  influence,  while  yet 
they  feel  it  and  writhe  under  it,  and  have  no  shield  to  ward  off  its 
point  and  power.  But  when  they  have  uttered  all  their  calumnies, 
and  flounced  and  bled  for  a  time,  still  if  the  Church  bear  down 
against  their  deeds  of  darkness  they  sin  with  heaviness.  Virtually 
they  ask  leave  of  the  Church,  and  wait  her  consent  at  every  step 
they  take  in  sin.  I  know  they  would  not  own  this  subjection  to  a 
foreign  influence,  but  this  alters  nothing.  Every  man  must  see 
that  no  vice  can  be  current  against  the  Church's  loud,  and  steady, 
and  prayerful  testimony.  They  cannot  even  desert  her  sanctuary 
till  professors  do,  nor  pollute  her  ordinances,  nor  trample  on 
her  Sabbath,  nor  profane  her  Redeemer.  When  the  Church 
rose  upon  the  theatre,  and  joined  with  decency  to  scowl  it 
out  of  use,  it  became  from  that  moment  a  sinking  concern, 
and  the  stock  can  never  rise  again  in  the  market  till  she  will 
send  up  to  its  obscenities,  her  proud,  and  gay  and  praycrless  rep- 
resentation. Oh,  can  she  ever  do  this!  Tell  it  not  in  Gath  ! 
Publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Askelon  !  And  the  game  of  whist, 
and  the  dance,  and  every  other  licentious  and  ensnaring  pastime, 
will  go  down  when  professors  disuse  them.  The  Sabbath  is  com- 
ing into  more  general  repute  through  the  Church's  use  of  her  in- 
fluence and  example  in  sustaining  it.  The  cause  of  temperance 
moved  on  briskly  till  it  vras  discovered  thai  the  Church  held  in  her 
fellowship  those  who  would    drink  of  devils,  but   has   stayed 

in   its  march  till   she  can  have  time  to  entomb  her  inebriates.     Fast 


A    UKENKSS    TAKEN    IN    THE    FIELD.  145 

as  any  vice  shall  cease  to  have  its  abettors  in  the  house  of  God  it 
must  oo  down.  And  when  the  Church  shall  use  her  whole  influ- 
ence she  will  be  able  to  control  the  manners  of  the  world,  and  make 
and  rectify  the  public  conscience. 

And  when  all  this  is  done  the  people  of  God  can  do  more,  can 
render  men  awakened,  and  convicted,  and  regenerate.  Not  that  they 
can  do  all  this,  or  any  part  of  it,  without  the  agency  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  but  God  has  appointed  the  means  that  he  will  bless,  the 
presentation  of  his  truth  by  the  human  voice,  in  that  kindliness 
of  form  which  is  applicable  to  the  human  affections.  In  this 
worlc  his  people  can  be  employed.  They  know  the  truth  and  can 
watch  for  the  kind  moment  of  presenting  it,  and  pray  the  God  of 
heaven  to  bless  it  and  give  it  power.  Thus  have  they  the  means 
of  subjecting  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  all  the  men  about  them,  and 
are  blameworthy  if  these  souls  quit  the  world  unsanctified.  We 
shall  know  at  the  last,  and  it  would  be  well  if  we  would  know  it 
now,  how  high  a  bearing  our  present  deportment  has  upon  the 
character  and  destiny  of  the  ungodly.  We  shall  see  then,  that  the 
quiet  of  conscience,  and  the  self-complacency,  and  the  calmness, 
and  content,  that  make  the  face  of  the  unregenenate  world  so  tran- 
quil, is  criminally  associated  with  the  Church's  slumbers.  Soon 
as  she  awakes  the  world  is  anxious,  and  when  the  people  of  God 
shall  sleep  no  more,  but  make  their  whole  influence  be  felt,  then 
may  we  safely  predict  that  the  world's  slumbers  are  ended. 

The  revivals  which  marked  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-one,  as 
the  year  of  the  right  hand  of  the  Lord,  and  will  probably  distin- 
guish it  till  the  judgment  as  of  all  the  years  that  preceded  it,  the 
Church's  holiest,  happiest  year,  are  but  the  glorious  result  of  the 
Church  awake  to  God's  interest,  and  God  graciously  attentive  to 
hers.  The  Church  has  tried  a  little  her  influence,  not  to  the  ex- 
tent she  will  hereafter,  and  she  has  seen  the  heavenly  building  rise 
at  every  push  she  gave,  and  every  shout  she  uttered.  Now  let 
the  Church,  for  once,  throw  off  wholly  her  long-protracted  paraly- 
sis and  she  may  urge  on  her  conquests  till  earth's  entire  territory 
shall  be  redeemed  to  the  Lord  Jesus. 

Bui  there  will  be  need  that  every  child  of  God  enlist  under  the 
banner  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  As  they  must  all  be  sanctified  they 
will  all  need  the  discipline  of  laboring  for  God  ;  and  can,  then,  all 
aid  in  the  song  that,  sin^s  the  conquest  ended,  and  the  victory 
wow  \  And  those  whom  God  loves  so  little  that  he  will  permit 
them  in  this  age  of  action  to  plod  on  in  the  rearmost    rank    of  the 

19 


146  A    LIKENESS    TAKEN    IN    THE    FIELD. 

sacramental   host,  may   well   doubt   whether  they   shall  have  any 
part  in  the  shout  of  victory. 

Sectarianism  will  die  out  as  the  millennial  year  comes  in 
There  will  be  union  in  this  enterprise,  "  Ephraim  shall  not  envr 
Judah,  and  Judah  shall  not  vex  Ephraim."  The  watchmen  shall 
see  eye  to  eye  ;  the  grand  benevolent  institutions  of  the  opening 
and  o-lorious  age  shall  be  ably  sustained,  and  men  will  be  furnished, 
and  money,  and  prayer,  and  faith,  by  means  of  which  the  Lord 
Jesus  will  honor  his  people  and  reinstate  himself  in  his  own  re  pur- 
chased empire.  The  bulwarks  erected  against  the  rising  kingdom 
will  be  sapped,  and  the  foe  be  disheartened,  and  the  barley-cake 
will  demolish  the  tents  of  Midian.  The  Church  will  have  learned 
how  to  make  her  influence  felt  in  the  moral  pulsation  of  the  world, 
and  the  blessed  results  will  continue  down  to  the  period  of  its  dis- 
solution. How  happy  are  the  men  that  are  to  come  after  us,  and 
how  blessed  the  generation  that  shall  watch  the  rising  sun  and 
bask  in  the  noon  rays  of  the  moral  world. 

In  the  mean  time  the  people  of  God  must  consecrate  to  the  con- 
version  of  the  world  their   money.     Hardly  need  this   have  been 
said.     When  men  shall  have  devoted  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  their 
personal  services  and  their  influence,  they  will  not  withhold  their 
wTealth.     This   gives  them  the  means  of  reaching  the  hearts  and 
consciences  to  which  they  cannot  extend  a  personal  control.    We 
can  here  operate  by  proxy,  and  put  in  motion  a  moral  machinery, 
that  may  multiply  our  usefulness  a  thousand  fold.     There  is  wealth 
enough   in  the  Church,  if  the  world  should  withhold  its  first  and 
last  penny,  to  buy  back  to  its  Master  the  government  of  the  king- 
dom.    Nor  can  men  or  angels  conceive  of  any  other  reason,  why 
it  is  there,  but  that  the  Lord  hath  need  of  it.     It  rusts  and  cankers 
the   piety  that  covets  it,  and  the  piety  that  keeps  it.     It  is  in  every 
such  case  a  millstone  about  the  believer's  neck,  and  will  hold  him 
from  rising  heavenward  more  than    stripes,  and  chains,  and  dun- 
geons.    All  experience  agrees,  that  absolute  beggary  befits  better 
a  heavenly  mind  than  riches.     The  man   of  wealth   then   has  but 
one   question   to   ask  :  how  shall   I   employ  my  mammon  1     And 
here  the  field  is  wide.     Let   him   furnish   the   world   a   ministry 
There  must  go  with  the  Bible  the  living  preacher.     This  is  God's 
appointed  means.     By  the  foolishness   of  preaching  he  will  save 
them  that  believe.     The  harvest  may  be  so  wide,  that  one  cannot 
personally  explore  its  limits,  and  yet  by  his  money  he  may  lill  the 
field  with  reapers.      Here,  as  in  some  of  the  bloody  conflicts,  when 
life  went   out    in  a  torrent,  a  single  man  can  enlist  and    equip  an 


A    LIKENESS    TAKEN    IN    THE    FIELD.  147 

army,  and  carry  on  a  war  long  and  desperate,  till  he  shall  shake 
the  pillars  of  the  opposing  empire.  This  is  a  crisis  when  one 
shall  chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight.  The 
Church  has  the  means,  and  the  world  must  not  need  a  ministry 
and  the  gospel  presents  the  motives  that  shall  draw  these  means 
forth.  If  they  remain  in  the  Church,  they  but  nurse  idolatry,  and 
thus  corrupt  her  integrity,  and  mar  her  beauty.  But  riches  asso- 
ciated with  benevolence,  are  like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of 
silver.  And  they  are  occupied,  and  will  be  yet  more  extensively 
in  replenishing  the  ministry.  The  millennial  year,  if  her  star  is 
risen  and  her  day  has  dawned,  cannot  roll  up  her  sun  to  his  zenith, 
till  our  rich  men  have  discovered  this  use  for  their  money.  And 
when  their  wealth  has  made  a  ministry,  it  must  sustain  it.  This 
is  a  sordid  world.  Men  will  feed  their  destroyers  rather  than 
their  benefactors.  Any  profession  can  live  better  than  the  minis- 
try of  the  reconciliation.  We  must  furnish  and  feed  a  hundred 
thousand  missionaries.  And  it  is  a  blessing,  and  not  a  curse,  that 
the  church  has  this  service  to  do,  has  this  outlet  for  her  wealth. 
It  had  begun  to  stagnate  and  breed  pestilence,  like  the  river  of 
Jordan,  till  a  dead  sea  was  furnished  to  drink  up  her  waters.  It  is 
a  blessing  to  the  older  Churches  that  they  have  all  this  to  do,  it  is 
their  honor  and  their  salvation,  and  the  wealthy  Christians  have 
only  to  learn  how,  and  they  will  do  it,  or  Christians  have  not  the 
temper  of  Jesus  Christ. 

And  we  have  not  yet  told  the  half  they  have  to  do.  They  must 
fill  the  world  with  Bibles,  reading  in  every  language  under  heaven 
the  lessons  of  mercy  to  the  tribes  that  sit  in  darkness,  and  the 
same  wealth  must  sustain  the  tract  cause,  and  rain  down  the  leaves 
of  the  tree  of  life  upon  the  sickly  and  perishing  nations.  They 
must  furnish  to  the  ignorant  and  the  poor  Sabbath-schools,  and 
Bible-classes,  and  all  the  other  means  of  making  mind  that  the  re- 
novation of  a  world  require.  There  is  faith  and  not  infidelity  in 
asserting  that  the  millennium  cannot  come  till  the  Church  learns 
better  how  to  use  her  money,  and  it  will  not  tarry  when  this  lesson 
is  well  learned.  Ride  on,  blessed  Lord  Jesus,  and  assess  thy 
Church  to  the  full  amount  of  all  the  promises,  and  buy  thee  a 
kingdom  with  it.  and  reign  thou  over  us  and  our  house  for  eve* 

And  then,  beyond  all  this,  the  people  of  God  must  give  him  their 
children,  and  a  title  to  their  whole  house.  What  right  have  we 
in  our  offspring,  vying  with  the  right  that  the  Savior  has  1  He 
did  not  give  us  children,  that  we  might  worship  and  serve  them 
instead  of  him.     He   did   not  commit  their  souls  to  us,  that   we 


148  A    LIKENESS    TAKEN    IN    THE    FIELD. 

might  with  them  officer  the  hosts  of  his  enemies  and  furnish  the 
Church  her  bitterest  foes  from  the  house  of  her  friends.  He  did 
not  send  us  children  that  we  might  absorh  ourselves  and  all  that 
we  have  in  their  rearing,  and  thus  place  their  interest  at  war  with 
the  interests  of  his  kingdom.  He  did  not  make  them  children  of 
prayer  that  they  should  mingle  with  the  world,  and  profane  the 
privileges  of  his  family  to  the  furthering  of  their  own  undoing. 
He  had  designs  of  mercy,  and  we  should  know  it,  and  set  our 
hearts  to  gather  them  into  his  kindom  early,  and  have  them  ser- 
vants of  his  Son  soon  as  they  become  intelligent.  And  then  we 
can  make  them  know  that  we  have  in  our  hearts  and  on  our  knees 
devoted  them  to  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  are  rearing  them  for  bis 
honor,  that  we  have  nothing  that  we  can  do  with  them,  and  they 
nothing  that  they  can  do  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  if  they  will  not 
devote  their  hearts  to  him,  and  their  all  to  him.  We  must  teach 
them  to  toil  for  him,  and  calculate  for  him,  and  live  and  die  for 
him.  Till  this  is  done,  as  we  have  not  yet  been  accustomed  to  see 
it  in  Christian  families,  the  Lord  Jesus  will  delay  his  coming.  To 
see  the  father  of  a  family  praying  for  the  millenium,  and  the  mother 
laboring  to  evangelize  the  world,  each  eagerly  grasping  at  intelli- 
gence of  new  victories  achieved  by  the  Captain  of  their  salvation, 
here  there  is  promise,  but  if  in  their  house  there  is  no  prospect  of 
a  holy  succession  that  can  push  on  the  enterprises  of  benevolence 
when  the  parents  are  glorified,  how  dark  it  looks.  And  these 
children,  too,  are  fed  and  clad  with  the  Church's  money,  and  des- 
tined, perhaps,  to  inherit  a  large  estate  and  alienate  it  for  ever  from 
God.  To  die  the  parent  of  such  a  family,  is  more  to  be  deplored 
than  to  die  childless.  If  we  would  faithfully  devote  our  all  to  the 
Lord,  it  would  not  so  happen  with  us;  he  would  sanctify  our  seed 
and  build  us  up  a  sure  house  for  ever. 

And  not  the  children  merely,  but  the  whole  house  should  be  the 
Lord's.  There  should  be  the  fear  of  God  in  every  department  of 
domestic  life.  That  religion  that  is  confined  to  the  parlor,  and 
exhausts  its  last  impulse  while  yet  it  has  exerted  no  salutary  con 
trol  over  the  domestics  of  the  family,  which  seems  regardless  of 
the  soul  that  toils  on  the  farm,  or  drudges  in  the  services  of  the 
house,  or  waits  at  the  door,  a  religion  that  leaves  three-fourths  o( 
a  family  heathen,  will  never  evangelize  the  world.  If  we  do  not 
pity  the  souls  at  our  door,  our  philanthropy  was  never  born  in 
heaven,  and  will  do  nothing  to  save  the  heathen  who  are  sitting 
in  the  region  ami  shadow  of  death.  Oh,  there  is  something  fatally 
meonrrruous  in  such  domestic  arrangements,  and  it  must  be  cured 


A    LIKENESS    TAKEN    IN    THE    FIELD.  149 

in   the   Church,  or  our  example  will  make  heathen  at  home  faster 
than  our  charities  and  prayers  will  save  them  ahroad. 

I  hie  every  householder  in  Christendom  has  a  nohle  field  for 
labor.  Let  him  carry  the  Bible  into  the  apartment  of  his  domes- 
tics, if  any  he  has  in  his  employ,  and  pray  there,  and  read  them 
the  tidings  of  Zion's  increase  till  every  spirit  that  serves  him, 
shall  wish  to  serve  his  Lord.  Then  let  him  look  up  the  heathen 
around  him  till  there  is  not  one  within  the  circle  of  his  influence, 
and  then  let  him  become  a  missionary,  and  spread  the  gospel 
through  the  wide  world. 


SERMON    X. 

THE  PERFECTED  GOOD  MAN 

2   TIM.   III.   17. 

Ttiat  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  work* 

The  context  reads,  "All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of 
<Sod,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  and 
for  instruction  in  righteousness  ;  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  per- 
fect, thoroughly  furnished  unto  every  good  work."  Thus  God 
has  given  the  Christian  minister  all  the  instruction  he  needs  to 
qualify  him  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  has  given  to  every 
Christian  the  instruction  he  needs  to  qualify  him  to  be  a  finished 
man  of  God.  1  shall  consider  the  text  in  this  widest  applica- 
tion. If  the  perfection  spoken  of  in  the  text  be  considered  a 
perfect  freedom  from  sin,  then  we  are  taught  that  the  truths  of 
God's  word  are  adapted  to  promote  this  design,  the  question 
-^t ill  remaining  unsettled,  as  it  regards  this  text,  whether  the  Chris- 
tian will  in  any  one  case,  attain  to  this  perfection  till  death.  Other 
.scriptures  settle  the  point,  that  there  is  no  man  that  liveth,  and 
Joeth  good,  and  sinneth  not  ;  and  that  if  any  nY,m  saith  that  he 
hath  no  sin,  he  is  a  liar.  But  there  is  a  perfection  that  belongs  to 
believers  in  the  present  life,  and  to  which  it  seem*  the  apostle  has 
reference  in  the  text.  Every  Christian  must  have  on  all  the  attri- 
butes of  the  child  of  God.  He  cannot  be  wholly  wanting  as  to 
any  one  of  the  Christian  graces.  As  the  child  born  yesterday  is 
pronounced  a  perfect  child,  because  he  possesses  every  feature  of 
the  man,  although  feeble,  and  exhiDiting,  perhaps,  a  very  faint  de- 
velopment of  some  of  the  manly  features ;  so  every  child  of  God 
must  have  every  feature  of  piety.  He  may  not  lack  wholly  either 
faith,  or  hope,  or  love,  or  humility  ;>r  any  other  of  the  Christian 
graces.  One  Christian  grace  may  outgrow  another,  as  in  the  hu- 
nan  body  we  sometimes  see  a  member  that  has  taken  uncommon 
magnitude,  while  yet  every  other  member  may  have  place,  though 
«ot  exact  proportion.  For  instance,  we  have  seen  much  zeal 
vhere  there   was   but  little  knowledge,  too  little  to  guide  the  man 


THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN.  151 

the  most  safely  through  this  wilderness.  And  we  have  seen,  on 
the  other  hand,  abundant  doctrinal  knowledge,  where  there  seem- 
ed not  sufficient  zeal  to  kindle  up  devotion.  And  we  have  seen 
professed  believers  who  wanted  wholly  some  grace  of  the  Spirit, 
making  it  manifest  that  God  had  not  stamped  his  image  on  their 
-heart.  That  the  Christian  must  be  perfect,  insomuch,  that  he 
must  more  or  less  exhibit  every  grace  of  the  gospel,  I  argue, 

I.  From  the  fact  that  every  grace  is  the  result  of  the  operation  of 
the  same  Divine  Spirit,  whose  work  will  ever  be  perfect.  We  are 
assured  that  "  the  works  of  the  Spirit  are  love,  joy,  peace,  long- 
suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance." 
All  this  catalogue  of  graces,  then,  will  be  found  where  the  Spirit 
of  God  is.  He  moulds  every  feature  of  the  Christian  man,  and 
will  not  leave  his  work  unfinished.  He  generates  the  temper  that 
displays  itself  in  every  grace.  The  renovated  heart  in  view  of 
God,  loves,  adores,  and  rejoices  ;  in  view  of  sin,  is  sorrowful  and 
penitent;  in  view  of  Christ,  believes ;  under  injuries,  is  meek  ; 
under  afflictions,  patient  ;  at  the  sight  of  miseries,  compassionate  ; 
and  in  view  of  its  own  polluted  self,  is  humbled.  Thus,  the  Holy 
Ghost  generates,  at  the  first,  in  the  heart  of  the  believer,  every 
grace  that  will  be  there  when  he  is  ripened  for  glory.  One  and 
another  of  these  graces  may  grow  as  circumstances  may  demand 
their  increase,  and  finally,  attain  different  degrees  of  strength  and 
vigor.  They  are  sister  affections,  which  the  same  Spirit  will  not 
fail  to  generate  in  every  heart  he  renews.  Hence  their  harmony 
and  their  oneness  is  sure. 

There  may  be  in  men,  by  nature,  the  semblance  of  some  of  these 
graces,  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  not  produced,  and  we  shall  see 
in  that  case  that  some  are  wanting.  It  will  be  a  morbid  and  mon- 
strous religion.  There  will  be  zeal,  perhaps,  without  humility; 
devotion,  without  benevolence  ;  there  will  be  apparently  a  part 
only  of  the  new  man,  as  if  there  should  be  born  the  limbs  only  of 
a  human  body,  or  the  head  or  the  trunk  while  every  limb  was 
wanting.  Now  we  infer,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost 
that  creates  men  anew  in  Christ  Jesus,  that  there  will  be  in  the 
kingdom  of  God  no  such  monstrous  production.  It  may  not  al- 
ways be  easy  to  settle  the  question,  what  extent  of  morbid  growth 
there  may  be  found  in  the  real  believer,  and  where  there  are  seen 
deficiencies  enough  to  decide  the  point  that  the  work  is  not  of  God 
There  may  be,  where  there  is  no  grace,  a  tameness  that  may  look 
like  humility  and  meekness ;  and  where  there  is  grace,  there  may 


132  THE    PKRFECTKD    GOOD    MAN. 

be  a  harshness  that  shall  resemble  the  operations  of  unsubdued 
nature.  There  may  be  a  natural  liberality  in  men  who  have  no 
pretensions  to  faith,  that  shall  shame  the  remaining  covetousness 
of  the  believer.  And  still  it  is  true,  that  where  the  Spirit  of  God 
operates,  lie  turns  the  soul  right  in  every  respect.  He  leaves  not 
one  new-born  soul  supremely  selfish,  or  proud,  or  unbelieving,  or 
malevolent,  or  under  the  controlling  influence  of  any  one  unholy 
affection. 

II.  That  the  Christian  will  exhibit  every  gospel  grace,  and  be, 
in  this  respect,  perfect,  we  argue  from  the  fact,  that  the  moral  ac- 
tions of  the  renewed  man  take  their  character  from  the  he  rt  that  has 
been  the  subject  of  a  radical  renovation.  While  the  heart  was  un- 
sanctified  every  moral  action  was  wholly  sinful  :  "  out  of  the  same 
fountain  proceed  not  sweet  waters  and  bitter."  And  though,  after 
regeneration,  the  heart  remains  partially  depraved,  still  its  sancti- 
fied character  will  operate  in  all  the  varied  actions  of  life,  and  be 
as  sure  to  produce  one  Christian  grace  as  another,  and  be  sure  to 
produce  them  all  when  the  occasion  requires.  Place  the  man, 
whose  heart  has  been  renovated,  where  he  must  see  iniquity,  and 
he  will  hate  it ;  where  he  must  suffer  abuse,  and  he  will  be  meek  ; 
where  he  must  see  want,  and  he  will  be  charitable  ;  where  he  comes 
in  contact  with  the  interests  of  others,  and  he  will  be  honest  ; 
where  he  must  bear  testimony,  and  he  will  be  true.  You  will  see 
ready  to  operate,  a  holy  nature,  and  the  man  will  be,  in  every  as- 
pect, a  Christian.  I  do  not  say  that,  on  every  point,  he  may  not 
sometimes  disobey,  but  that  he  will  more  frequently,  on  every  point, 
obey.  A  good  heart  will  habitually  generate  holy  affections  in  all 
the  various  attitudes  in  which  the  different  moral  objects  may  pre- 
sent themselves.  The  new  man  is  formed  after  the  image  of  God. 
Christ  is  said  to  be  in  his  people  the  hope  of  glory.  Hence,  so  far 
is  the  new  nature  operates,  and  it  will  operate  habitually,  it  will 
produce  actions  and  affections  of  the  same  moral  character.  You 
may  then  look  at  the  good  man  from  any  point,  and  you  will  see 
him  uniformly  the  man  of  God 

II.  We  argue  that  the  Christian  will  exhibit  every  grace  of  the 
gospel,  and  will,  in  this  respect,  be  the  perfect  man  of  God,  from 
ike  /xymony  of  truth  which  is  the  medium  of  his  sanctification. 
,c  Sanctify  them,"  said  our  Lord,  in  that  prayer  which  he  offered 
for  his  people,  "sanctify  them  through  thy  truth."  As  there  is  jn 
truth  an  infinitely  extended  harmony,  no  one  truth  clashing  with 


THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN.  153 

any  other,  so  the  character  it  shall  form  will  have  the  same  con 
sistency  and  harmony.  The  change  of  character  produced  at  re- 
geneiation  through  the  medium  of  truth  5  that  same  truth  sustains 
and  renders  fixed,  when  once  established  like  itself,  and  every  fea- 
ture of  that  character  will  harmonize  with  every  other,  and  with 
all  the  others. 

If  truth  so  bears  upon  the  mind,  through  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  to  render  it  humble,  we  are  sure,  from  the  nature 
of  truth,  that  it  can  never  so  bear  upon  the  mind  as  to  render  it 
proud.  If  truth  is  made  to  work  repentance,  neither  the  same 
truth  nor  any  other  truth  will  so  operate  as  to  produce  malice  and 
revenge.  Truth  will  not  produce  opposite  or  clashing  results.  It 
will  not  lead  a  man  to  love  God  and  hate  his  neighbor;  to  love 
his  Bible  and  hate  the  Sabbath.  It  will  not  generate  kindness  to- 
wards one  class  of  men,  and  unkindness  towards  another.  It  will 
not  produce  a  spirit  of  praise  and  prayer,  and  yet  a  spirit  of  negli- 
gence, and  sloth.  As  there  is  in  truth  throughout  a  perfect  one- 
ness, so  will  there  be  in  the  character  that  truth,  in  the  hands  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  is  made  to  produce. 

In  falsehood  there  is  no  harmony,  nor  in  the  character  it  forms. 
We  do  not  wonder  to  see  every  contradiction  and  absurdity  in  the 
character  of  an  ungodly  man.  He  may  be  prodigal  in  his  expendi- 
tures, and  yet  covetous  ;  may  be  mean,  and  yet  proud ;  may  be 
impudent,  and  yet  impatient  of  contradiction  ;  may  be  a  tyrant  in 
spirit,  and  yet  a  boisterous  advocate  of  liberty.  All  these,  and 
any  other  contradiction  and  absurdity,  may  be  in  the  man  who  has 
subjected  himself  to  the  forming  and  the  control  of  the  father  of 
lies.  But  the  believer  is  rooted  and  grounded  in  the  truth,  and 
truth  is  consistent  and  harmonious,  and  will  make  a  character  bar 
monious  like  itself. 

IV.  We  argue  from  the  nature  of  the  Christian  graces,  that  they 
must  all  be  where  one  is.  Where  one  is  wanting  the  man  of  God 
is  not  perfect.  Love  to  God  contains,  in  its  very  nature,  hatred 
to  what  is  opposed  to  God.  Opposed  to  God  is  sin,  hence  love  to 
him  embraces  hatred  to  sin,  and  repentance  where  sin  has  been 
committed.  Humility  implies  a  deep  sense  of  unworthiness,  and 
becomes  meekness  when  abuse  is  offered.  If  we  feel  that  we  are 
unworthy,  and  humility  feels  this,  then  the  unworthy  may  not 
promptly  and  passionately  resist  evil.  If  I  have  those  low  views 
of  myself,  that  I  feel  as  if  I  deserved  to  be  trodden  down,  that  man 
who  treads  me  down   shall   not    incur  my  deadly  and   implacable 


154  THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAIS. 

wrath.  If  I  love  to  converse  with  God,  and  his  people  are  like 
him,  I  shall  love  to  converse  with  them ;  hence  love  to  God  and 
Christian  affection  are  twin  exercises,  and  will  both  be  where  one 
is.  If  I  am  benevolent,  and  I  see  my  fellow-men  suffer  when  my 
money  will  relieve  them,  I  shall  be  liberal ;  hence  benevolence  and 
Christian  liberality  are  associate  affections. 

Now  the  same  result  will  follow  if  we  compare  any  two  of  the 
Christian  graces;  they  are  all  harmonious  in  their  very  nature. 
They  are  all  the  spontaneous  affections  of  the  same  renovated 
heart,  as  it  contemplates  different  objects.  When  moral  beauty 
is  discovered,  it  is  loved  ;  when  moral  deformity,  it  is  hated  ;  when 
misery  is  seen,  there  is  felt  compassion  and  benevolence  ;  when 
afflictions  are  endured,  there  is  submission ;  when  insults  from 
man,  there  is  meekness ;  when  earth,  with  all  its  sins  and  miseries, 
is  contemplated,  there  is  pain,  and  sorrow,  and  regret ,  when  hea- 
ven, in  all  its  holiness  and  happiness,  is  thought  of,  there  is  appro- 
bation and  joy.  Thus  the  Christian  affections  all  harmonize.  They 
are  branches  of  the  same  graft,  through  which  circulate  the  same 
juices  and  the  same  life  stream;  hence  one  cannot  be  without  the 
whole :  unless  we  can  suppose,  with  regard  to  some  grace,  a  total 
remove  from  the  objects  that  can  call  it  into  action. 

V.  We  shall  come  to  the  same  result  if  we  observe  how  God,  in 
his  word,  characterizes  his  people.  He  designates  them  by  one 
Christian  grace,  and  applies  to  them  his  largest  promises  under 
this  limited  appellation.  Abraham  is  spoken  of  as  one  that  feared 
God,  and  the  largest  promise  is  made  to  him :  on  another  occasion 
he  is  said  to  have  believed  God,  and  it,  his  faith,  was  accounted  to 
him  for  righteousness.  Said  the  Psalmist,  "  0  how  great  is  thy 
goodness  which  thou  hast  laid  up  for  them  that  fear  thee."  But 
if  the  fear  of  God,  and  faith  in  him,  did  not  imply  love  to  him,  and 
all  the  other  Christian  graces,  then  they  would  have  been  all  named 
in  appropriating  the  promise. 

We  read  that  "the  anael  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round  about 
them  that  fear  him,  and  delivereth  them." — "  There  is  no  want  to 
them  that  fear  him." — "He  wih  fulfil  the  desire  of  them  that  fear 
him,  he  will  hear  their  cry,  and  will  save  them."  Thus,  to  those  who 
possess  one  of  the  Christian  graces  are  made  his  largest  promises, 
and  this  could  not  be  if  the  possession  of  this  grace  did  not  imply 
the  possession  of  all  the  others. 

We  find  the  same  is  said  of  them  that  love  God.  "The  Lord 
preserveth  those  that  love.  him.     He  will  show  mercy  to  thousands 


THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN.  155 

of  them  that  love  him,  and  keep  his  commandments.  All  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  him." — "  Eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  or  man 
the  things  that  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him."  All 
this  could  not  be,  were  it  not  true  that  those  who  love  him  fear 
him  and  trust  him,  and  submit  to  him  ;  or  the  lack  of  one  Christian 
grace  cuts  off  from  heaven,  and  from  the  presence  and  everlasting 
favor  of  God. 

The  righteous,  it  is  promised,  shall  he  glad  in  the  Lord,  and  all 
the  upright  in  heart  shall  glory.  "Light  is  sown  for  the  righteous, 
and  gladness  for  the  upright  in  heart."  Thus  all  that  could  be  de- 
sired is  promised  to  the  righteous. 

So  those  who  trust  in  the  Lord  may  ftope  for  his  largest  bene- 
fits. "  Let  those  that  put  their  trust  in  thee  rejoice,  let  them 
ever  shout  for  joy,  because  thou   defendest  them." 

So  to  faith  the  whole  is  promised.  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 

To  the  humble  there  opens  the  same  field  of  promise.  "  God 
forgetteth  not  the  cry  of  the  humble.  By  humility  and  the  fear 
of  the  Lord,  are  riches,  and  honor,  and  life.  Whosoever  shall 
humble  himself  as  a  little  child,  the  same  shall  be  greatest  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.     Whosoever  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted." 

We  might  travel  thus  through  the  Christian  graces,  and  show 
that  God  characterizes  his  people  by  any  one  of  them,  and  promis- 
es all  the  comforts  of  this  life,  and  the  joys  of  heaven,  to  the 
person  who  possesses  any  one  of  them.  But  this  could  not  be  if 
the  possession  of  one  did  not  imply  the  possession  of  ail. 

By  turning  to  the  threatenings  we  shall  see,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  the  want  of  any  one  Christian  grace  cuts  off  the  soul  from 
the  favor  of  God.  "Wo  to  him  that  striveth  with  his  Maker:" 
here  the  want  of  a  spirit  of  submission  is  woful.  The  want  of  a 
spirit  of  trust  is  ruinous  :  "  Cursed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  man, 
and  maketh  flesh  his  arm,  and  whose  heart  departeth  trom  the 
Lord."  The  want  of  humility  is  ruinous:  "The  proud  he  know- 
eth  afar  off." — "The  Lord  shall  cut  off  the  tongue  that  speaketh 
proud  things." — "Every  one  that  is  proud  is  an  abomination." — 
"  The  day  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  shall  be  upon  every  one  that  is 
proud  and  lofty,  and  upon  every  one  that  is  lifted  up,  and  he  shall 
be  brought  low."  Thus  we  might  proceed  through  all  the  list  of 
threatenings. 

Now  compare  these  two  views,  and  they  will  furnisn  an  argu- 
ment of  great  strength      God's  richest  blessings  are  promised  to 


156  THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN. 

the  possession  of  one  Christian  grace,  and  his  curse  denounced 
against  those  who  lack  any  one.  Now,  if  it  cannot  be  true  that 
the  good  man  shall  live,  because  he  has  one  attribute  of  life,  and 
die,  because  he  lacks  one,  then  he  that  has  one  has  the  whole.  He 
cannot  enter  into  life  because  he  fears  God,  and  be  lost  because 
he  is  proud.  Hence  every  Christian  has  all  the  Christian  graces. 
They  are  all  connected,  all  proceed  from  the  same  renewed  tem- 
per, are  wrought  by  the  same  sanctifying  Spirit,  are  nourished 
by  the  same  code  of  truth,  and  lead,  each  one,  all  the  others  in  lis 
train. 

VI.  The  experience  of  believers  will  prove  to  them  that  there  is 
this  indissoluble  connection  between  the  Christian  graces.  Thev 
have  all  known  by  happy,  as  well  as  by  unhappy  experience,  that 
if  one  grace  flourish  all  the  other  graces  flourish  with  it,  and  if  one 
withers  all  wither  together. 

Let  us  first  look  at  the  brighter  side  of  the  picture.  The  Christian 
is  placed  where  one  of  the  graces  has  special  opportunity  to  grow 
and  flourish.  He  is  seen  to  grow  in  the  love  of  God.  He  in- 
creases in  the  knowledge  of  God,  has  admiring  apprehension  of 
his  character,  is  absorbed  in  the  wondrous  views  of  his  greatness 
and  goodness,  and  is  in  the  process  of  being  imbued  with  his 
image  from  glory  to  glory.  He  now  increases  in  the  love  of  his 
children.  His  repentance  now  for  sin  is  more  deep  and  pungent 
than  in  times  past.  He  increases  now  in  humility,  in  the  fear  of 
God,  in  a  spirit  of  prayer,  in  heavenly-mindedness,  and,  conse- 
quently, in  the  hope  of  glory.  If  afflicted,  he  is  now  submissive 
and  patient ;  if  abused  by  men,  he  is  now  meek  and  forgiving.  At 
every  point  you  will  see  improvement,  if  you  see  improvement  in 
one  point.  Nourish  one  branch  and  all  the  branches  thrive,  ana 
show  signs  of  increasing  health  and  vigor.  There  is,  probably, 
no  believer  who  has  not  been  sensible  of  these  truths  from  his 
own  experience,  nor  has  he  ever  been  sensible  of  the  contrary 
He  has  not  known  the  time  when  one  grace  flourished,  and  the 
others  decayed.  He  cannot  remember  when  he  became  more 
humble,  and,  at  the  same  time,  less  prayerful  ;  more  attached  to 
God,  and  less  attached  to  his  people  ;  more  heavenly-minded,  ano 
less  patient  and  submissive. 

If  there  has  been  anything  that  looked  like  this  in  the  experi- 
ence of  the  believer,  it  cannot  be  difficult  to  detect  the  fallac3" 
That  was  not  real  humility,  but  its  counterfeit,  that  flonrishe  ' 
while  the  man  was  becoming  less  prayerful.     The    very  views  of 


THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN.  157 

God  and  of  sin  that  would  humble  him,  would  £  so  lead  him  to 
prayer.  Nor  was  that  genuine  love  of  God  that  increased  while 
he  grew  cold  towards  his  children,  where  is  seen  his  image,  and 
where  beams  his  likeness.  No  ;  the  Christian  has  never  been 
sensible  of  the  decay  of  one  grace  in  consequence  of  the  increase 
of  another. 

But  the  other  view  of  this  subject  will  not  fail  to  accord  with 
the  experience  of  all  the  family  of  God.  They  all  knew  when  one 
grace  withered,  all  the  graces  withered  with  it.  They  knew  when 
worldliness  increased,  and  it  cast  the  frost  of  death  over  every 
grace  ;  "  they  grew  cold  in  prayer,  forsook  the  people  of  God," 
were  proud  and  impatient,  and  vain  and  covetous.  They  remem- 
ber when  they  indulged  some  sin,  and  it  immediately  disqualified 
for  duty.  They  were  ashamed  to  go  to  their  closets  when  they 
had  sinned  ;  they  were  ashamed  to  attend  ordinances,  and  perhaps 
dare  not  read  their  Bibles.  "They  thought  on  God  and  were 
troubled,  and  their  faces  were  ashamed." 

They  felt  the  wound  they  had  given  their  piety  in  every  part, 
lost  their  confidence  as  the  children  of  God,  their  hope  sunk, 
and  their  everlasting  prospects  were  clouded  over.  Now  why 
need  every  grace  wither  because  in  one  point  a  wound  was  inflict- 
ed ;  why  did  there  circulate  a  poisonous  fluid  through  all  the 
branches  of  the  plant  of  righteousness,  when  only  at  a  single 
point  there  was  inserted  the  sting  of  death,  unless  it  be  that  all  the 
parts  of  the  new  man  are  connected,  draw  their  nourishment  from 
the  same  fountain,  and  are  fed,  if  I  may  keep  up  the  appropriate 
figure,  from  the  same  circulating  medium.  If  we  did  not  know 
that  the  head  and  the  arm  are  united,  still  when  we  find  that  on 
amputating  the  head  the  arm  grows  cold,  we  are  led  to  believe  that 
there  was  such  a  union,  and  that  one  member  has  died  by  ampu- 
tating the  other. 

So  the  Christian  graces  all  spring  into  being  by  the  same  im- 
pulse, and  are  nourished  and  kept  in  vigor  together,  or  together 
wither  and  decay,  as  every  believer's  experience  can  testify.  I 
close  at  present  with  a  single 

REMARK 

How  much  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  is  seen  in  the 
renewed  man.  With  propriety  is  the  work  of  creating  the  heart 
anew  styled  the  new  creation.  It  may  well  be  compared  to  the 
work  of  building  a  world.  To  see  a  moral  being  filled  with  un- 
governable passions,  creating  in  his  bosom  perpetual  war,  resem- 


15S  THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN" 

bling  the  troubled  sea,  which  cannot  rest,  whose  waters  continual!} 
cast  up  mire  and  dirt,  so  formed  anew,  that  the  war  and  the  confu- 
sion all  subside,  and  every  affection  harmonizing  with  every  other  ; 
how  does  a  work  like  this  display  the  glory  of  God  !  In  creating 
man  at  the  first  there  was  nothing  in  the  clay  to  oppose  the  wishes 
of  the  potter;  but  in  creating  man  anew  there  is  a  nature  produc- 
ed which  is  at  war  with  the  nature  renewed.  The  whole  current 
of  the  soul  is  turned.  Probably  to  no  single  work  that  ever  God 
did,  have  the  angels  looked  with  more  admiring  praise  than  to  this 
new  creation.  Here  God  appears  in  all  his  wisdom,  and  greatness, 
and  goodness.  Here  are  the  finishing  strokes  of  his  power  and  his 
skill.  And,  doubtless,  some  of  the  sweetest  songs  in  heaven  will 
dwell  eternally  on  the  grand  theme  of  the  new-birth. 


SERMON    XL 

THE  PERFECTED  GOOD  MAN.— NO.  II. 

2    TIM.    III.    17. 

That  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  'vorha. 

1  rnorosED  in  the  preceding  sermon  as  my  object  to  show  that 
the  Christian  must  exhibit  all  the  graces  of  the  gospel ;  1  attempt- 
ed to  prove  the  doctrine  from  the  fact,  that  the  Christian  graces 
are  all  the  operations  of  the  same  Divine  Spirit ;  from  the  fact  that 
all  the  moral  affections  of  the  new  man,  take  their  character  from 
the  renewed  heart;  from  the  harmony  of  truth  which  is  the  grand 
medium  of  sanctijication  ;  from  their  very  nature  ;  from  the  manner 
in  which  God  in  his  word  characterizes  his  people ;  and  ltom  the 
experience  of  believers.  I  then  concluded  with  one  remark,  How 
much  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  is  seen  in  the  renewed 
man.     I  now  proceed  to  remark 

2  The  subject  will  help  us  to  solve  the  question  whether  any- 
one of  the  Christian  graces,  wi'.l  certainly  take  existence  prior  to  any 
other  one.  It  has  been  contended  by  some  that  repentance,  and  by 
others  that  faith,  will  be,  without  fail,  the  first  Christian  grace.  But 
I  see  not,  if  the  view  we  have  taken  be  correct,  why  any  other 
grace  as  readily  as  these,  may  not  be  first  in  order  of  time.  No 
one  will  precede  the  rest,  by  any  long  space  of  time.  That  exer- 
cise will  be  first  which  has  the  first  opportunity  to  utter  itself. 
Suppose  the  man  born  again  in  some  paroxysm  of  distress ;  who 
can  say  that  he  may  not  put  forth  submission  previously  to  either 
repentance  or  faith  1  Or  suppose  him  to  be  operated  upon  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  at  the  moment  when  he  is  listening  to  some  lucid 
description  of  the  Divine  character,  how  do  we  know  that  he  may 
not  love  that  character  previously  to  his  having  that  view  of  the 
Divine  law,  and  of  his  own  heart,  which  can  produce  repentance  '' 
and  so  of  any  other  exercise  of  the  new  heart.  If  among  all  the 
Christian  graces  there  is  a  perfect  harmony,  if  they  all  spring  up 
together,  and  together  flourish,  or  together  decay,  how  needless 
the  dispute,  which  appears  first  ;  how  impossible  to  know,  and  how 
unimportant  if  we  did  know!  It  is  quite  sufficient  that  we  be  as- 
sured, that  they  must  all  appear,  must  all   appear  early,  must  all 


160  THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN. 

flourish  together,  and  all  reach  their  consummation  in  the  kingdom 
of  God. 

3.  The  subject  affords  us  an  excellent  criterion  of  character,  by 
which,  would  we  be  honest,  it  would  seem  easy  to  decide  whether 

we  love  God.  If  it  may  not  be  easy  to  decide  that  we  have  any 
particular  grace,  still  it  would  secrn  not  difficult,  with  a  moderate 
share  of  wisdom,  to  decide,  that  we  have,  or  have  not,  one  in  the 
whole  catalogue  of  graces.  And  when  the  point  is  settled  that  we 
have  one,  it  is  certain  that  we  have  the  whole.  In  the  inquiry, 
then,  whether  we  have  faith,  if  we  do  not  easily  succeed,  let  us  in- 
quire whether  we  fear  God,  or  whether  we  have  a  spirit  of  prayer, 
or  whether  we  have  meekness  or  humility.  If,  however,  we  have 
to  go  almost  the  whole  round  before  we  fix  on  any  one  Christian 
grace,  the  marks  of  which  appear  in  our  character,  we  shall  have 
great  occasion  to  fear  that  we  have  not  the  faith  of  the  gospel.  If 
we  have  that  faith  we  shall  have  added  all  the  graces  which  con- 
stitute the  new  man.  We  shall  be  humble  because  we  are  sinners, 
we  shall  be  meek,  because  conscious  that  we  often  offend, 
we  shall  be  thankful,  and  benevolent,  we  shall  have,  in  more  or 
less  vigor,  all  the  graces  of  the  Spirit.  There  will  be  all  the  parts 
of  the  new  man.  Here,  then,  we  have  a  rule,  plain  and  simple,  by 
which  to  try  our  characters.  And  if  we  would  rigorously  judge 
ourselves  we  should  not  be  judged. 

4.  As  a  thought  somewhat  distinct  from  the  last,  I  would  sug 
gest  that  if  any  one  of  the  Christian  graces  is  wholly  wanting  it  is 
evidence  conclusive  that  that  person  cannot  possess  the  grace  oi 
God.  If  Christ  be  formed  in  us  the  hope  of  glory,  his  image  on 
the  heart  must  be  perfect,  no  limb,  no  member  wanting,  and  if  all 
be  right  in  the  heart,  the  same  will  appear  in  the  life. 

Fix,  then,  your  eye  on  the  man,  who  in  one  point  is  always 
wrong,  whatever  is  true  on  other  points,  and  rest  assured  that  no 
work  of  supererogation,  as  to  other  subjects,  can  make  up  ihe  de- 
ficiency and  awaken  the  hope  thai  he  is  born  of  God.  Can  he 
never  forgive  1  Will  any  offence  committed  against  him,  or  con- 
ceived to  be  committed,  awaken  perpetual  ill-will  1  Then  a  voice 
from  heaven  could  not  satisfy  us  that  that  man  is  born  of  God.  Is 
he  never  benevolent?  Can  no  occasion  move  him  to  be  generous 
without  the  hope  of  reward  '.  Then  is  it  impossible  that  he  should  be 
a  child  of  God?  Does  he  uniformly  dislike  the  humble,  conscien- 
tious believer?  Does  he  always  -elect  Ids  associates  and  his  con- 
fidants from  the  men  of  the  world  .'  Then  i-  it  certain  that  lie 
<\"ts  nut  love  the   brother  whom   he   hath  seen  ;   and  how  can  he  iove 


THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN.  161 

God  whom  he  hath  not  seen  1  There  must  be  no  particular  in 
which  the  mar.  of  God  does  not  obey  his  Lord,  else  being  unfaith- 
ful in  the  least,  he  is  unfaithful  also  in  much.  I  do  not  say  that 
at  times  the  good  man  may  not  transgress  any  law,  but  I  say, 
without  the  fear  that  the  last  day  will  pronounce  me  a  liar,  that  at 
times  the  child  of  God  obeys  every  law,  and  that  he,  who  on  one 
point  is  always  wrong,  is  not  born  of  God.  Hereby  do  we  know 
that  we  love  him  if  we  keep  his  commandments.  He  that  saith,  I 
know  him,  and  keepeth  not  his  commandments,  is  a  liar,  and  the 
truth  is  not  in  him. 

Now,  to  make  this  matter  obvious,  suppose  a  servant  was  obe- 
dient in  every  thing  but  one,  but  in  that  one  would  never  obey,  is 
he  subject  or  is  he  not  to  the  authority  of  his  master  1  Will  he 
not  be  pronounced  a  disobedient  servant  1  Now  it  is  just  so  in 
me  things  of  God.  There  cannot  be  one  law,  suppose  that  law 
the  least  important,  if  you  please,  in  the  whole  list  of  precepts, 
that  the  child  of  God  never  will  obey.  God  has  no  such  son  or 
servant  in  his  house.  Judging  by  this  rule,  how  many  who  pro- 
fess godliness  must  come  short  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  How 
many  are  there  who  were  never  humble  for  a  single  moment  in  all 
their  life  !  How  many  were  never  seen  to  do  a  benevolent  act ! 
How  many  never  once  possessed  a  spirit  of  prayer  !  How  many 
have  always  stood  aloof  from  the  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus ! 
How  many  were-  never  for  an  hour  heavenly-minded  !  How  many 
never  knew  how  to  forgive  !  How  many  have  uniformly  quarrelled 
with  some  doctrine  of  the  Bible  !  How  many  have  never  for  an 
hour  ceased  to  love  the  world,  and  the  things  of  the  world,  makino- 
it  manifest  that  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  them. 

If  there  is  no  monstrous  Christian,  as  has  been  attempted 
to  be  proved,  but  a  perfect  harmony  among  the  Christian  graces, 
I  shall  not  need  to  make  an  apology  for  asserting  that  where 
any  one  of  them  is  never  seen,  there  none  of  them  has  ever 
been.  Christ  will  receive  none  to  heaven,  who  have  a  part  only  of 
his  image.  We  are  to  follow  him  in  the  regeneration,  else,  when 
he  comes  in  the  glory  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  holy  angels,  we  shall 
be  shut  out  of  his  kingdom.     And  we  are  to  follow  him  wholly. 

Brethren,  I  do  not  believe  that  I  ever  urged  a  truth  more  im- 
portant than  this.  I  wish  to  try  my  own  character  by  it,  and  I 
wish  you  may  all  make  the  same  use  of  it.  Are  we,  at  least  some- 
times, in  the  exercise  of  every  Christian  grace  1  Is  there  any 
point  where  it  can  be  said,  that  we  never  obey!     If  there   is,  then 


162  THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN. 

are  we  in  the  gall   of  bitterness  and  under  the  bonds   of  iniquity, 
mm  as  the  truth  of  God  will  stand. 

5.  The  subject  should  caution  us  not  to  offend  in  one  point,  lest 
the  evil  be  felt  in  all  points.  I  mean  by  this  remark  simply,  that 
we  should  be  afraid  to  cease  for  a  moment,  when  the  occasion  re- 
quires, to  exercise  every  Christian  grace,  lest  all  the  graces  imme- 
diately suffer.  We  are  careful  not  to  wound  the  smallest  member 
of  the  body,  though  we  could  spare  it  without  much  damage,  be- 
cause it  is  materially  connected  with  all  the  other  parts  of  the 
body-  It  may  cost,  one  his  life  to  bruise  his  smallest  finger.  Now 
let  the  simile  apply.  Would  you  esteem  it  a  great  calamity  to  be 
cold  in  your  affections  towards  God,  then  be  very  cautious  not  to 
let  your  love  cool  towards  his  people,  for  no  sooner  will  you  feel 
cold  towards  them,  than  you  will  begin  to  cool  in  your  affections 
towards  God.  Would  you  not  lose  a  spirit  of  prayer,  then  be  care- 
ful not  to  become  worldly-minded,  for  when  you  cease  to  be 
heavenly-minded,  you  will  cease  to  have  often  an  errand  to  your 
closet.  Do  you  prize  highly  your  Christian  hope,  and  would  not 
part  with  it  for  a  world,  then  be  afraid  to  let  any  one  grace  cease 
to  be  exercised,  for  your  hope  will  languish  with  it. 

You  cannot  keep  the  body  in  a  healthy  state,  and  suffer  one 
member  to  mortify,  nor  the  sotil,  if  you  suffer  one  grace  to  lan- 
guish. It  would  be  a  good  question  every  night,  Has  any  part  of 
the  new  man  been  injured  to-day  1  And  if  so,  how  can  the  wound 
be  healed  1  Have  I  ceased  to  watch  1  Have  I  indulged  pride,  or 
envy,  or  anger  1  Have  I  ceased  to  be  prayerful  and  heavenly- 
minded  1  Have  I  resisted  evil,  when  I  should  have  been  meek  ? 
Have  I  rebelled,  when  I  should  have  submitted  .1  Have  I  been 
overcome  of  evil,  when  I  should  have  overcome  evil  with  good  1 
Thus  should  this  awful  subject  awaken  our  keenest  anxieties,  lest 
before  we  have  realized  the  consequence,  we  hazard  the  health  of 
the  inner  man,  and  pierce  ourselves  through  with  many  sorrows. 

6.  The  subject  gives  us  a  view  of  the  whole  matter  of  backsliding. 
We  see  how  it  begins  :  the  Christian,  in  an  hour  of  temptation, 
lets  down  his  watch,  and  ceases  to  exercise  one  of  the  Christian 
graces.  Say  he  is  accused,  and  instead  of  being  meek,  returns  evil 
for  evil,  wrath  for  wrath;  the  evening  comes,  and  he  has  no  spirit 
of  prayer ;  the  morning  comes,  and  he  loses  sight  of  heaven,  and 
becomes  worldly-minded.  He  ceases  to  have  a  relish  for  the  com- 
pany and  conversation  of  believers,  becomes  proud  and  covetous, 
nnd  finally  loses  almost  all  his  relish  for  divine  things.  The  evil 
began  at  n  point,  but  has  widened  in  its  course.     It  seemed  a  small 


THE    PERFECTED    GOOP    MAN  163 

matter  at  the  first,  but  is  now  a  wide-spread  and  tremendous 
calamity.  The  man  had  better  have  suffered  any  calamity  than  have 
permitted  his  passions  to  rise.  He  did  not  realize,  and  could  not, 
how  dire  was  the  plague,  whose  infection  he  inhaled.  So  we  have 
seen  the  finger  wounded  by  a  thorn,  and  in  a  few  hours  the  whole 
nervous  system  was  in  torture,  and  often  death  was  the  result. 
Ah  !  how  rich  is  that  grace  that  saves  the  backslider  from  final 
and  fearful  apostacy  ! 

We  have  sometimes  wondered  to  see  how  in  every  point  the 
backslider  is  gone  away  from  the  path  of  life  ;  you  cannot  name 
the  case  or  the  occasion  where  he  acts  out  his  former  character. 
He  is  worldly  and  prayerless,  does  not  love  the  people  of  God,  is 
proud,  and  negligent,  and  passionate,  and  envious,  and  selfish — he 
is  all  wrong.  Now  if  I  have  given  a  correct  view  of  this  subject, 
we  are  to  expect  it  to  be  so.  The  Christian  graces  are  all  con- 
nected, must  flourish  or  decay  together.  Hence  he  cannot  go 
wide  astray  in  one  particular,  and  yet  in  other  respects  hold  his 
former  standing.  One  branch  of  the  plant  of  righteousness  was 
wounded,  and  the  whole  withered.  And  should  it  ever  revive,  the 
reform  must  begin  as  the  decay  did,  at  a  point,  and  become  gen- 
eral. The  man  must  be  converted  again  as  at  the  first,  by  the 
same  power,  and  by  the  same  means  by  which  he  was  then  brought 
out  of  darkness  into  marvellous  light.  So  Peter  after  his  fall 
needed  a  new  conversion,  and  would  then  be  able  to  strengthen 
his  brethren.  Hence  prays  the  believer,  as  he  begins  to  recover, 
"  restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation,  and  uphold  me  with 
thy  free  Spirit."  "Tell  me,  oh  thou  whom  my  soul  loveth,  where 
thou  feedest,  where  thou  makest  thy  flock  to  rest  at  noon,  for 
why  should  I  be  as  one  that  turneth  aside  by  the  flocks  of  thy 
companions." 

7.  The  subject  will  teach  us  how  to  deal  with  believers  in  dis- 
tress. We  must  lead  them  to  inquire,  where  and  when  they 
began  to  offend,  and  of  course  to  suffer.  There  the  remedy  must 
be  applied.  We  should  not  undertake  to  cure  the  body  of  pain, 
to  the  neglect  of  some  wounded  member,  where  the  whole  evil 
began.  We  should  at  least  attend  to  the  part  affected,  that  we 
might  dry  up  the  source  of  corruption,  and  thus  lay  the  foundation 
for  returning  health. 

So  the  distressed  backslider  must  discover  where  he  received 
his  first  injury.  What  sin  did  he  commit,  what  lust  did  he  in- 
dulge, what  duty  did  he  neglect,  when  the  darkness  and  distress 
which  he  now  suffers  came  upon  him  \     Here  he  must  repent  and 


161  THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN. 

do  his  first  works.  However  difficult  the  duty,  or  great  the  self- 
denial,  he  must  tread  back  his  guilty  steps,  or  may  abandon  the 
hope  that  his  soul  can  be  restored  to  health  and  vigor. 

God  does  not  cast  his  people  into  darkness  wantonly,  does  not 
withdraw  the  Divine  influences  without  occasion.  If  he  hides  his 
face  it  is  because  he  sees  some  sin  to  rebuke.  There  is  some 
point  where  there  is  a  renewal  of  the  old  controversy,  and  God 
resolves  that  we  shall  walk  in  darkness,  till  we  are  reconciled  to 
him.  Would  you  then  do  good  to  the  backsliding  believer,  urge 
him  to  inquiry  and  repentance  relative  to  the  first  acts  of  his  de- 
cline. What  was  it  that  first  offended  God  1  When  did  he  first 
refuse  to  hear  your  prayers  1  When  did  he  cloud  your  hopes  1 
When  had  you  first  a  cold  and  comfortless  communion  1  And 
what  sin  was  it  that  shut  you  out  from  your  heavenly  Father's 
presence  1  Where  on  the  new  man  was  the  wound  inflicted  that 
has  rankled  till  the  disease  has  become  general  1  On  this  spot 
keep  the  eye  fixed,  and  here  let  every  effort  be  made  to  restore 
health.  Else  expect  not  that  God  will  uncover  to  you  the  beauties 
of  his  face. 

8.  If  it  should  seem  a  calamity  that  the  believer  should  be  so 
extensively  exposed,  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  he  is  just  so  ex- 
tensively qualified  to  receive  good.  As  he  can  be  injured  through 
the  medium  of  any  one  Christian  grace  ;  so  through  the  medium 
of  any  one  he  may  receive  quickening  and  joy.  As  in  a  wide  and 
expanded  relationship,  we  are  greatly  liable  to  be  wounded  and 
pained,  so  through  the  same  medium  we  have  multiplied  advan- 
tages for  joy  and  rejoicing. 

The  broader  our  sympathies,  the  broader  our  sufferings  and  con- 
solations. So  the  senses,  spread  all  over  the  human  body,  and 
thus  expose  a  broad  surface  to  the  infliction  of  wounds  and  the 
endurance  of  pains,  are  also  the  broad  inlets  of  pleasure.  So  in 
the  new  man  there  is  kept  up  the  same  analogy  of  providence.  It 
is  not,  however,  in  any  of  these  cases  to  be  viewed  as  a  calamity. 
If  the  believer  can  be  wounded  at  many  points,  so  at  many  points 
can  he  receive  nourishment  and  joy.  Let  him  cultivate  industri- 
ously any  of  the  Christian  graces,  and  the  whole  will  thrive.  For 
instance  let  him  aim  at  maintaining  constantly  a  spirit  of  prayer, 
and  we  have  very  little  doubt  that  he  will  find  all  the  Christian 
graces  invigorated.  Let  him  cultivate  a  spirit  of  benevolence,  and 
lie  will  give  the  new  man  an  impulse  in  every  limb  and  memoer 
Let  him  fan  the  flame  of  Christian  love,  and  it  will  kindle  a  fir-; 
that  will  quicken  the  whole  pulsation  of  spiritual  life.     So  if  you 


THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN.  165 

water  a  single  root  of  the  tree  or  plant,  that  is  perishing  with 
drought,  you  refresh  every  branch,  and  extend  a  benign  influence 
to  the  smallest  fibre.  The  Christian,  then,  who  is  sensible,  I  do 
not  say  of  having  grossly  backslidden,  but  of  not  being  in  that 
state  of  spiritual  health  and  growth  that  is  desirable,  may  com- 
mence reform  at  any  point  he  pleases.  If  he  will  begin  this  eve- 
ning to  nourish  any  one  Christian  grace,  he  will  find  aimself  re- 
vived throughout.  Collect  about  you  your  Christian  brethren, 
realize  your  relation  to  them,  open  your  mind  freely  to  them  on 
the  great  subject  of  your  spiritual  brotherhood,  on  the  place  and 
the  pleasures  of  your  future  rest,  and  draw  more  closely  the  bond 
of  love,  repeat  the  experiment  every  week,  or  if  possible  every  day 
till  you  feel  that  you  cannot  live  without  them,  and  cannot  be  sepa- 
rated from  them,  that  their  God  is  your  God,  their  Savior  your  Sav- 
ior, their  Comforter  yours,  and  their  everlasting  home  the  place  of 
your  rest.  By  the  time  you  have  accomplished  all  this,  if  there  is 
any  such  relationship  as  I  have  endeavored  to  establish  among  the 
Christian  graces,  you  will  find  yourselves  revived  throughout.  You 
will  feel  a  more  ardent  love  to  God,  you  will  have  a  spirit  of  prayer, 
you  will  be  humbled  for  sin,  you  will  exercise  an  expanded  benevo- 
lence, and  your  mind  will  become  heavenly  and  happy.  Or  if  you 
please,  cultivate  a  spirit  of  prayer,  go  many  times  a  day  to  your 
closet,  till  you  find  yourself  living  near  the  throne,  and  all  the 
good  effects  predicted  in  the  other  case  will  immediately  follow. 
Before  you  call  God  will  answer,  and  while  they  are  yet  speaking 
he  will  hear,  open  your  mouth  wide  and  he  will  fill  it ;  make  a 
large  request,  and  unmeasured  blessings  will  be  granted  you. 

Think  not,  however,  to  neglect  reoentance  ;  this  must  begin  and 
keep  pace  with  every  reform ;  if  you  have  grown  negligent  in  any 
Christian  duty,  it  is  a  great  sin,  and  there  must  be  deep  repent- 
ance. The  order  of  your  restoration  invariably  must  be,  "repent 
and  do  your  first  works."  This  is  beginning  where  your  decay 
commenced,  and  where  God  will  infallibly  meet  with  you  and  bless 
you.  He  has  thus  promised,  and  has  a  thousand  and  a  thousand 
times  fulfilled  this  promise.  Break  up  the  fallow  ground,  sow  not 
among  the  thorns. 

Finally.  We  see  how  we  are  to  set  about  cultivating  true  and 
extensive  peace.  Men  must  be  at  peace  with  themselves  by  hav- 
ing all  the  Christian  graces  in  exercise,  else  they  can  neither  be 
at  peace  with  God  or  man.  Let  every  man  have  war  within,  and 
peace   in   society  is   impossible.      With   ungodly  men    there   is   al- 


160  THE    PERFECTED    GOOD    MAN. 

ways  a  war  in  their  own  bosoms :  now  let  the  few  believers,  who  are 
associated  with  them,  be  in  a  state  of  coldness,  or  of  backsliding, 
and  then  hope  to  bind  the  whole  mass  together  by  the  bond  of 
love,  and  you  might  as  well  hope  to  build  another  world.  You 
may  blame  one,  and  another,  and  another,  as  the  breakers  of  the 
peace,  but  peace  will  not  be  restored,  till  each  one  blames  himself, 
and  begins  a  reformation  at  home.  Men  may  exercise  their  wis~ 
dom  in  attempts  to  make  peace  without  purity.  But  the  wisdom 
that  is  from  above  is  first  pure  and  then  peaceable.  The  promise  is 
"  If  ye  walk  in  my  statutes,  I  will  give  peace  in  your  land."  Said 
one  wrhom  God  inspired,  "Thou  wilt  keep  hirn  in  perfect  peace 
whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee,  because  he  trusteth  in  thee." 

He  then  that  would  be  a  peace-maker  in  these  times  of  rebuke 
and  blasphemy,  must  aim  to  awaken  religious  feeling,  and  raise 
the  standard  of  piety.  Bring  men  together,  who  have  forsaken 
God,  who  have  neglected  prayer,  who  have  become  supremely  at- 
tached to  the  present  world,  and  attempt  to  form  between  them 
some  amiable  compact,  and  you  might  as  well  yoke  the  lightning 
and  the  thunder  to  the  summer  breeze  and  bid  them  go  forth  in 
calmness  and  serenity. 


SERMON   XII. 
INIQUITY  FINISHED. 

JAMES   I.    15. 

Sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death. 

We  dwell  in  a  world  where  nothing  reaches  maturity  in  a  mo- 
ment. Things  begin  to  be,  they  grow,  and  they  ripen.  The  acorn 
becomes  a  wide-spread  oak ;  the  infant  a  man ;  and  the  little  rivu- 
let a  majestic  stream,  that  widens  its  bed,  and  deepens  its  channel, 
as  it  urges  its  way  to  the  ocean.  Hence  there  is  nothing  to  which 
we  are  more  accustomed  than  growth.  There  is  the  infancy,  the 
middle  age,  and  the  maturity  of  all  created  things. 

And  it  would  seem  that  the  same  is  true  of  things  to  which  we 
cannot  apply  the  term  created.  Holiness  is  begun,  it  progresses, 
and  is  perfected.  Character  has  its  embryo,  its  progress,  and  its 
completion.  And  in  the  text  sin  is  spoken  of  as  capable  of  being 
finished,  and  then  its  fruit  is  death.  And  yet  sin,  as  the  term  is 
used  in  the  text,  is  figurative.  Every  sin  is  a  perfect  whole,  as 
soon  as  it  has  a  being  ;  a  wrong  that  every  enlightened  conscience 
must  disapprove,  and  which  God  condemns.  But  sinful  habit  or 
character,  which  no  doubt  the  apostle  intends  by  the  term,  may 
have  its  beginning,  its  growth,  and  its  harvest.  And  the  natural 
fruit  is  death.  But  character  or  habit,  in  order  to  come  to  this 
disastrous  result,  must  attach  themselves  to  moral  intelligence. 

Hence  the  text  will  lead  us  to  speak  of  men  who  mature  a  wick- 
ed character  and  thus  ensure  the  death  spoken  of,  which  can  be  no 
other  but  the  future  misery  of  the  soul.  "  The  wages  of  sin  is 
death."  Life  is  the  result  of  obedience,  death  of  disobedience. 
This  is  the  unchangeable  decree  of  God.  If  men  will  violate  the 
commands  of  God  and  mature  a  character  that  he  disapproves,  he 
will  shut  them  from  his  presence  ;  and  this  is  death.  He  may  stop 
them  before  their  iniquities  are  ripe,  as  the  rock  rolling  from  the 
mountain's  top,  may  meet  some  mighty  barrier  that  can  resist  its 
impulse,  which  else  will  plough  its  path  to  the  glen,  or  imbed  it- 
self in  the  bosom  of  the  stream.  The  growth  of  s-in  at  first  may 
be  slow,  but  it  ripens  fast  as  it  reaches  towards  the  time  of  harvest 


168  INIQUITY    FINISHED. 

When  men  have  begun  to  disobey  the  law  of  God,  and  are  casting 
off  the  terrors  of  his  threatenings,  and  conscience  becomes  silenc- 
ed, a  desperate  character,  unless  the  grace  of  God  prevent,  can 
soon  be  matured.  Many  a  lad  in  our  streets  has  set  out  in  the  ca- 
reer of  sin,  and  become  a  daring  young  man,  but  had  yet  no  idea, 
where  and  how  soon  his  career  would  terminate.  At  first,  perhaps, 
his  way  seemed  pleasant.  He  slid  down  the  smooth  declivity, 
without  obstruction  and  without  alarm.  Had  he  dreamed  of  the 
ruin  that  yawned  before  him,  he  would  have  trembled  in  the  outset. 
But  he  saw  not  the  end  of  his  course,  till  he  felt  the  fall  that  crush 
ed  him  to  powder.     Let  me  illustrate  the  subject 

I.  The  game  of  chance  finds  its  maturity  in  the  abandoned  gambler. 
No  matter  with  what  materials  or  in  what  circumstances  the  habit 
commences.  The  transition  from  the  game  less  criminal,  institut- 
ed for  mere  amusement,  to  that  where  oaths  are  uttered,  and  fraud 
practised,  and  wealth  squandered,  and  character  staked,  is  easy  and 
convenient.  The  practice  should  be  to  a  thinking  mind  frightful, 
were  there  no  danger  of  the  habit  being  fixed.  The  waste  of  time 
is  an  obvious  evil.  No  man  of  sense  will  say,  that  the  time  spent 
at  the  game  is  well  spent.  Is  the  mind  enlarged  1  Is  the  heart 
mproved  1  Are  the  habits  rectified  1  Is  the  man  made  holier  or 
happier  at  the  game  1  Do  we  see  the  gambler  useful  to  his  coun- 
try, kind  to  his  family,  a  man  of  science,  industry,  and  virtue  1  Is 
he  spoken  of  as  the  benefactor  of  his  fellow-men,  and  his  death  la- 
mented as  a  light  put  out,  a  blessing  withdrawn  1  Then  why  as- 
sert his  time  well  spent  1  While  he  neither  blesses  himself  nor 
others,  is  he  answering  the  end  of  his  being !  Is  he  living  to  any 
of  those  purposes  for  which  God  created  him  ?  Then  his  time  is 
lost.  And  have  we  time  to  lose  ?  An  immortal  being  on  his  way 
to  the  grave,  and  much  to  do  in  preparation  for  eternity — has  he 
time  to  lose  ?  Has  God  assigned  us  a  longer  probation  than  was 
necessary  ?  And  if  not,  should  any  of  its  hours  be  lost  ?  And  if 
lost,  will  not  some  of  our  work  remain  undone  when  the  Master 
comes  ? 

But  loss  of  time  is  not  the  whole  evil  of  the  game ;  the  mind  is 
dissipated.  Who  ever  made  the  experiment  and  did  not  find  him- 
self, both  at  the  time  and  afterward,  less  qualified  for  serious 
thought  and  reflection  ?  Suppose  there  are  neither  oaths  nor  cm- 
ses  at  the  game,  does  the  little,  the  trifling,  and  the  silly  conversa- 
tion of  the  hour  enlarge  or  discipline  the  mind  ?  Do  noble  senti- 
ments spring  up,  and  does  manly  and   dignified  thought  originate 


lXUiUITY    FINISHED.  169 

with  the  cast  of  the  die,  or  the  shuffle  of  the  card1.  Does  the  man 
rise  with  a  purer  intellect,  or  one  less  pure,  from  the  gaming-table  1 
Is  serious  business  more  welcome,  or  less  sol  Are  the  domestic 
duties  better  discharged  afterwards,  or  worse  1  Is  the  man  more 
or  less  fitted  for  manly  occupations]  On  all  these  questions  there 
can  be  but  one  opinion. 

Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the  mind  is  enfeebled  and  contracted, 
as  well  as  dissipated,  by  being  employed  at  the  game.  Be  it  allow- 
ed, and  even  this  may  be  disputed,  that  it  comports  with  the  levity 
and  thoughtlessness  of  childhood,  still  very  illy  does  it  quadrate 
with  the  sedateness  of  the  father  and  the  husband.  The  man  must 
feel,  who  lends  a  hand  to  the  game,  that  he  lays  aside  what  is  ve- 
nerable in  years  and  gray  hairs,  and  puts  on  the  child.  He  be- 
comes a  "  little  being"  and  should  not  be  caught  thus  letting  dowrn 
his  dignity. 

Let  any  one  approach  unseen  to  the  place  of  the  game  and  take 
down  the  jumble  of  language  and  read  it  to  the  parties,  and  if  they 
did  not  feel  little  before,  they  would  feel  little  now.  I  know  that 
men  may  have  practised  the  game  for  mere  amusement  and  escaped 
the  ruin  that  impends,  but  multitudes  have  been  less  happy,  and 
have  gone  this  way  to  irrecoverable  ruin. 

It  is  a  sin  which  strangely  bewitches  the  mind,  which  gathers 
strength  by  indulgence,  and  which,  when  finished  in  the  confirmed 
gambler,  bringcth  forth  death. 

His  character  is  a  compound  of  the  basest  selfishness,  cool  ma- 
lignity, subtle  impiety,  fell  desperation,  and  unrestrained  appetite. 
And  let  it  be  finished,  and  the  man  is  ready  for  fraud,  robbery, 
murder,  suicide,  treason,  or  any  other  species  of  crime,  and  then 
the  fruit  is  death.  Else  tell  me  when  the  confirmed  gambler  was 
reformed,  and  became  either  a  Christian  or  a  decent  man.  Should 
you  be  able  to  bring  forward  one  case,  I  can  place  beside  it  a  hun- 
dred where  the  result  was  tragical.  The  instance  you  adduce, 
does  but  prove  that  God  is  stronger  than  the  strong  man  armed, 
and  can  tame  the  heart  at  any  stage  of  its  desperation.  But  the 
hope  in  such  a  case  is  a  spider's  web.  K  Sin,  when  it  is  finished, 
bringeth  forth  death." 

II.  Indulgence  in  the  cup  is  matured  in  the  sot.  Few,  when  they 
began  to  look  upon  the  cup,  and  tasted  its  inebriating  contents, 
intended  to  yield  themselves  victims  to  the  destroyer.  They  drank, 
at  first,  to  be  sociable,  or,  it  may  be,  to  promote  health,  or  exon- 
erate  themselves   from  the  charge   of  singularity.     Not  a  world 


70  INIQUITY    FINISHED. 

would  tempt  them  to  excess,  nor  many  worlds  induce  them  to  draw 
upon  themselves  the  reputation  of  intemperance  ;  but  ere  they  have 
thought  of  their  danger,  they  are  caught  in  the  snare.  But  when 
once  overtaken,  still  they  intend  to  proceed  no  farther.  They  can 
and  they  will  govern  their  appetite,  and  have  only  their  occasional 
scenes  of  indulgence. 

Meanwhile  conscience  has  given  the  alarm,  and  is  hushed  and 
silenced.  False  sentiments  are  embraced,  tending  to  lessen  the 
sin,  or  hide  its  progress,  or  neutralize  its  consequences.  By  de- 
grees the  heart  is  hardened,  the  conscience  seared,  the  habit  con- 
firmed, temptations  multiplied,  and  the  man  is  seen  to  yield  up 
himself  a  confirmed  inebriate.  This  character  of  him  goes  out, 
and  he  is  seen  to  throw  off  the  restraint  of  public  sentiment,  that 
last  hold  that  society  had  upon  him.  His  credit  is  gone,  the  peace 
of  his  home  is  destroyed,  his  family  is  desolate,  his  friends  with- 
draw from  him,  he  must  shrink  from  what  little  shred  of  reputation 
remains,  from  what  of  respect  is  still  shown  him,  from  any  office 
he  fills,  from  the  hopes  that  have  buoyed  up  his  spirits,  and  from 
the  whole  of  that  enchanting  vision  that  opened  before  him. 

Some  infidel  doctrine  is  suggested  by  the  unsanctified  heart  to 
prop  his  sinking  steps.  The  apprehensions  of  futurity  are  gone, 
and  now  the  last  ligature  is  sundered  that  bound  him  to  comfort 
and  character,  and  hope,  and  heaven  ;  and  he  cares  not,  at  length, 
if  he  is  see?i  reeling  through  the  streets  a  confirmed  drunkard ! 
Now  his  health  withers,  and  he  sees  the  grave  yawning,  and  hell 
moving  beneath.  Now,  did  he  intend  at  first  that  the  habit  of  tip- 
pling should  become  thus  matured  1  Did  he  calculate  on  this  total 
abandonment  of  comfort,  of  character,  of  credit,  of  confidence,  of 
hope,  of  life,  and  of  heaven  1  But  his  sin  is  finished.  He  is  snared 
in  the  work  of  his  own  hands,  and,  it  may  be,  he  ends  his  days  as 
a  suicide  or  a  felon.  Or,  if  otherwise,  he  comes  to  a  loathsome 
and  deserted  death-bed,  and  sees  his  poor  life  going  out,  while 
there  dawns  on  him  no  hope  of  heaven,  nor  comes  to  his  help  any 
arm  that  can  snatch  him  from  the  jaws  of  death,  or  hold  him  back 
from  the  worm  that  shall  never  die,  and  the  fire  that  shall  never  be 
quenched.  His  sin  is  finished ;  "  and  sin,"  as  we  have  said, 
*'  when  it  is  finished  bringeth  forth  death." 

III.  Covetousness  finds  its  maturity  in  the  swindler,  the  thief,  and 
the  robber.  This,  in  its  beginning,  can  scarcely  be  distinguished 
from  a  virtue.  It  has  on  the  face  of  prudence  and  economy,  and 
can  be  so  impudent  as  to  claim  the  Bible  as  its  advocate.     "  If  any 


INIQUITY    FINISHED.  171 

provide  not  for  his  own,  and  especially  for  those  of  his  own  house, 
he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel."  Thns  sup- 
ported, it  claims  the  countenance  of  the  wise  and  the  good,  and 
seems  removed  but  a  single  hair's  breadth  from  a  virtue. 

Still  God  denounces  it  as  a  vice.  It  is  an  undue  desire  of  wealth, 
and  becomes,  with  the  slightest  temptation,  a  wish  to  enjoy  what 
belongs  to  another.  This  vice,  in  its  early  stages,  may  resort  to 
means  that  are  lawful — industry,  and  a  close  but  not  generally  re- 
puted dishonest  manner  of  dealing.  By  degrees,  however,  there 
is  adopted  a  loose  but  licensed  swindling.  The  creditor  is  kept 
out  of  his  due  ;  the  hireling  of  his  wages;  and  the  poor  of  their 
supply.  The  article  vended  has  its  price  advanced ;  and  what  is 
purchased,  proportionably  depressed.  Advantage  is  taken  of  the 
necessitous  and  the  slack  in  trade.  These  oppressive  measures, 
as  the  sin  grows,  gives  place  to  others,  which  no  law  of  God  or 
man  can  be  compelled  to  defend.  A  total  mis-statement  of  facts 
accompanies  every  act  of  commerce,  till  there  is  an  entire  abandon- 
ment of  that  golden  rule,  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  others 
should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them."  Now,  unless  the 
fear  of  detection  hold  him  back,  the  man  is  prepared  for  any  enter- 
prise that  can  gratify  a  sordid  mind,  for  theft  or  robbery.  And  it 
may  be  that,  unperceived,  these  iniquities  are  practised.  There 
may  be  many  a  thief,  and  many  a  robber,  who  has  yet  on  the  face 
of  honesty,  and  the  attire  and  the  reputation  of  a  gentleman.  Not 
one  of  the  whole  fraternity  ever  intended  to  be  discovered.  But 
unless  the  grace  of  God  prevents,  the  covetous  man  will,  finally, 
mature  the  vice  he  nourishes,  "and  sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bring- 
eth  forth  death."  The  whole  band  of  speculators  are  in  imminent 
danger  of  maturing  this  vice. 

The  Scriptures  furnish  us  with  some  striking  instances  of  this 
sin  finished.  You  will  readily  recur  to  the  case  of  Achan.  He 
was  one  of  the  three  thousand  sent  of  Joshua  to  subdue  the  city 
ofAi.  The  spoil  was  to  be  devoted  to  God.  But  the  covetous 
Achan  saw  a  rich  Babylonish  garment,  and  two  hundred  shekels 
of  silver,  and  a  wedge  of  gold.  Whit  he  saw  he  coveted,  and 
what  he  coveted  he  took,  and  then  must  lie  to  hide  the  crime. 
Thus  we  see  an  instance  where  this  sin  came  to  maturity ;  and 
the  result  was,  that  he  and  all  his  house,  his  flocks,  and  all  that 
he  had,  were  stoned  to  death,  and  burned  with  fire.  Thus  "sin, 
when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death." 

The  case  of  Ahab  is  in  point.  He  coveted  Naboth's  vineyard. 
But  Naboth  would  not  part  with   his  patrimonial  inheritance ;  and 


172  INIQUITY    FINISHED. 

for  refusing  he  must  die,  and  the  clogs  must  feed  upon  his  blood. 
You  remember  the  history.  The  result  was,  that  the  dogs  licked 
Ahab's  blood,  and  that  of  his  family,  in  the  same  place  where  they 
had  feasted  upon  the  blood  of  Naboth.  Here,  again,  the  sin  of 
covetousness  was  finished,  and  it  brought  forth  death. 

And  the  case  of  Judas  is  written  in  lines  of  blood.  He  must 
have  had  once  a  reputable  character,  and  when  admitted  to  the 
apostolic  office  was  unimpeachable.  But  he  was  covetous;  and 
being  made  purse-bearer  for  the  little  family,  accustomed  himself 
to  purloin  its  contents.  This  might  have  been  his  practice  for 
years,  hence  his  master  denominated  him  a  "thief."  When  oppor- 
tunity was,  at  length,  given  him  to  betray  the  Lord  Jesus,  the 
temptation  was.  too  strong,  and  he  pocketed  the  price  of  blood,  and 
ended  his  career  a  suicide.  Here  again  the  sin  was  finished,  and 
brought  forth  death.  And  I  could  tell  you  of  JJnanias  and  Sap- 
phira,  and  a  host  of  others,  who  have  followed  in  the  same  train, 
and  have  earned  and  reaped  the  snme  destiny.  Every  mail's  in- 
telligence, and  every  court  of  police  exhibit  another  and  another 
victim  perishing  by  the  same  iniquity. 

IV.  Lasciviousness  has  its  maturity  in  the  polhttions  and  obsceni- 
ties of  the  brothel.  I  know  that  decency  shrinks  from  the  very 
terms  we  must  use  on  this  subject,  and  still  the  sin  must  be  ex- 
posed. If  the  sight  can  be  endured,  go  once  to  those  wretched 
abodes,  where  are  bound  on  the  altar  of  impurity,  her  thousands 
of  ill-fated  victims,  and  ask  them  their  individual  history,  and  they 
will  tell  you  how  their  sin  became  finished.  They  will  relate  to 
you  how  they  fell  in  with  some  vile  associate,  while  yet  they  had 
been  uncontaminatcd,  who  polluted  their  imaginations,  which  led, 
in  an  evil  hour,  to  impure  desire  and  a  lascivious  look,  and,  finally, 
to  the  deed  that  made  them  the  bond-slaves  of  hell  forever.  Their 
case  is  now  considered  hopeless.  They  are  abhorred  by  themselves 
and  by  others,  have  already  died  a  civil  death,  and  must  soon  go 
down  to  the  grave,  and  then  suffer  eternally  the  tortures  of  the 
worm  that  shall  never  die,  and  of  the  fire  that  shall  never  be 
quenched.  Here  is  the  text-  literally  true,  "  When  lust  hath  con- 
ceived, it  bringeth  forth  sin ;  and  sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth 
forth  death." 

V.  Profanity,  too,  has  Us  maturity  in  those  unrestrained  blasphemies 
whirl/  have  sometimes  been  uttered  at  the  very  juncture  when  life  tvas 
going  out.     The  profane  man  does  not  mature  this  vice  in  an  hour. 


INIQUITY    FINISHED.  173 

It  may  be  that  he  was  educated  under  the  roof  of  piety,  where  he 
was  taught  to  fear  an  oath.  And  his  earliest  departures  from  yea 
and  nay  were,  at  the  first,  but  a  single  shade  removed  from  purity 
of  language.  By  slow  and  painful  degrees,  however,  he  learned 
to  utter  the  curse,  then  the  oath.  Here  he  intended  to  stop,  as  he 
had  intended  at  each  preceding  stage  of  his  impious  career.  But 
he  had  now  broken  through  parental  restraint,  and  had  well  nio-h 
conquered  the  obstinate  correctness  of  his  own  conscience,  and  it 
became  easy  to  proceed.  It  becomes  his  practice  to  utter  his  pas- 
sions in  an  oath,  and  he  can  at  length  swear  when  not  impassioned, 
and  the  practice  soon  grows  into  a  habit. 

It  now  becomes  quite  insipid  to  go  in  the  old  dull  track,  and 
he  invents  new  oaths,  till  at  length  the  names  of  God  and  all  his 
sacred  attributes,  ring  upon  every  change  possible,  and,  aided  by 
tone,  and  emphasis,  and  gesture,  constitute  more  than  half  his  im- 
pious vocabulary.  Finally,  he  breaths  pollution  as  soon  as  he 
opens  his  lips.  And  when  he  has  for  a  time  made  man  the  butt  of 
his  blasphemies,  he  begins  to  abuse  directly  his  Maker,  and  his 
Redeemer,  and  Sanctifier.  Now  his  sin  is  finished,  and  in  some 
surprising  hour,  may  meet  the  sudden  arrest  of  death,  with  a  vol- 
ley of  blasphemy,  and  die  with  the  execration  half  finished  upon 
his  lips.  My  readers  may  not  have  witnessed  this  case,  and  would 
to  God  they  may  not,  but  assuredly  the  fact  has  happened,  furnish- 
ing us  a  lucid  comment  upon  the  text,  "  Sin,  when  it  is  finished, 
bringeth  forth  death." 

VI.  So  the  Sabbath-breaker  matures  his  sin  by  degrees.  He  went 
early  with  his  parents  to  the  house  of  God,  and  grew  up  to  man- 
hood under  the  droppings  of  the  sanctuary.  But  on  some  occa- 
sion he  was  tempted  to  spend  a  Sabbath  in  the  fields,  or  in  world- 
ly business.  Some  wicked  associate  thus  induced  him  to  break 
in  upon  his  early  habits.  And  it  gave  him,  at  the  first,  pain  of 
conscience.  But  a  second  temptation  and  a  third  soon  prepared 
him  to  do,  without  distress,  what  was  at  the  first  an  outrage  upon 
his  whole  Christian  education.  Soon  he  deserted  the  house  of 
God,  and  soon  neglected  the  Bible,  and  soon  threw  off  his  whole 
religious  deportment.  He  can  now  waste  his  Sabbaths  over  a 
newspaper,  or  on  his  bed,  or  in  a  place  of  rendezvous.  And  he 
entices  others  away  with  him  to  his  guilty  haunts,  and  is  now  quite 
content  to  have  all  his  Sabbaths  pass  without  acquiring  any  know- 
ledge of  God,  of  truth,  or  of  duty.  But  in  the  mean  time  his  pro- 
bation  glides  away,  and  he  will   come  to  his   death-bed,  and  his 


17-i  INIQUITY   FINISHED. 

Sabbaths  be  over,  all  over,  and  no  preparation  made  to  meet  hia 
God.  He  would  then  give  a  world  for  a  Sabbath.  His  tortured 
conscience,  unless  disease  or  medicine  should  stupify  him,  will 
rehearse  in  his  hearing  the  history  of  his  mis-spent  Sabbaths,  and 
portray  before  his  astonished  eyes  the  iniquity  of  his  heathenism, 
till  his  dying  chamber  will  become  a  scene  of  horror  like  the  mid- 
night of  Egypt.  What  he  knows  of  truth,  will  but  paint  to  him  in 
the  more  gloomy  colors,  the  sin  of  despising  God's  Sabbath?, 
which  he  might  have  improved  in  becoming  acquainted  with  him- 
self and  with  God.  He  is  haunted  with  the  conviction  that  no 
Sabbath  awaits  him  in  heaven.  His  sin  is  finished,  and  he  must 
die,  ignorant  of  that  gospel  through  which  God  fits  his  people  for 
his  kingdom. 

VII.  So  the  growth  of  infidelity,  may  be  traced  from  its  low  begin- 
nings to  the  same  destructive  maturity.  In  his  youth  the  man  was  a 
speculative  believer,  and  was  satisfied  that  the  Bible  was. the  truth 
of  God.  But  some  shrewd  associate  made  sport  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  put  into  his  hands  at  length  the  "  Jlge  of  Reason"  But  so 
correct  had  been  his  education  that  at  first  he  dared  not  read  it. 
It  lay  by  him  and  he  finally  cast  his  eye  upon  it,  and  it  suited  the 
temper  of  his  heart  ;  he  perused  it,  and  it  shook  his  faith.  He  yet 
intended  not  to  become  a  disciple  of  that  wretch  whose  principles 
did  not  sustain  himself  in  his  dying  hours.  But  one  scandalous 
volume  referred  him  to  another  and  one  associate  who  had  discard- 
ed the  Bible,  led  him  to  another,  till  at  length  he  was  prepared  to 
yield  his  better  judgment. 

He  went  on  to  prop  the  fabric  of  his  unbelief,  till  consistency  of 
character  drove  him  to  abandon  the  gospel  and  quit  the  sanctuary, 
and  discontinue  his  prayers,  as  all  inconsistent  with  his  system  of 
rationalism.  He  had  now  no  means  of  learning  his  danger,  ond 
felt  quite  secure  in  his  iniquities.  He  needs  no  Savior,  and  spurns 
with  contempt  the  overtures  of  mercy.  And  his  sentiments  have 
misled  his  conscience,  till  he  can  sin  with  a  high  hand  and  feel 
little  or  no  compunction.  He  bids  fair  to  die  an  unbeliever,  and 
although  he  may  renounce  his  scheme  in  the  hour  of  death,  it  will 
probably  be  too  late  to  apply  to  his  soul  the  consolations  of  that 
gospel  which  he  has  deliberately  abandoned.  True,  the  predic- 
tions of  his  future  destiny  may,  on  his  death-bed,  force  him,  as 
they  have  many  of  the  champions  of  his  creed,  into  a  speculative 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  yet  is  there  little  hope,  that  the  slighted  and 
abused    Redeemer,  will,  at   that  late   hour,  become  his  helper,  and 


INIQUITY    FINISHED.  175 

then  he   is  lost  for  ever.     His   sin  is  finished  and  it  bringeth  i'ortn 
death. 

VIII.  So  we  might  trace  the  sin  of  lying  from  the  first  instance  of 
prevarication  on  to  the  fixed  habit  of  dauntless  and  deliberate  per  • 
jury.  When  men  at  first  depart  from  the  simplicity  of  trnth,  they 
do  not  intend  to  confirm  the  habit,  much  less  to  lie  under  the 
solemnities  of  an  oath.  But  one  departure  from  veracity  begets 
the  necessity  often  of  another,  and  another.  And  one  fortunate 
escape  from  detection,  holds  out  the  promise  of  future  impunity. 
Thus  the  man  whose  lips  had  been  accustomed  to  truth,  becomes 
habituated,  before  he  sees  his  danger,  to  utter  falsehood.  And 
the  case  will  soon  happen  that  he  must  swear  to  what  he  has  stat- 
ed, and  God  is  called  in  to  witness  to  the  truth  of  a  lie.  And  he 
perceives  that  Heaven  does  not  avenge  the  deed,  and  ventures  on 
it  again,  and  again,  as  party,  or  passion,  or  interest  dictates.  He 
now  soon  becomes  prepared  for  deliberate  perjury,  and  is,  perhaps, 
detected  and  suffers  the  penalty  of  human  law,  or,  if  otherwise, 
goes  on  till  the  law  of  God  takes  effect,  and  he  is  turned  with  all 
liars  into  the  lake  that  burnetii  with  fire  and  brimstone,  which  is 
the  second  death.     Thus  the  sin  is  finished. 

Finally.  Let  me  sum  the  whole  up  in  one  case.  These  sins  some- 
times all  meet  in  the  same  man,  and  grow  to  maturity  together.  The 
vices  are  all  twin-sisters,  and  can  flourish  in  the  same  soil,  and  under 
the  same  sunshine.  The  gambler  becomes  profane  and  false,  and 
fraudulent,  and  intemperate,  and  lewd,  breaks  the  Sabbath,  and 
derides  the  truth  of  the  Bible.  Some  of  these  vices  seldom  fail  to 
be  in  the  society  of  all  the  residue.  When  did  you  know  a  pro- 
fane man  who  had  any  conscientious  regard  for  the  truth,  or  ven- 
erated the  Bible  1  Or  when  an  intemperate  man,  or  lewd,  who 
did  not  engraft  these  vices  into  the  same  stock  where  all  the 
others  grew  1  Adopt  one  sin  and  all  the  others  plead  for  their 
own  adoption.  Will  the  infidel  judge  it  out  of  character  to  be 
profane1.  Will  the  false  scruple  to  baptize  his  lie  witli  an  oath  1 
Will  the  inebriate  be  ashamed  to  be  lewd  1  Will  the  Sabbath- 
breaker  venerate  the  Bible  !  While  one  of  these  sins  is  coming 
to  maturity,  the  others,  like  shoots  by  the  side  of  a  bramble,  will 
spring  up  and  grow,  and  when  matured  may  any  of  them  brin^ 
death. 

The  fact   is,  to  mature  any  vice   requires  the  abandonment  oi 
restraint   and   when  this    is   lost,  any  iniquity  can  vegetate.     The 


176  INIQUITY    FINISHED. 

man  becomes  to  every  good  work  reprobate.  The  understanding 
is  distorted,  the  conscience  seared,  the  heart  rendered  cold,  and 
hard,  and  selfish,  and  the  man  becomes  deaf  to  remonstrance,  and 
is  placed  out  of  the  reach  of  reform.  Now,  many  sins  are  finished 
in  the  same  man,  and  they  inevitably  bring  forth  death. 

REMARKS. 

I.  How  may  we  know  when  sin  has  approachea  nigh  to  maturity  1 
No  question  can  be  to  us  all  more  practical  or  important.  We 
may  know  by  various  signs  : 

1.  Maturity  in  vice  stuns  the  sensibility  of  conscience.  When 
men  can  sin  and  not  be  filled  with  distress,  it  argues  that  they 
have  silenced  the  monitor  in  their  bosom.  When  the  gambler 
feels  happy  after  the  game,  and  the  drunkard  dreads  not  the  occa- 
sion that  will  tempt  him  to  indulgence,  and  the  profane  fearlessly 
utters  the  oath,  and  the  false  can  be  as  happy,  when  he  has  spoken 
a  lie  as  the  truth,  and  the  fraudulent  feeds  cheerfully,  on  his  ill- 
gotten  wealth,  and  the  Sabbath-breaker  has  no  twinges  of  conscience, 
as  the  hours  of  holy  rest  pass  by  unimproved,  and  the  unchaste 
can  sleep  quietly  in  the  bed  of  guilt,  and  the  infidel  is  sensible  of 
no  inward  testimony  to  the  truth — in  every  such  case  there  is 
reason  to  fear  that  conscience  is  driven  from  her  moorings,  and 
the  storm  is  high,  and  hard  by  is  the  reef  of  death,  where  she  is 
to  be  finally  and  fatally  shipwrecked. 

2.  Maturity  in  vice  progressively  excludes  shame.  When  the  pro- 
fane will  utter  their  coarse  dialect  within  the  hearing  of  the  moral, 
and  when  the  intemperate  do  not  blush  to  be  caught  at  their  cups, 
and  the  liar  is  not  put  out  of  countenance  by  detection,  and  the 
Sabbath-breaker  is  willing  to  be  seen,  wasting  the  hours  of  holy 
rest,  and  the  fraudulent  can  boast  of  the  advantage  they  have  taken, 
and  the  gambler  is  willing  to  be  caught  at  the  game,  and  the  infidel 
sneers  at  the  gospel,  and  the  licentious  are  proud  of  their  intrigues  ; 
then  shame  is  gone,  and  sin  is  finished — a  great  poet  has  justly 
said, — 

"  He  that  blushes  is  not  quite  a  brute." 
And  a  greater,  and  a  better  man  has  inquired,  "Were  they 
ashamed  when  they  had  committed  abomination  ?  nay,  they  were 
not  at  all  ashamed,  neither  could  they  blush;  therefore  they  shah 
fall  among  them  that  fall  ;  in  the  time  that  I  visit  them  they  shall 
be  cast  down,  saith  the  Lord."  Here  is  the  very  case  stated. 
When  men  have  so  far   urogresscd  in  vice  that  they  have  ceased 


INIQUITY    FINISHED.  177 

to  be  ashamed,  then  the  threatened  judgments  of  God  take  effect, 
and  sin,  being  "  finished,  bringeth  forth  death." 

II.  The  subject  addresses  itself  to  parents.  Our  poor  dying 
children  are  liable  to  be  ensnared  by  these  vices ;  if  we  love  them, 
we  shall  carefully  watch  them. 

1.  We  shall  be  careful  not  to  corrupt  them  ourselves.  We  have 
known  unhappy  parents  who  taught  their  children  to  gamble,  and 
be  false,  and  profane,  and  fraudulent,  and  to  desecrate  the  Sabbath, 
and  to  use  the  cup,  and  reject  the  Bible.  All  this,  perhaps,  they 
did  not  intend  to  do,  and  would  have  been  alarmed,  it  may  be, 
could  they  have  seen  the  end  from  the  beginning.  And  still  the 
restraints  they  withheld,  or  the  passions  and  appetites  they  in- 
dulged, or  the  principles  they  inculcated,  or  the  example  they  set, 
or  the  doctrines  they  taught,  led  their  children  directly  in  the  way 
of  the  destroyer,  and  their  whole  character,  when  sin  is  finished, 
will  be  chargeable  to  their  unhappy  parents. 

2.  If  we  love  our  children  we  shall  be  careful  not  to  permit 
others  to  destroy  them.  Some  parents  suffer  their  offspring  to  be 
corrupted  before  their  very  eyes.  Perhaps  they  receive  some 
outcast  into  their  family,  and  he  becomes  the  tutor  of  their  child- 
ren ere  they  have  suspected  the  danger.  They  wonder  where  and 
when  their  children  learned  to  be  profane,  to  use  the  cup,  to  be 
familiar  with  the  language  of  impurity,  to  break  the  Sabbath,  to 
deal  fraudulently.  Ah  !  they  learned  of  those  who  were  introduced 
as  domestics  in  the  family  circle.  Unless  parents  would  bring 
down  their  own  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the  grave,  let  them  be 
jealous  over  the  moral  character  of  their  servants  and  of  every 
other  inmate  of  their  house. 

And  we  must  be  equally  careful  who  are  their  associates  abroad. 
It  is  inhuman  to  send  them  to  the  school  of  vice.  There  may  be 
youth  near  us  with  whom  they  may  not  safely  mingle.  There  may 
be  families  in  their  very  neighborhood,  with  whom  we  should  be 
afraid  to  have  them  associate.  The  seeds  of  vice  may  be  sown, 
and  the  shoots  not  distinctly  seen  until  we  are  dead,  and  still  they 
may  spring  up,  and  ripen,  and  bear,  by-and-bye,  when  we  are  in 
heaven,  the  fruits  of  death. 

3.  In  view  of  this  subject  be  warned  not  to  let  any  sin  ripen  in 
your  hearts.  Think  not  to  trifle  with  iniquity  and  come  off  with- 
out harm.  If  you  begin  a  wrong  practice,  always  remember  that 
it  may  ripen  into  an  obstinate  and  deadly  habit.  The  rock  which 
you  roll  from  the  summit  of  a  mountain  may  move  slow  at  the 

23 


178  INIQUITY    FINISHED. 

first,  and  require  great  effort  to  start  it,  but  it  may  acquire  mo- 
mentum before  you  are  aware,  and  may  plough  itself  a  path  to  the 
valley  through  the  mightiest  barriers  that  a  creating  God  has  in- 
terposed in  its  course.  The  only  safe  doctrine  is  that  inspired 
maxim,  "  Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not"  Say  not,  I  have  learned 
the  rules  of  the  game,  but  intend  not  to  be  a  gambler  Say  not,  I 
sometimes  indulge  myself  in  the  cup,  but  I  do  not  intend  to  be  a 
drunkard.  Say  not,  I  know  I  am  sometimes  covetous,  but  do  not 
intend  to  be  a  thief  or  a  robber.  Say  not,  I  sometimes  indulge  my 
lewd  affections,  but  shall  never  entrust  myself  in  the  house  of  in- 
famy. Say  not,  I  sometimes  allow  myself  in  profanity,  but  can 
never  be  tempted  to  blasphemy.  Say  not,  I  have  sometimes  pro- 
faned the  Sabbath,  but  I  shall  proceed  no  farther,  shall  never  quit 
the  sanctuary,  or  cease  to  regard  that  day  as  holy.  Say  not,  I 
sometimes  ply  the  unbeliever's  objections  to  the  Bible,  but  shall 
never  become  an  infidel.  Say  not,  I  have  sometimes  prevaricated, 
but  shall  never  become  perjured.  Oh,  say  not,  I  mean  to  indulge 
my  sins  at  present,  but  do  not  mean  to  become  an  abandoned  trans- 
gressor. None  can  predict  what  you  may  not  become,  if  you  set 
out  in  any  course  of  transgression.  "  The  heart  is  deceitful  above 
all  things,"  and  it  may  happen  that  you  may  feel  quite  safe  at  the 
very  juncture  when  some  darling  iniquity  has  gained  the  ascend- 
ancy over  you,  and  your  steps  are  just  about  to  slip.  May  a  mer- 
ciful God  save  you. 


SERMON    XIII 
OBEDIENCE  THE  PRACTICAL  TEST  OF  AFFECTION. 

MAT.  \CHI    i.    6. 

A  son  honoreili  his  father,  and  a  servant  his  master  :  if  then  I  he  a  Father,  where  is  mine 

honor  ?     And  if  I  be  a  Master,  where  is  my  fear  ? 

This  address  was  made  to  the  priests  of  the  Lord,  at  a  very  cor- 
rupt age  of  the  Jewish  church  ;  and  applies  not  only  to  them,  but 
to  the  whole  family  of  Israel.  There  was  corruption  not  merely 
in  the  priesthood:  the  whole  church  was  exceedingly  polluted 
Every  precept  of  the  law  was  violated,  and  every  rite  of  the  sanc- 
tuary perverted.  Hence  most  of  the  addresses  made  to  them  ap- 
ply, not  to  believers,  but  to  impenitent  men,  and  that  in  all  ages, 
and  in  all  countries.  "  Oh,  Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed  thyself," 
would  seem  a  strange  address  to  true  believers  ;  but  is  exactly 
suited  to  a  community  of  hypocrites,  whose  profession  of  godliness 
embraced  all  the  holiness  they  aimed  to  acquire. 

It  will  then  be  no  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  text,  if  we  apply 
it  to  an  impenitent  world,  embracing  those  who  have  no  show  of 
godliness,  as  well  as  the  whole  family  of  false  professors. 

We  find  in  the  lips  of  many  who  make  no  pretensions  to  a 
change  of  heart,  high  professions  of  respect  for  the  character  and 
government  of  God.  They  claim  him  as  their  Father,  and  would 
have  us  believe  that  they  respect  and  obey  his  laws.  It  will  be 
my  object  in  this  discourse  to  inquire,  whether  men  of  this  cha- 
racter  YIELD  HIM  THAT  FILIAL  ESTEEM,  OR    THAT    DUTIFUL    SUBJECTION, 

which  are  due  to  a  father  and  a  master.     That  the  subject,  how- 
ever, may  impress  our  minds  the  more  tenderly,  let  us, 

I.  Contemplate  the  government  of  God,  and  see  if  we  can  discover 
him  dealing  with  all  his  rational  creatures  as  a  Father  a?id  a  .Master 

1.  In  the  first  place,  as  a  Father  and  a  Master  he  protects  them 
This  the  son  and  the  servant  expect.     God  keeps  his  eye  upon  all 
his   intelligent   creatures,    and    puts    underneath    them    his    arm    of 
mercy.     Not   an    hour    would    life    be    sustained-,    did    not    Jehovah 
keep   in   tune   this   wondrous   frame;    did   he   not  heave   the   lungs) 


ISO  OE1DIENCE    THE    PRACTICAL    TEST    OF    AFFECTION. 

move  the  heart,  and  brace  every  member  and  every  nerve.  Dan- 
gers stand  thick  around  us,  wait  at  every  corner  do  destroy  us, 
but  are  warded  off  by  that  unseen  Intelligence,  "  in  whom  we  live, 
and  move,  and  have  our  being."  The  unbeliever  as  well  as  the 
believer,  holds  his  life,  his  reason,  his  health,  and  all  his  comforts 
as  a  loan  of  Heaven.  While  he  neglects  to  pray,  and  while  every 
mercy  is  forgotten  in  unthankfulness ;  while  he  even  sets  his 
mouth  against  the  heavens,  and  defies  the  power  that  protects  him  ; 
still,  with  paternal  vigilance,  God  extends  to  him  his  protecting 
mercy.  He  lies  down  and  sleeps,  and  wakes,  because  the  Lord 
makes  him  to  dwell  safely. 

2.  As  a  Father  and  a  Master  he  provides  for  all  his  creatures 
That  bread  which  men  feed  upon,  as  the  fruit  of  their  own  indus 
try,  and  for  which  they  thank  themselves,  and  every  garment  that 
covers  them,  and  the  house  that  shelters  them,  are  the  gifts  ot 
God.  No  man  could  make  his  seed  vegetate,  or  render  his  fields 
fertile,  or  ensure  success  in  trade,  independently  of  his  Maker. 
The  showers  and  the  dews,  the  genial  sun,  and  the  soft  breezes  ot 
heaven  are  entirely  under  divine  control,  and  unite  their  influence 
to  feed,  and  clothe,  and  warm,  and  give  health  and  vigor  to  an 
apostate  world.  Thus,  as  a  Father  and  a  Master,  he  makes  timely 
and  kind  provision  for  all  his  creatures. 

3.  As  a  Father  and  a  Master  he  makes  us  know  his  will.  We 
have  some  lessons  of  instruction  from  the  broad  sheet  of  nature  ; 
but  in  his  "word  he  has  opened  all  his  heart  ;  has  made  every  duty 
plain,  and  placed  it  in  the  power  of  every  son  and  servant  of  his 
to  do  his  pleasure.  He  has  plainly  revealed  himself  and  his  will 
concerning  us.  He  has  made  us  acquainted  with  his  Son  and  his 
kingdom.  If  disposed  to  obedience,  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  ta 
obey.  And  that  his  family  of  intelligences  might  have  no  excuse 
from  marching  up  promptly  to  their  duty,  he  has  caused  his  word 
to  be  proclaimed  in  a  preached  gospel.  Thus  we  have  line  upon 
line,  and  precept  upon  precept.  All  this  we  expect  from  a  father 
and  a  master. 

4.  I  add,  he  has  made  our  duties  light.  The  service  he  requires 
is  pleasant  and  easy.  He  demands  what  is  to  our  own  interest, 
and  prohibits  what  would  ruin  us.  His  law,  in  all  its  rigor,  is  a 
most  kind  and  benevolent  institution,  and  has  conferred  upon  his 
tamily  the  richest  comforts  and  the  greatest  obligations.  Next  to 
the  gospel,  the  law  of  God  is  the  richest  bequest  of  Heaven  to  our 
world  ;  and  they  were  both  issued  with  the  same  design — to  ren- 
der intelligent  beings  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  Maker. 


OBEDIENCE  THE  PRACTICAL  TEST  OF  AFFECTION.         IS  4 

Finally,  if  we  obey  him,  he  smiles  upon  us,  and  provides  for  our 
future  happiness  as  does  a  father  and  a  master.  The  law  itself, 
which  he  had  a  right  to  issue  without  a  promise  of  reward,  implies 
that  the  dutiful  shall  be  happy.  He  approves  of  every  act  of  duty, 
and  will  notice  it  with  his  favor  even  if  we  give  to  the  thirsty  a 
cup  of  cold  water  from  love  to  him.  When  we  have  sinned,  and 
are  desirous  to  return  to  duty,  he  accepts  our  repentance,  forgives 
us,  and  loves  us.  Thus  he  acts  the  part  of  a  kind  Father  and  an 
indulgent  Master  toward  all  his  intelligent  creation.  And  many 
whose  hearts  have  never  been  won  to  love  and  duty,  are  still  sen- 
sible that  God  is  kind,  and  deserves  their  warmest  esteem  and 
faithful  service.  But  after  all  this  we  hear  Him  say,  "  If  then  I 
be  a  Father,  where  is  mine  honor  ?" 

II.  Let  us  inquire  how  a  kind  and  dutiful  son  or  servant  will  treat 
a  father  or  a  master. 

I  yoke  the  two  together,  because  if  faithful  and  dutiful,  they  wil 
exhibit  in  these  relationships  very  much  the  same  deportment. 

In  the  first  place,  the  son  loves  his  father,  and  the  good  servant 
his  master.  The  attachment  is  very  strong ;  and,  perhaps,  often 
as  strong  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other.  You  have  seen  servants 
who  would  die  to  protect  their  master;  and  the  attachment  of  a 
good  son  to  his  father  none  will  question.  Let  us  then  inquire 
whether  that  class  of  men  who  acknowledge  that  they  have  not 
been  regenerated,  but  who  wish  to  be  considered  very  friendly  to 
their  Maker,  do  really  fuel  any  love  to  his  character.  While 
they  are  made  the  recipients  of  his  bounty,  they  may  feel  glad, 
and  may  mistake  gladness  for  gratitude.  Or  viewing  his  favors 
as  an  evidence  of  his  love  to  then  +  hey  may  feel  that  conip  acen- 
cy  in  themselves  which  may  seem  like  affection  for  hin.  Or 
making  some  essential  mistake  in  their  views  of  his  character, 
they  may  love  the  image  they  have  set  up,  and  which  they  call 
Jehovah.  Or  being  grossly  ignorant  of  his  character,  they  may 
never  feel  their  hearts  drawn  out  toward  him,  in  any  very  strong 
affection  or  passion,  and  so  may  not  know  that  they  do  not  love 
him.     Or  these  things  may  all  combine  to  deceive  and  ruin  them. 

If  we  have  any  love  to  God  we  must  love  his  whole  character 
and  must  learn  his  character  from  the  Bible.  We  must  not  only 
love  the  Being  who  waters  our  fields,  and  makes  the  earth  fruitful, 
and  the  air  salubrious;  who  supplies  us  with  health  and  plenty; 
but  the  Being,  (for  he  is  the  same,)  who  sends  drought,  and  fa- 
mine, and  pestilence ;    who   cuts  off  our   comforts,  and   sends  dis- 


182  OBEDIENCE    THE    PRACTICAL    TEST    OF    AFFECTION. 

ense,  and  death,  and  darkness,  and  sorrow  into  our  habitations. 
We  must  not  only  love  him,  who  created  us,  who  protects  us,  who 
feeds  us,  who  enlightens  us,  and  who  offers  us  salvation;  but  hiir. 
who  gave  us  his  law,  gave  that  law  its  sanctions,  and  annexes  to  a 
rejection  of  the  gospel  the  sure  pledge  of  endless  misery.  We 
must  not  only  love  the  Being  who  has  watched  the  world  with 
paternal  solicitude,  and  has  given  to  the  different  nations  their 
prosperity  and  their  honors  ;  but  him,  (for  he  is  the  same  God,) 
who  blotted  out  the  old  world,  who  burned  the  cities  of  the  plain, 
who  has  plagued  the  kingdoms  of  men  with  revolutions,  earth- 
quakes, storms,  and  wars.  We  must  not  only  love  him  who  has 
built  a  heaven  for  redeemed  sinners,  but  him  who  has  digged  a 
bottomless  pit,  and  kindled  a  quenchless  fire  for  the  finally  impeni- 
tent. We  cannot  love  the  Author  of  all  good,  and  hate  him  as  the 
Author  of  what  we  call  evil.  There  is  but  one  God,  and  he  as- 
sures us  that  he  makes  light,  and  creates  darkness.  We  must  vest 
him  with  all  his  attributes,  and  love  him  as  a  whole  Deity,  or  he 
will  spurn  our  affection,  and  count  us  his  enemies.  He  is  as  wor- 
thy of  esteem  in  the  exercise  of  holiness,  justice,  truth,  and  ven 
geance,  as  when  he  displays  his  infinite  goodness  and  mercy.  His 
threatenings  do  him  as  much  honor  as  his  promises.  His  plagues 
are  as  necessary  as  his  blessings,  his  lightnings  as  his  rains,  his 
law  as  his  gospel,  his  prison  as  his  palace.  His  rod  and  his  bread 
are  both  blessings  to  his  children  and  his  servants. 

Now  the  question  is,  do  that  class  of  men  who  speak  so  highly 
of  their  Maker,  and  who  would  have  us  believe  that  they  are  so 
grateful  for  his  benefits,  and  have  pleasure  in  contemplating  his 
character,  but  who  have  no  pretensions  to  having  passed  the  new 
birth — do  they  love  the  whole  of  the  Divine  character  1  Have 
they  selected  the  attributes  of  their  supreme  Deity  from  the  Bible, 
and  do  they  disrobe  him  of  no  single  perfection  1  Is  the  view  the 
Bible  gives  of  Jehovah  pleasant  to  them  in  all  its  parts  1  Would 
they  not  alter  one  single  trait  if  they  might  \  Have  they  no  ex- 
ceptions to  make  when  they  think  of  him,  and  speak  of  him,  and 
pray  to  him  ]  And  when  they  think  of  going  to  be  in  his  presence 
for  ever,  is  his  character  exactly  such  as  they  would  love  to  con- 
template and  to  dwell  with  1 

I  know  that  some  of  these  questions,  at  times,  are  trying  even 
to  the  believer  ;  but  he  does  hope,  that  he  approves  of  every  at- 
tribute in  the  character  of  Jehovah.  But  do  not  that  class  of  men, 
to  whom  this  sermon  is  principally  addressed,  manifest,  that  thcv 
are  pleased  with  only  apart  of  the  Divine  character  !  Hence  hi.ii" 


OBEDIENCE    THE    PRACTICAL    TEST    OF    AFFECTION.  183 

frequently  will  they  deny  such  of  the  doctrines  as  clash  with  their 
views  of  God.  Total  depravity  is  viewed  as  rendering  themselves 
too  deformed  for  him  to  love  till  they  are  radically  changed.  The 
necessity  of  such  a  change  begets  a  doubt  whether  they  are  on 
the  way  to  heaven.  The  deity  of  Christ  argues,  that  men  are  in 
a  state  of  fearful  ruin  from  which  none  but  an  almighty  Redeemer 
can  rescue  them.  The  necessity  of  a  Divine  influence  to  change 
the  heart,  cuts  off  the  hope  which  they  build  on  their  own  good 
works,  as  qualifying  them  for  heaven.  Any  Divine  purpose  re- 
specting the  heirs  of  salvation,  places  their  destiny  in  the  hands  of 
God  ;  where  they  are  afraid  to  trust  it.  His  sovereignty  in  rege- 
nerating whom  he  will,  leaves  it  doubtful  whether  their  purposes  of 
future  repentance  will  be  executed.  Threatenings  of  everlasting 
misery  to  the  finally  impenitent,  exhibit  God  as  too  inflexibly  holy 
to  be  (heir  Jeltovah. 

Do  they  not  dread  these  doctrines  because  they  undermine  their 
high  opinion  of  themselves,  and  in  their  view  mar  the  character 
of  God  \  If  they  loved  him,  they  would  have  confidence  in  him  : 
they  would  believe  what  he  says,  would  dare  to  be  in  his  hands, 
would  have  no  fear  of  his  decrees,  nor  be  apprehensive  of  too 
great  severity  in  his  justice. 

The  child,  when  he  is  received  into  the  arms  of  his  father,  asks 
from  him  no  promise  that  he  will  not  cast  him  into  the  fire  or  the 
flood.  If  he  knows  that  his  father  has  written  his  last  testament, 
he  has  no  fear  that  he  is  disinherited  :  and  the  faithful  servant  has 
the  same  confidence. 

1.  The  good  child  loves  the  society  of  his  father,  and  the  faithful 
servant  loves  to  be  with  his  master.  Every  one  has  observed  that 
love  will  thus  operate.  If  then  God  be  a  Father,  where  is  his  hon- 
or \  Do  men  in  their  native  state  love  to  be  with  God  1  The  be- 
liever will  know  what  I  mean  by  being  with  God.  There  it  a  sense 
in  which  God  is  every  where  ;  but  a  special  sense  in  which  he  is 
present  with  his  people.  Communion  with  him  is  as  much  a  reali- 
ty as  communion  with  a  friend.  In  a  friend  we  do  not  see  that 
spirit  with  which  we  hold  fellowship.  When  it  has  fled,  still  all 
that  we  saw  is  present,  but  communion  is  at  an  end.  God's  people 
have  endearing  fellowship  with  him,  and  there  is  no  blessing  which 
they  prize  so  highly.  In  the  family,  in  the  closet,  in  the  sanctuary, 
and  in  the  field,  they  mingle  their  souls  with  the  Great  Spirit,  and 
are  happy.  The  ordinances  are  appointed  for  this  purpose.  One 
day  spent  in  his  courts  is  better  than  a  thousand  elsewhere. 

But  the   men  we  have  described — do  they  understand  the  na- 


184        OBEDIENCE  THE  PRACTICAL  TEST  OF  AFFECTION. 

ture,  and  estimate  the  privilege  of  this  fellowship  1  They 
think  they  love  their  Maker,  and  are  displeased  if  we  question 
their  piety  ;  but  do  they  seek  communion  with  him  1  Are  they 
men  of  prayer,  and  accustomed  to  the  work  of  praise  1  Do  they 
love  retirement  and  meditation  1  Do  they  pore  much  over  the 
page  of  inspiration,  and  do  they  cultivate  a  spirit  of  devotion  1 
All  this  is  to  be  expected  of  one  who  loves  to  be  with  God.  A 
few  transient  thoughts  of  him  as  a  Benefactor  are  not  a  sufficient 
testimony  of  supreme  attachment.  God  commands  more  than 
this,  and  if  we  are  his  children  or  his  servants,  we  shall  desire 
more.  Else  what  is  meant  when  we  are  commanded  to  "  pray 
without  ceasing  V1  And  what  does  David  mean  when  he  says, 
"  As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water-brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul 
after  thee,  O  God  1"  Or  Job,  when  he  says,  "0  that  I  knew  where 
I  might  find  him ;  that  I  might  come  even  to  his  seat  1"  Now  a 
religion  that  produces  none  of  all  this — that  never  thirsts  after 
God,  nor  grieves  on  account  of  his  absence — is  to  be  suspected  as 
radically  deficient.  It  may  serve  to  deceive,  but  will  never  save. 
3.  A  good  son  and  a  faithful  servant  will  be  cheerfully  obedient. 
A  dutiful  temper  is  indispensable  in  either  of  these  stations.  The 
son  who  does  not  cheerfully  receive  and  execute  the  wishes  of  his 
father  is  unworthy  of  the  name,  and  deserves  to  be  disinherited. 
And  the  servant  who  does  not  exhibit  the  same  dutiful  temper  is  a 
mere  slave.  Let  us  then  apply  this  test  to  that  class  of  men  who 
are  addressed  in  the  text.  Is  it  their  joy  to  obey  the  Lord  ?  They 
will  then  attend  well  to  his  commands.  They  will  read  and  medi- 
tate upon  his  law,  and  will  make  his  word  the  man  of  their  coun- 
sel, and  will  study  to  obey.  Is  this  the  fact  1  Are  they  employed 
in  studying  ways  and  means  to  glorify  God,  and  make  mankind 
happy  ?  Do  they  discharge  with  conscientious  fidelity  all  the  du- 
ties of  their  respective  offices  and  relations  ]  Are  they  among  the 
first  to  feed  the  poor,  instruct  the  ignorant,  reform  the  vicious  ? 
What  they  would  that  others  should  do  to  them,  do  they  make 
this  the  rule  of  their  own  conduct  /  And  are  they  uniform  in 
their  regard  to  duty  !  Do  they  yield  God  the  service  he  requires, 
and  exhibit  that  respect  to  his  name,  his  word,  his  worship,  and 
his  Son,  which  he  enjoins  ?  Or,  to  express  the  whole  in  a  few 
words,  have  they  a  tender  conscience,  which  fears  to  do  wrong, 
fears  to  neglect  a  duty,  fears  to  violate  an  obligation,  dreads  the 
least  deviation  from  the  most  perfect  rectitude  1  Such  a  con- 
science is,  of  all  others,  the  most  decisive  test  of  a  holy  mind. 
"If  ve  love  me,   keep   my   commandments."     "By   this  shall  all 


OBEDIENCE  THE  PRACTICAL  TEST  OF  AFFECTION.        185 

men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  com- 
mand yon."  We  may  then  safely  rest  the  matter  here;  if  men 
conscientiously  regard  all  that  God  has  spoken  as  immediately 
binding  upon  their  consciences  and  their  conduct, — believe  them 
pious  ;  but  if  they  say  but  little,  and  care  but  little  about  duty,  we 
must  retain  all  our  fears. 

4.  The  son  and  the  servant  will  each  be  attached  to  his  father's 
or  his  master's  family.  If  a  child  or  a  servant  be  unhappy  at 
home,  it  is  an  omen  of  evil,  an  evidence  of  some  unhappy  aliena- 
tion of  affection.  If  we  apply  this  test  to  the  characters  addressed 
in  the  text,  what  is  the  result ?  Do  they  attach  themselves  to  the 
family  of  Christ  1  Do  they  love  his  disciples,  choose  them  as  their 
inmates,  and  hold  sweet  counsel  with  them,  and  wish  their  society 
for  ever  1  And  is  their  attachment  stronger  to  those  who  are  emi- 
nently holy  than  to  others  1  If  we  love  God,  we  shall  love  those  most 
who  wear  most  prominently  the  marks  of  his  image.  With  them  we 
shall  wish  to  be  identified  in  a  compact,  strong  and  eternal.  Hence 
to  hope  that  we  love  the  Redeemer,  while  we  stand  aloof  from  his 
family,  is  absurd.  "  By  this  shall  men  know  that  ye  are  my  dis- 
ciples, if  ye  have  love  one  to  another."  Hence,  generally,  we 
shall  find  the  people  of  God  in  a  cluster.  We  may  find  a  few 
strayed  from  the  family,  but  we  shall  find  them  uneasy  and  unhap- 
py till  they  come  and  take  their  place  in  his  house. 

5.  The  servant  and  the  son  are  very  jealous  of  the  honor  of  their 
father  or  their  master.  They  will  not  hear  him  reproached;  they 
separate  themselves  from  his  enemies,  and  from  the  place  where 
he  is  not  honored.  And  all  this  God  expects  from  those  who  ac- 
knowledge him  as  their  Father  or  their  Master.  But  do  we  dis- 
cover this  delicacy  of  feeling  in  that  class  of  men  who  would  be 
esteemed  religious,  but  who  have  no  pretensions  to  a  change  of" 
heart"?  Are  they  grieved  to  hear  the  name,  and  attributes,  and 
works  of  the  Lord  spoken  lightly  of  1  Do  they  retire  from  the 
sound  of  profaneness,  and  feel  themselves  abused,  if  men  in  their 
presence  will  not  reverence  Jehovah  ?  It  must  be  proper  to  bring 
every  man's  religion  to  this  test.  You  would  esteem  no  man  your 
friend  who  could  stay,  and  be  content,  where  he  heard  you  abused. 
Mere  silence  in  him,  while  others  abused  you,  would  evince  that 
his  friendship  was  deceitful.  Now  God  has  assured  us  that  "he 
is  a  jealous  God  1"  Of  course  he  will  watch  the  smallest  deviations 
from  propriety  in  those  who  would  be  thought  to  love  him.  The 
man  who  would  smile  at  an  oath,  or  carry  on  conversation  with 
one  who  is  profane,  and  show  no  disapprobation,  will  find  it  difficult 

24- 


186  OBEDIENCE    THE    PRACTICAL    TEST    OF    AFFECTION. 

to  prove  that  he  is  grieved  when  God  is  dishonored,  and  will  for- 
feit his  claim  to  piety.  One  has  not  a  keener  sense  of  the  touch 
of  fire  than  of  any  contact  with  profaneness,  after  he  has  been 
sanctified  by  the  grace  of  God. 

Finally — The  kind  son  and  the  dutiful  servant  will  wish  to  have 
others  acquainted  with  their  father  and  their  master.  Their  own 
attachment  is  so  strong,  that  they  conceive  nothing  more  to  be 
necessary,  than  that  his  character  should  be  known,  in  order  to 
his  being  loved  and  respected.  Apply  this  test,  if  you  please,  to 
that  classs  of  men  who  have  no  pretensions  to  having  been  re- 
generated, but  who  still  insist  upon  it  that  they  love  God  and  are 
friendly  to  his  government  and  kingdom.  Do  they  wish  to  ex- 
tend the  knowledge  of  God  to  others !  Are  they  grieved  that  so 
small  a  portion  of  the  human  family  have  the  sacred  volume,  and 
that  those  who  have  it  know  so  little  of  its  contents  1  Do  we  find 
them  among  the  first  to  propagate  the  gospel  \  Are  they  deeply 
interested  in  the  great  work  that  is  at  present  going  on  the  Chris- 
tian world  1  Do  they  rejoice  at  every  new  translation  of  the 
scriptures!  And  are  they  ready  to  contribute  of  their  wealth  to 
propagate  the  truth  ?  All  this  must  follow  a  strong  attachment  to 
God.  And  if  things  be  otherwise  with  those  who  hope  that  they 
love  him,  there  is  somewhere  a  radical  mistake.  If  men  love  the 
God  of  the  Bible,  they  will  wish  others  to  have  the  Bible  that  they 
may  know  and  love  the  same  God.  If  they  doubt  the  truth  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  are  attached  merely  to  some  being  whom  they 
style  the  God  of  nature,  then  indeed  they  may  feel  indifferent 
whether  men  have  any  other  than  the  book  of  nature.  But  this  is 
deism  precisely,  and  men  would  be  ashamed,  in  the  present  day,  to 
advocate  a  system  that  is  becoming  obsolete.  In  fact,  there  is  no 
God  of  nature,  but  the  God  of  the  Bible.  He  who  built  the  hills 
and  built  the  sun,  inspired  the  book  of  grace,  and  is  the  only  God 
who  can  save  in  the  hour  of  distress.  Why  should  we  deceive 
ourselves  with  a  scheme  which  is  rotten,  or  be  content  that  others 
should  trust  their  souls  to  some  Jupiter  or  Moloch,  that  never  had 
any  existence  but  in  the  imagination  of  such  as  did  not  like  to  re- 
tain God  in  their  knowledge  1 

My  dear  readers,  we  must  come  to  the  conclusion  (and  the 
sooner  the  better)  that  there  is  no  religion  without  a  change  of 
neart.  '  Except  a  man  be  bom  again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  God."  We  must  have  that  same  religion  which  has  brought 
others  to  their  knees,  and  borne  them  to  the  place  of  prayer,  and 


OBEDIENCE  THE  PRACTICAL  TEST  OF  AFFECTION.        187 

and  cut  them  off  from  the  men  of  the  world,  and  rendered  them 
men  of  faith  and  of  devotion,  or  we  must  die  without  a?iy,  and 
perish  in  our  delusions.  Religion  cannot  be  shaped  to  please  a 
jarnal  mind — cannot  be  brought  down  to  the  frigid  taste  of  un- 
sanctified  men.  It  has  remained  the  same  in  all  ages,  and  will 
.•ontinue  to  demand  a  temper  which  unsanctified  men  do  not  feel, 
.  ml  a  conduct  which  they  do  not  exhibit. 

We  are  the  more  anxious  to  do  good  to  that  class  of  men  who 
have  been  brought  into  view,  because  we  see  many  excellences  in 
their  character.  They  are  neither  intemperate,  profane,  nor  false  ; 
they  are  civil,  and  decent,  and  kind,  and  hospitable  ;  they  are  often 
public-spirited.  Hence  true  religion  would  place  them  among  the 
first  on  the  list  of  useful  men.  We  grieve  to  see  them  lack  this 
one  thing  needful,  because  it  prevents  their  usefulness,  and  mars 
their  happiness. 

But  we  are  anxious  for  another  reason,  which  must  not  be  con- 
cealed. We  think  they  are  entirely  mistaken  in  their  hopes  of 
future  happiness.  We  fear  their  death-bed  will  be  a  scene  of 
stupidity  or  of  horror.  We  apprehend,  (and  if  we  are  deceived 
still  we  are  honest,)  that  they  are  in  imminent  danger  of  being 
lost  for  ever.  Their  religion  has  too  little  to  do  with  a  Savior  : 
it  nourishes  too  high  an  opinion  of  works;  it  is  too  frigid,  too 
thoughtless,  too  prayerless  ;  it  is  too  much  afraid  of  the  cross;  is 
not  sufficiently  humble,  watchful,  circumspect,  heavenly-minded. 
We  fear  it  is  not  the  religion  of  the  gospel,  and  will  avail  them 
nothing  in  the  last  day.  We  think  it  important  that  they  examine 
their  hopes,  before  it  be  too  late  ;  and  if  they  find  that  they  have 
not  a  religion  which  will  stand  the  test  of  the  last  day,  they  should 
bow  immediately  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Why  should  men  in- 
trench themselves  in  a  refuge  of  lies,  to  be  demolished  by  the  hail 
of  the  last  day,  and  leave  them  unsheltered  in  the  midst  of  that 
fearful  storm. 

If  God  be  a  Father,  honor  him.  Devote  your  life  to  him,  and 
yield  him  your  richest,  best  affections.  Be  ashamed  of  no  duty 
which  he  requires ;  shrink  from  no  sacrifice  he  demands  ;  and  let 
the  world  know  that  you  are  not  ashamed  of  your  Father. 

If  he  be  a  Master  honor  him.  Make  his  law  your  study,  and 
consider  his  service  your  freedom.  Then  you  will  at  last  hear 
him  say  to  you,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant,  thou  hast 
been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many 
things  :  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  It  will  then  be  your 
privilege  and  your  honor  to  serve  him  in  some  more  elevated 
sphere  of  usefulness  for  ever. 


SERMON  XIV. 

THE  CHRISTIAN'S  SHEET  ANCHOR. 

rsALM  cxix.  116. 
Uphold  me  according  unto  thy  word,  that  I  may  live  ;  and  let  me  not  be  ashamed  of  my  hope 

Few  words  in  the  English  language  are  used  more  loosely  than 
the  word  hope.  If  one  feels  desirous  that  God  may  hereafter  re- 
new him,  he  assures  us  that  he  is  not  without  hope  ;  if  he  expects 
to  be  saved  without  conversion,  he  hopes ;  and  if  he  presumes 
without  any  evidence  that  he  is  now  a  child  of  God,  he  possesses  a 
hope.  None  of  these  examples  gives  us  the  proper  use  of  the 
word.  Hope  always  fixes  on  a  future  good,  and  rests  on  present 
evidence.  David  anticipated  future  and  eternal  blessedness  in  the 
presence  of  his  Lord,  and  he  had  present  evidence  for  believing 
that  he  should  enjoy  this  future  good.  But  he  was  still  a  sinful 
man,  for  there  is  no  man  that  liveth  and  sinneth  not.  His  repeated 
transgressions  interrupted  his  hope.  If  he  should  at  last  fail  of 
the  expected  glory  he  knew  it  would  expose  him  to  shame  and 
contempt  in  the  view  of  all  those  who  knew  of  his  former  expecta- 
tions. He  professed  to  love  the  Lord — had  often  expressed  his 
confidence  in  his  covenant  faithfulness,  and  had  been  pronounced 
to  be  the  man  after  God's  own  heart.  And  after  all  this,  to  fail  of 
heaven,  and  Jind  himself  associated  with  God's  enemies,  would  be 
dreadful  beyond  the  power  of  description  or  conception. 

Hence  he  prays,  u  Uphold  me  according  unto  thy  word,  that  I 
may  live."  He  was  confident  that  the  true  believer  would  persevere. 
God  had  given  his  word  that  he  would  uphold  his  people,  and 
David  prays  that  God  would  do  as  he  had  promised.  He  believed, 
too,  that  the  spiritual  life  of  the  saint  was  in  the  hands  of  God. 
The  expectation  that  I  may  live  is  founded  on  the  calculation  that 
God  will  uphold  me  according  unto  his  word.  That  holy  man 
had  no  confidence  in  his  own  strength.  God  must  keep  him,  or 
he  should  at  last  be  ashamed  of  his  hope.  Brethren,  the  same 
apprehensions,  and  the  same  prayer,  will  become  us  all. 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    SHEET    ANCHOR.  189 

To  understand  the  foundation,  the  nature,  and  the  operations  of 
that  hope  of  which  we  shall  not  at  last  be  ashamed,  is  a  high  and 
valuable  attainment.  To  designate  such  a  hope  will  be  my  present 
object. 

I.  That  we  may  not  at  last  be  ashamed  of  our  hope,  it  must  ori- 
ginate in  a  change  of  the  temper  of  the  heart.  The  hopes  of  many 
have  a  far  different  origin.  Some  presume  that  they  are  fair  can- 
didates for  heaven,  because  they  have  been  kept  from  the  pollutions 
into  which  many  others  have  plunged.  Their  parents  were  more 
watchful,  and  they  were  placed  in  different  circumstances  from 
other  youth,  and  grew  to  manhood  uncontaminated  by  the  vices  of 
the  age.  And  they  presume  that  their  exemption  from  vice  is  the 
result  of  religion.  Like  the  young  man  in  the  gospel  they  think 
themselves  fair  candidates  for  heaven,  and  very  deserving  of  uni- 
versal esteem,  because  they  have  been  kept  from  the  grosser 
transgressions  of  the  divine  law,  ascribing  to  divine  grace  what  is 
the  effect  of  mere  restraints. 

Others  have  confidence  in  their  good  estate,  because  in  some 
period  of  seriousness  they  had  exercises  resembling  those  of  which 
others,  now  believers,  were  the  subjects.  They  saw  themselves 
to  be  in  danger,  had  some  compunctions  of  conscience,  felt  great 
distress  and  at  length  obtained  relief.  Immediately  they  presumed 
that  they  were  new  creatures,  and  were  confirmed  in  the  strong 
belief  that  they  should  see  the  kingdom  of  God ;  and  upon  this 
hope  they  have  lived  ever  since. 

Others  have  been  at  some  period  of  their  life  the  subjects  of  a 
partial  reformation.  They  have  broken  off  from  some  grosser 
crimes,  are  become  more  civil  and  decent,  and  although  they  can 
relate  no  exercises  resembling  the  operations  of  grace,  yet  ven- 
ture to  hope  that  there  has  been  a  secret,  silent  operation  upon 
their  hearts.  Of  their  religion  little  more  can  be  said  than  that 
"  the  unclean  spirit  has  gone  out." 

Some  build  their  hope  on  an  opinion  which  others  have  incau- 
tiously expressed  with  regard  to  them.  Some  one,  perhaps  a  per- 
son not  qualified  to  judge,  has  expressed  the  conviction  that  they 
were  believers,  they  grasped  at  the  opinion  expressed,  and  believ- 
ed it  true,  and  rest  their  souls  on  this  sandy  foundation. 

Others  hope  for  salvation  because  they  have  been  admitted  to 
the  communion.  In  an  evil  hour  the  doors  of  the  church  were 
thrown  open  so  wide,  that  they,  with  all  their  impenitence  and  un- 
belief, found  admittance.     They  are  now  treated  as  Christians,  and 


190  toe  christian's  sheet  anchor. 

addressed  as  such,  and  having  committed  no  overt  act  sufficient  to 
expel  them  from  the  communion,  the  delusion  becomes  every  day 
stronger  and  stronger.  No  one  would  suspect  them  of  piety  were 
they  not  seen  at  the  Lord's  table,  and  but  for  this  fact  they  would 
entertain  no  hope  of  admittance  into  heaven.  Forgetting  that 
many  will  at  last  cry,  and  be  rejected,  "  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not 
eaten  and  drunk  in  thy  presence,"  they  fold  their  arms  confident 
that  heaven  is  theirs  for  ever. 

Others  have  hoped  because  of  some  dream  or  vision  in  which 
Jesus  opened  his  arms,  or  heaven  its  portals  to  their  reception.  A 
voice  seemed  to  proclaim,  "  Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee,"  or  a  text 
of  Scripture  providentially  promised  them  salvation.  Thus  they 
rest  their  perishing  souls  upon  a  straw. 

Brethren,  none  of  these  things  are  the  origin  of  that  hope  of 
which  we  shall  not  be  ashamed.  It  must  begin  in  a  change  of  tem- 
per. The  carnal  mind  must  be  regenerated.  The  heart  of  stone 
must  be  taken  away,  and  there  must  be  given  a  heart  of  flesh.  Old 
things  must  pass  away  and  all  things  become  new.  There  must 
begin  in  the  soul  a  divine  life.  God  must  be  loved  and  Christ  re- 
ceived by  faith.  The  man  must  be  born  of  God,  and  there  must 
appear  the  unquestioned  features  of  a  new  man.  Christ  must  be 
formed  in  us  the  hope  of  glory.  Such  must  be  the  commencement 
of  our  religion,  or  the  time  will  come  when  we  shall  be  ashamed 
of  our  hope. 

II.  That  we  may  not  at  last  be  ashamed  of  our  hope,  it  must  ren- 
der us  holy. 

"Every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him  purifieth  himself  even 
as  he  is  pure."  And  we  are  taught  the  same  truth  in  this  text — 
"  Christ  in  you,  the  hope  of  glory."  Now  Christ  can,  in  no  other 
sense,  be  in  the  believer,  than  as  his  doctrines  form  our  creed,  his 
temper  reigns  in  our  hearts,  his  example  guides  our  steps,  and  his 
love  engrosses  our  affections.  To  hope  for  salvation  through 
Christ,  this  hope  must  render  us  like  Christ.  The  design  of  reli- 
gion is,  that  through  its  influence,  God  may  "purify  unto  himself 
a  peculiar  people  zealous  of  good  works."  We  read  of  a  hope 
that  maketh  not  ashamed,  because  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad 
in  the  heart.  Gospel  hope  is  joined  with  faith  and  love,  and  will 
not  be  found  alone.  "  Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  charity."  He, 
then,  whose  hope  does  not  make  him  a  better  man  will  know  the 
pain  of  finding  his  hope  perish  when  God  taketh  away  his  soul.  It 
is  a  question  placed  beyond  all  controversy,  that  he,  who  is  begot- 


THE  CHRISTIAN  S  SHEET  ANCHOR.  19i 

ten  again  to  a  lively  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from 
the  dead,  will  rise  with  him  to  newness  of  life.  The  man,  then, 
whose  life  and  conversation  is  such  that  he  can  hardly  support  a 
profession,  whose  associates  have  no  hope  that  he  is  a  believer,  and 
with  whom  the  children  of  God  can  have  no  fellowship,  may  rest 
assured  that  his  hope  will  one  day  render  him  ashamed.  To  sup 
port,  in  the  view  of  men,  a  fair  profession,  is  certainly  a  small  part 
of  the  duties  of  a  Christian  :  for,  in  addition  to  ail  this,  we  must 
"keep  the  heart  with  all  diligence  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of 
life."  When  the  Christian  has  appeared  with  advantage,  in  the 
view  of  others,  still  he  has  a  mighty  warfare  in  his  own  bosom, 
and  will  have  occasion  to  wonder  at  last  if  he  finds  himself  in  hea- 
ven. Holiness  of  life,  then,  is  an  indispensable  associate  of  that 
hope  that  maketh  not  ashamed. 

III.  That  we  may  not  at  last  be  ashamed  of  our  hope,  it  must 
bear  examination. 

If  we  are  afraid  to  examine  our  religion,  lest  it  should  be  found 
not  to  be  the  religion  of  the  gospel,  there  is  evidence  of  conscious 
hypocrisy.  We  are  to  be  always  ready  to  give  a  reason  of  the 
hope  that  is  in  us  with  meekness  and  fear,  and  if  we  are  to  be  al- 
ways ready  to  give  a  reason,  we  must  always  have  one ;  and,  if  we 
have  one,  we  shall  not  be  afraid  to  examine  the  ground  of  our 
hope.  Those  who  have  a  good  hope  through  grace  can  have  no 
fear  as  to  the  result  of  an  examination. 

Hope  is  spoken  of  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul  sure  and  steadfast — 
but  an  anchor  is  a  useless  appendage  if  there  be  no  bottom  in 
which  it  can  be  cast.  Those  who  lose  their  hope  as  soon  as  they 
examine  it,  who  are  plunged  into  doubt  and  darkness  whenever 
they  inquire  into  their  state,  have  a  hope  which  assuredly  will 
make  them  ashamed.  Hence  the  exhortation,  "  Examine  your- 
selves whether  ye  be  in  the  faith — prove  your  own  selves." 

IV.  That  Ave  may  not  at  last  be  ashamed  of  our  hope  it  must  live 
without  an  effort.  We  shall  bend  all  our  efforts  to  be  holy  and  our 
hope  will  support  itself. 

He  who  finds  it  difficult  to  support  the  hope  that  he  is  a  believer, 
and  must  be  for  ever  grasping  at  every  word  and  thought  that  may 
afford  him  confidence  in  his  good  estate  is  a  very  doubtful  charac- 
ter. While  the  Christian  agonizes  to  keep  his  feet  in  the  path  of 
life,  he  hangs  very  loosely  by  his  hope  ;  while  lie  strives  to  enter 
in  at  the  strait  gate,  he  considers  it  far  less  important  that  he  sup- 


J 92  the  christian's  sheet  anchor. 

port  constantly  the  unshaken  belief  that  he  has  entered  in  ;  the 
hypocrite  takes  more  pains  to  keep  alive  his  hope,  than  to  warm 
his  heart.  It  is  far  easier  to  wrest  from  a  Christian  his  hope,  than 
to  wrest  it  from  a  self-deceiver.  Let  a  close  and  trying  sermon 
be  delivered,  and  it  will  be  frequently  found  that  God's  people  and 
no  others  have  resigned  their  hopes.  I  hey  dare  examine  the  state 
of  their  religion,  and  they  will  examine,  be  the  consequence  what 
it  may.  If  the  result  is  an  abandonment  of  their  hope,  this  but 
humbles  them,  and  they  return  to  God,  their  hope  revives,  and  they 
are  made  happy.  But  he,  whose  hope  embodies  all  his  religion, 
has  to  make  a  perpetual  effort  to  keep  that  hope  alive,  and  has 
through  the  whole  of  this  effort  many  apprehensions  that  he  shall 
at  last  prove  a  cast-away.  He  feels  and  he  assures  us  that  he 
would  not  give  up  his  hope  for  a  world ;  but  it  would  be  worth  ten 
thousand  worlds  to  him  if  he  would.  It  is  his  mistaken  hope  that 
prevents  him  from  being  alarmed.  He  is  on  the  very  brink  of 
death,  but  he  dreams  that  all  is  well,  and  his  dreams  hold  him  pro- 
foundly asleep,  and  multiply  the  dangers  that  await  him. 

V.  The  hope  that  maketh  not  ashamed  is  always  interrupted  by 
sin,  while  the  hypocrite  retains  his  hope  unimpaired  in  the  midst 
of  transgression.  When  the  Christian  commits  sin  he  is  conscious 
of  acting  out  of  character,  and  his  hope  trembles.  He  knows  that 
piety  from  its  very  nature  is  at  war  with  every  corruption,  and 
that  nothing  but  perfect  redemption  can  still  the  quarrel.  It  is,  to 
pursue  the  figure,  on  both  sides  a  war  of  extermination.  Hence 
the  least  disposition  to  parley  with  sin  mars  the  hope  of  heaven. 
But  we  have  seen  the  profane,  the  drunkard,  the  false,  the  conten- 
tious, the  prayerless,  and  every  other  species  of  transgressors 
hold  fast  to  their  hope  while  they  were  led  captive  by  sin.  Per- 
haps we  can  name  no  sign  that  is  darker.  To  entertain  a  hope  of 
salvation,  that  is  unshaken  by  sin,  argues  a  morbid  conscience  and 
an  unbelieving  heart.  It  evinces  the  absence  of  every  soft,  and 
tender,  and  holy  affection,  and  settles  the  point  that  Christ  has  not 
there  impressed  his  image.  Oh,  how  many  with  a  hope  like  this, 
have  passed  on  unsanctified  to  the  death-bed,  and  have  at  last  found 
their  hope  perish  when  God  taketh  away  the  soul. 

VI.  That  we  may  not  be  ashamed  of  our  hope  others  must  have 
a  higher  opinion  of  our  piety  than  ourselves. 

Unless  there  be  something  distressingly  wrong  in  our  lives, 
others  will  feel  more  favorably  towards  us  than  we  do  toward  our- 


THE    CHRISTIAN  S  SHEET   ANCHOR.  193 

selves.  Suppose  there  is  nothing  in  our  life  very  immoral,  still 
there  may  be  coldness  and  indifference  to  religion,  worldly-mind- 
edness,  covetousness,  neglect  of  duty,  lightness,  and  folly,  which 
will  render  the  hopes  of  others  for  us  small,  but  if  our  own  hopes 
continue  undiminished  our  case  will  be  dark.  The  Christian  will 
give  others  better  evidence  of  his  piety  than  himself,  because 
others  can  only  survey  the  externals  of  the  man,  while  he  sees  the 
sink  of  iniquity  in  his  own  heart  and  feels  all  its  base  and  mis- 
chievous operations.  The  Christian  would  find  it  comparatively 
easy  to  obtain  salvation  if  nothing  more  was  necessary  than  to  be 
pious  in  the  esteem  of  others.  And  yet  we  know  that  the  Christian 
finds  it  no  easy  matter  to  still  the  tongue  of  slander.  Our  Lord 
himself  could  not  so  live  as  to  silence  calumny  and  detraction. 
His  apostles  were  vilified,  and  all  who  are  faithful  in  Christ  Jesus 
must  suffer,  and  still  it  is  comparatively  easy  so  to  live  that  men 
shall  be  able  to  say  nothing  against  our  Christian  character  and  say 
the  truth.  God's  people  cannot  make  bad  men  love  them  while 
they  follow  Christ  ;  but  they  may  so  live  that  all  their  slanders 
shall  be  false,  and  all  their  reproaches  groundless, — may  give  their 
bitterest  enemies  unequivocal  evidence  that  they  love  their  Master, 
while  yet  they  may  judge  very  unfavorably  relative  to  themselves. 
The  fruits  of  their  religion,  better  seen  by  others  than  themselves, 
will  be  fair  and  wholesome.  Thus  will  operate  that  hope,  which 
maketh  not  ashamed  :  it  will  give  others,  not  its  possessor,  decisive 
evidence  of  its  stability. 

VI.  That  we  may  not,  at  last,  be  ashamed  of  our  hope,  it  must 
put  us  upon  earnest  endeavors  to  reach  the  object  of  our  hope.  If 
heaven  is  the  object  of  our  hope,  we  shall  endeavor  to  brino-  so 
much  of  heaven  down  to  earth  as  possible.  That  good  which  we 
wait  for  with  eager  desire  we  perpetually  anticipate,  and  thus  taste 
beforehand.  The  amazing  good  in  prospect  will  employ  to  reach 
it  every  power  of  the  soul.  It  is  known  to  the  good  man  that 
barriers,  nuu'.erous  and  formidable,  block  the  way  of  life.  The 
danger  of  final  disappointment  is  great.  The  indolent  will  fall 
short  of  the  prize.  We  arc  assured  that  "  the  kingdom  of  Hea- 
ven suffered!  violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by  force."  The 
apostle  says,  "I  count  not  myself  to  have  apprehended,  but  this 
one  thing  I  do,  forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind,  and 
reaching  forth  to  those  things  which  are  before,  I  press  toward  the 
mark,  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus"' 
The  believer  will  labor  and  be  anxious  to  know  what  is  the  hope  of 
25 


194-  THE    CHRISTIAN  S    SHEET    ANCHOR. 

his  calling,  and  what  the  riches  of  t lie  glory  of  Christ's  inheritance 
in  the  saints.  Heaven  will  be  viewed  as  worth  all  the  pains  that 
can  be  taken  to  reach  that  world.  There  will  be  great  wrestling 
in  prayer.  The  soul  will  put  forth  all  its  energies  to  break  its 
May  through  the  barriers  of  death  to  the  fields  of  light.  The  true 
believer,  counting  the  things  unseen  as  infinitely  surpassing  the 
things  seen  and  temporal,  will  labor  earnestly  for  the  meat  which 
endureth  to  everlasting  life.  It  will  he  seen  that  he  is  aiming  at 
something  great  and  invaluable.  In  the  pursuit  of  this  good, 
every  minor  object  will  lose,  comparatively,  its  value  ;  will  sink 
from  his  view,  and  leave  his  mind  absorbed,  and  his  heart  su- 
premely set  upon  God  and  his  kingdom.  He  will  not  count  his 
own  life  dear  to  him,  "not  having  on  his  own  righteousness,  Avhich 
is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith"  of  Christ,  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith.  In  one  word,  the  man 
who  has  chosen  God  as  his  portion,  and  heaven  as  his  home,  will 
be  in  earnest.  A  few  dull  prayers  and  a  few  listless  efforts  will 
not  satisfy.  He  will  feel  that  he  has  entered  upon  a  race,  and  that 
a  crown  of  glory  is  the  prize.  Hence,  he  will  lay  aside  every 
weight,  and  run  with  patience.  Then,  on  reaching  the  end  of  his 
race,  his  hope  will  not  make  him  ashamed,  nor  will  he  be  ashamed 
of  his  hope.     I  close  with  a  few 

REMARKS. 

I.  The  subject  should  urge  us  to  examine  ourselves,  and  render 
us  willing  to  be  examined. 

The  danger  of  being  deceived  is  great  ;  and  the  consequences 
of  such  deception  irreparable.  How  unspeakably  horrid  to  find 
on  the  death-bed,  or,  perhaps,  at  the  very  instant  that  we  are  dy- 
ing, that  our  hope  is  a  dream.  It  is  too  late  to  repair  the  mis- 
chief, or  have  it  repaired.  There  is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor 
knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave,  whither  we  hasten.  To  know 
that  the  character  is  formed,  and  find  it  a  had  character — the  des- 
tiny is  fixed,  and  fixed  in  perdition;  no  language  can  depict  the 
despair  and  horror  of  such  a  discovery.  Hence,  if  we  can  know 
the  worst  of  our  case,  before  we  die,  how  desirable! 

1.  The  subject  should  render  us  submissive  and  thoughtful  in 
every  scene  of  life,  by  which  God  tries  our  hope  and  proves  our 
faith.  Comparatively,  it  is  of  no  importance  what  we  suffer  here, 
if  we  may,  by  these  sufferings,  be  waked  from  our  delusions  and 
escape    the    wrath    to  come.     If  our  enjoyments    in  the    present 


THE    CHRISTIAN  S    SHEET    AACH0R.  195 

world  should  be  in  some  measure  diminished,  it  is  a  matter  of  small 
moment,  if  by  this  means  we  can  be  qualified  for  the  rest  and  en- 
joyment of  heaven.  If  we  find  that  the  fruits  of  our  afflictions  are 
to  take  away  sin,  we  may  rather  rejoice  that  God  will  deal  with 
us  so  kindly.  The  early  Christians  took  joyfully  the  spoiling  of 
their  goods,  knowing  in  themselves  that  they  had  in  heaven  a  bet- 
ter and  an  enduring  substance.  If  our  hope  in  heaven  is  unwaver- 
ing, it  must  be  about  all  that  the  good  man  needs — it  is  that  far 
more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory  that  must  satisfy  us, 
even  if  it  be  an  inheritance  in  reserve. 

3.  If  our  hope  is  such  that  we  expect  not  to  be  ashamed  of  it  at 
the  last,  let  us  not  be  ashamed  of  it  now. 

Men  are  often  seen  to  conduct  as  if  they  were  mortified  at  the 
idea  of  being  considered  believers.  They  have  been  known  to 
make  an  effort  to  conceal  the  fact  that  they  had  taken  upon  them 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They  are  now  ashamed  of 
their  hope,  or  rather,  of  the  Savior  who  is  professedly  the  object 
of  their  hope  ;  and  our  apprehension  is,  that  he  will  be  ashamed 
of  them  when  he  shall  appear  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  and  of  the 
holy  angels. 

4*.  In  that  hope,  of  which  we  shall  not  at  last  be  ashamed,  we 
may  now  rejoice.  "  Which  hope  we  have,"  says  an  apostle,  "  as 
an  anchor  of  the  soul,  sure  and  steadfast,  and  entering  into  that 
within  the  veil."  Thus  our  present  hope  has  to  do  with  the  joys 
of  heaven.  It  is  the  privilege  of  those  who  have  a  good  hope 
through  grace  to  rejoice  and  be  happy.  The  child  of  God  is  not 
called  to  gloominess,  and  darkness,  and  sorrow,  and  apprehension. 
He  is  the  only  man  that  can  be  happy,  whatever  scenes  may  open 
around  him.  "  Though  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall 
fruit  be  in  the  vines :  the  labor  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the  fields 
shall  yield  no  meat :  the  flock  shall  be  cut  offfrom  the  fold,  and  there 
shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls  ;  yet  he  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  will 
joy  in  the  God  of  his  salvation."  He  has  nothing  to  fear  but  sin  ; 
God  will  take  care  that  nothing  else  hurt  him,  if  he  will  be  careful 
not  to  be  destroyed  by  sin.  "  For  I  am  persuaded  that  neither 
death  nor  life — nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers  — nor 
things  present,  nor  things  to  come — nor  height  nor  depth — nor 
any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord."  "All  things  are  yours; 
whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world  ;  or  life  or  death  ; 
<>r  things  present  or  things  to  come;  all  are  yours;  and  ye  are 
Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's." 


196  THE    CHRISTIAN  S    SHEET    ANCHOR. 

5.  To  so  live  as  to  sustain  a  high  hope  of  heaven  is  the  waj  to 
die  in  peace,  with  anticipated  prospects  of  future  blessedness. 
This  remark  is  founded  on  the  conclusion  that  Christ  will  prove 
faithful  to  his  dying  people  :  his  promise  is,  "  I  will  never  leave, 
I  will  never  forsake  thee."  This  promise,  I  have  supposed,  must 
mply  that   Christ  will  be  present  with  the  dying  Christian. 

If  on  this  subject  I  am  mistaken,  then  this  remark  goes  for  no- 
thing.    Oh  !  may  it  not  deceive  the  people  of  God  ! 

I  have  sometimes  tried  to  believe  that  the  matter  was  otherwise, 
and  I  have  thus  reasoned :  If  the  people  of  God  are,  at  any  period 
of  life,  peculiarly  unfaithful,  or  if  they  have  spared,  to  a  miserably 
late  hour,  some  darling  lust,  same  right  eye  sin,  from  which  the 
covenant  of  God  secures  their  final  emancipation,  he  may  punish 
them  for  this  on  the  bed  of  death,  and  then  suffer  them  to  be  saved, 
"though  as  by  fii'e."  And  that  passage  which  seems  to  intimate, 
that  when  flesh  and  heart  fail  us,  God  may  be  the  strength  of  our 
heart  and  our  portion.  But  after  all  that  has  been  said,  the  hope 
that  I  may  wake  up  in  death,' and  put  forth  a  repentance  that  shall 
reach  back  and  cover  the  sins  of  a  life-time  ;  or  shall  reach  many 
months  back,  and  secure  my  pardon  when  flesh  and  heart  is  fail- 
ing, and  then  save  me  the  necessity  of  being  holy  in  early  life,  is 
rather  an  attempt  to  hang  the  hope  of  heaven  on  a  spider's  web. 
And  when  I  have  thus  provided  a  hope  for  some  departed  friend, 
and  who  died  in  horrid  darkness,  that  I  fear  is  lost,  I  hardly  dare 
rest  my  own  soul  upon  the  fabric  I  have  erected.  May  the  God 
of  mercy  give  you  a  good  hope,  through  grace,  that  shall  not  per- 
ish when  he  taketh  away  the  soul !  May  that  hope  brighten  up  in 
death,  and  be  uttered  like  that  of  Simeon's,  in  a  song  that  angels 
love  to  hear  :  "  Now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  ac- 
cording to  thy  word,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation." 

6.  To  live  with  this  high  hope,  is  to  speak  when  Ave  are  dead. 
It  is  said  of  one,  that  though  dead  he  yet  speaketh.  Of  Enoch  it 
is  said,  "  He  walked  with  God,  and  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him." 
His  story  will  continue  to  be  told  as  long  as  there  is  a  single  volume 
of  the  book  of  God  still  in  use.  And  every  believer  who  dies, 
triving  high  hopes  of  heaven,  and  maintains  a  life  consistent  with 
those  hopes,  leaves  a  savor  of  godliness  behind  him  that  will  shine 
through  scores  of  years,  and  be  brighter  and  brighter  when  the 
sun  has  gone  into  total  darkness. 

There  is  an  eternity  attached  to  the  moral  actions  of  every  be- 
liever that  can  no  more  become  extinct  than  the  rays  of  light  from 


THE    CHR1STIAIS  S    SHEET    ANCHOR.  19"} 

the  sun  can  melt  away  while  the  sun  still  shines.  The  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  believer's  light,  and  will  shine  upon  them  for  ever — 
and  they  by  his  light  see  light — and  the  light  they  see  they  reflect 
for  ever.  Hence  every  believer  is  a  light  that  cannot  go  out — 
when  removed  from  earth  he  will  go  to  shine  in  a  nobler  sphere — 
a  star  of  light  for  ever. 

7.  This  subject  should  show  the  ungodly  how  unprepared  they 
are  to  die.  What  would  be  a  preparation  to  die,  is  a  preparation 
to  live. 


SERMON  XV. 

HEAVENLY  FELLOWSHIP. 

1    JOHN    I.    3. 
And  truly  our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ. 

There  is  an  interchange  of  relationship  and  affection  between 
the  parts  of  God's  holy  kingdom,  which  it  is  delightful  to  contem- 
plate. There  is  no  doubt  a  sublime  and  holy  fellowship  between 
the  different  persons  of  the  Godhead,  laying  a  foundation  for  unin- 
terrupted and  never-ending  enjoyment.  There  is  a  communion 
and  a  friendship,  reciprocal  and  permanent,  between  God  and  an- 
gels, and  between  him  and  glorified  spirits,  and  this  fellowship  is 
kindly  extended  to  the  members  of  the  church  militant.  "  Our 
fellowship  is  with  the  Father  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ." 
What  an  enterprise  of  grace,  to  establish  communion  between  a 
world  of  rebels  and  their  Maker  !  And  how  surprising,  brethren, 
that  our  repeated  provocations  should  not  have  cut  us  off*  from  this 
communion. 

It  will  be  my  object  to  remark  upon  the  nature  and  extent  of 
this  fellowship.  It  is  acknowledged  to  be  a  subject  on  which  one 
can  obtain  no  distinctness  of  views  without  the  aid  of  experience. 
If  it  should  be  a  precious  hour  with  you  the  next  time  you  come 
to  meet  him  at  his  table,  and  Christ  should  bring  you  into  his  ban- 
queting house,  and  spread  over  you  the  banner  of  his  love,  you 
will  learn  more  of  the  nature  of  this  fellowship  in  that  single  hour, 
than  would  be  taught  you,  by  a  gospel  ministry,  unassisted  by  that 
experience,  in  a  century.     We  are  told 

I.  That  our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father.  This  fellowship  origi- 
nates, 

1.  In  the  relation  of  Creator  and  creature.  Here  is  opened  the 
first  intercourse  between  heaven  and  earth.  Creatures  drop  from 
his  hand,  and  immediately  raise  their  eye  to  him  as  the  Author  of 
their  being.  On  this  relationship  is  founded  a  most  endearing  in- 
tercourse. God  must  take  pleasure  in  viewing  his  creature,  in 
seeing  it  precisely  the  being  of  his  choice,  and  encouraging  it  to 


HEAVENLY    FELLOWSHIP.  199 

lean  upon  his  arm  ;  and  the  creature,  till  alienated  by  some  ill-fat- 
ed apostacy,  must  take  pleasure  in  surveying  the  uncreated  excel- 
lences of  his  Maker.  This  relationship  extends  to  unholy  beings 
as  entirely  as  to  those  that  are  holy,  but  through  the  influence  of 
depravity  it  generates  in  their  case  no  fellowship.  God  abhors 
the  vessel  he  has  formed,  and  the  potsherd  strives  with  his  Maker 
It  is  only  where  the  relationship  has  not  been  sundered  by  aposta- 
cy that  it  becomes  the  basis  of  a  pleasant  and  permanent  commu- 
nion. 

2.  There  exists  between  believers  and  their  heavenly  Father 
the  relationship  of  Benefactor  and  recipient,  constituting  a  medium 
of  delightful  fellowship.  His  hands  daily  dispense  our  blessings. 
What  he  gives  us  we  gather.  He  opens  his  hand  and  we  are 
abundantly  supplied.  Conscious  of  our  dependence,  we  approach 
his  throne  by  prayer,  and  spread  our  wants  before  him,  and  he  is 
pleased  with  our  confidence  and  encourages  us  to  repeat  our  re- 
quests. Thus  through  the  medium  of  a  kind  and  watchful  provi- 
dence, there  is  kept  open  an  intercourse  between  heaven  and  earth. 
The  benefits  being  dispensed  with  benevolence,  and  received  with 
ingenuous  gratitude,  lead  to  pure  and  holy  fellowship  between  the 
dispenser  and  the  beneficiary.  God  is  also  the  benefactor  of  un- 
godly men,  but  his  benefits  are  not  received  with  thanksgiving, 
nor  spent  obediently,  hence  there  is  opened  between  God  and  them 
no  delightful  intercourse.  They  receive  his  mercies  as  the  beast 
feeds  in  his  pastures,  and  drinks  at  the  brook,  unmindful  of  his 
Benefactor. 

3.  The  relation  of  Lawgiver  and  subject  creates  a  tender  and  in 
teresting  fellowship.  The  moral  Governor  makes  known  his  willv 
gives  to  law  its  sanctions,  issues  promises,  and  presents  motives 
to  obedience,  and  the  dutiful  subject  becomes  cheerfully  the  Lord's 
servant,  and  thus  is  generated  an  interesting  communion.  God  is 
present  by  his  Spirit  to  expound  his  law  ;  and  his  subjects  waiting 
to  know  the  will  of  their  sovereign,  take  pleasure  in  obedience, 
and  are  loved  by  their  Lord.  Hence  the  infinite  space  between 
God  and  man  is  filled,  and  the  heart  of  the  Lawgiver  and  his  sub- 
jects mingle  their  affections,  in  a  grand  and  noble  fellowship 
There  is  the  same  relationship  between  God  and  his  disobedient 
subjects.  Devils  are  the  subjects  of  God's  moral  government,  and 
will  be  under  obligation  to  obedience  for  ever,  but  depravity  mars* 
and,  when  it  is  total,  destroys  communion. 

4.  That  which  crowns  the  whole,  which  blesses  all  the  other 
re'ationships,  and   is   finally  the  principal  source  of  communion,  is 


'200  HEAVENLY    FELLOWSHIP. 

the  mutual  attachment  which  subsists  between  God  and  his  people. 
He  lias  put  his  fear  in  their  hearts,  has  brought  them  to  delight  in 
his  statutes,  and  to  walk  in  them,  and  they  have  chosen  him  as 
their  Lord.  They  claim  him  as  their  Father,  and  they  are  owned 
by  him  as  his  dutiful  children.  They  approve  all  his  character 
and  delight  in  his  praise,  and  he  takes  pleasure  in  them,  puts  upon 
them  his  own  beauties,  makes  them  what  he  can  love,  and  then 
loves  them.  Thus  we  have  fellowship  with  the  Father,  and  this 
fellowship  will  be  increasingly  sweet  till  we  are  prepared  for  his 
presence,  and  are  joined  to  the  full  assembly  of  the  Church  of  the 
first-born  in  heaven. 

II.  Not  only  have  we  fellowship  with  the  Father,  but  with  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ.     With  him  we  have  fellowship, 

1.  As  Redeemer  and  redeemed.  When  we  we  had  forfeited  our 
life  at  the  hand  of  justice,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  took  our  place, 
and  bore  our  sins.  To  him  we  owe  our  escape  from  hell,  and  that 
escape  he  purchased  with  his  bloody  sweat  and  dying  groans. 
The  price  of  our  redemption  could  be  no  less  than  the  life  of  the 
Redeemer.  And  now,  from  the  throne  of  his  glory,  he  dispenses 
the  blessings  which  he  died  to  purchase,  to  those  who  are  made 
willing  in  the  day  of  his  power.  These  thankfully  receive,  and 
daily  rejoice  in  the  fruits  of  his  redeeming  love.  Thus  is  opened 
between  the  Savior  and  his  people  an  inexhaustible  resource  of 
pure  and  precious  fellowship 

2.  We  are  in  fellowship  with  the  Redeemer  as  the  head  and  the 
members.  Says  an  apostle,  "  We  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his 
flesh  and  his  bones."  He  is  to  his  people  a  source  of  spiritual 
life,  and  they  in  a  sense,  not  to  be  fully  told,  constitute  the  body 
of  Christ.  Their  life  is  hid  in  him,  and  from  him  circulates  through 
nil  his  members,  as  the  natural  head  governs  the  vital  principles 
of  the  body.  Hence  he  views  his  people  as  parts,  precious  parts, 
of  himself. 

The  figure  is  changed,  but  the  same  idea  is  retained,  when  he  is 
called  the  vine,  and  his  people  the  branches.  We  know  that  thcy 
live  only  by  their  union  to  the  vine.  Thus  the  Church  daily  de- 
rives its  strength  and  its  life  from  Christ.  For  their  nourishment 
he  has  graciously  provided  on  earth-a  gospel  feast,  and  in  heaven 
an  endless  banquet ;  and  if  any  hungry,  thirsty  soul  would  see 
Christ,  he  will  be  there  to  sustain  him  with  the  bread  of  heaven. 
I  hope  many  of  my  readers  will  feel  the  truth  of  the  text.  The 
avenues  of  this  communion  will  be  opened,  and  we  shall  know  the 


HEAVENLY    FELLOWSHIP.  OQ| 

blessedness  of  having  fellowship  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ. 

When  we  view  the  Redeemer  in  his  human  nature,  there  are 
still  other  sources  of  fellowship. 

We  fellowship  him  in  his  sufferings.  From  him  and  from  us  God 
in  his  wisdom  may  hide  his  face.  When  he  cried  out,  "  My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  V  he  came  so  into  our  place 
that  we  can  sympathize  with  him.  The  believer  is  sometimes 
deserted  of  the  sensible  presence  of  his  Lord.  In  such  a  case, 
our  trial  is  similar,  but  probably  far  less  dreadful  than  his.  Hence, 
under  the  frowns  of  Heaven  he  pitied  us,  and  we  have  a  very  sen- 
sible fellowship  with  him. 

Or  if  men  rise  upon   us   in   malice,  persecute  us,  cast  out  our 
names  as  evil,  and  account  us  the  disturbers  of  the  peace,  or  even 
nail   us   to  a   cross,  Christ  can  fellowship   us.     He   is  at   present 
raised   above  the   malice   of  men,  but  he  did  bear  their  reproach. 
He  has  not  forgotten  the  impious  band  that  united  to  achieve  his 
ruin.     The  scribes,  pharisees,  Sadducees,  the  high   priest,  Pilate, 
Judas,  and  the  whole   sanhedrim  united  their  forces  for  his  over- 
throw.    Though  in  heaven,  he  still  recollects  the  fraud,  the  false- 
hood, the  treachery,  and  malice,  which  lined  his  path  and  set  his 
temple  with  thorns.     He  can  never  forget  the  ingratitude  of  that 
generation  whose  diseases  he  healed,  whose  leprosies  he  cleansed, 
whose  ears  he  unstopped,  whose  blind  he  enlightened,  whose  poor 
he  fed,  whose   sins   he   pardoned,  and  whose  dead  he   raised.     In 
these  matters  we  have  not  a  High  Priest  who  cannot  be  touched 
with  our  infirmities,  but  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are, 
yet  without  sin.     Hence,  between  him  and  his  people,  when  called 
to  similar  trials,  there  is  a  fellowship  of  sufferings.     To  have  been 
fellow-sufferers    in   the   same   exile,   the   same   prison,    the   same 
bondage,  the  same  shipwreck,  or  the  same  wilderness,  creates,  you 
know,   an    endearing  fellowship.      And,  brethren,   it   will  endear 
Christ  to  us,  and  us  to  him,  for  ever,  that  we  have  passed  the  same 
desert,  and  were  beset  by  the  same  race  of  unpitying  beings.    And 
the  promise,  you  know,  is,  that   if  we  suffer  with   him,  we  shall 
also  reign  with  him. 

And  we  have  experienced  together  the  malice  of  the  same 
tempter.  He  knew  the  intrigues,  felt  the  buffetings,  and  bore  the 
malice  of  the  adversary.  He  still  remembers  the  forty  days  in  the 
wilderness,  and  can  furnish  us  with  the  same  weapons  with  which 
he  conquered.  And  we  are  not  ignorant  of  his  devices.  Still  he 
goeth  about  as  a  roaring  lion  seeking  whom  he  may  devour.  But 
26 


?02  HEAVENLY    FELLOWSHIP. 

in  all  our  sufferings  from  his  malice,  our  Redeemer  is  nigh  to  help 
us,  and  has  fellowship  with  us  in  our  trials. 

And  the  same  is  true  of  the  sufferings  incident  to  human  nature. 
He  endured  hunger,  thirst,  want,  pain,  and  poverty.  "  The  foxes 
have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man 
hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head."  The  best  birth-place  that  could 
be  furnished  him  was  a  manger,  the  best  home  a  cottage,  and  the 
best  offering,  when  his  mother  was  purified,  a  pair  of  doves.  And 
his  life  was  oppressed  throughout  with  the  same  poverty.  He  eat 
bread  in  the  swreat  of  his  face,  and  was  glad  to  rest  his  bones  on  a 
bed  of  straw.  Hence,  if  his  people  are  poor,  if  they  lack  bread,  or 
raiment,  or  home,  or  friend,  or  offering,  he  feels  for  them  ;  and 
there  is  produced  an  endearing  fellowship.  If  Christ  will  pass  with 
us  through  the  same  vale  of  poverty,  and  through  the  same  scenes 
of  want,  neglect,  disease,  and  pain,  we  can  utter  no  complaint. 

Even  in  death  the  fellowship  remains  unbroken.  He  felt  and 
suffered  under  the  cold  chills  of  death,  and  that  the  most  painful. 
His  tender  nerves  quivered  on  the  ragged  nails,  his  temples  bled 
under  the  thorns,  and  his  heart  upon  the  point  of  the  spear.  Hence 
Christ  can  fellowship  us  when  we  die.  We  shall  meet  with  him 
in  the  valley,  and  his  rod,  and  his  staff  will  comfort  us.  How  sweet 
will  it  be  to  have  fellowship  with  him  there ! 

And  we  can  have  fellowship  with  him  in  his  resurrection.  He 
has  passed  through  all  the  terrors  of  the  grave,  he  has  lighted  that 
prison,  has  chased  away  the  glooms  of  the  vault,  and  has  prepared 
for  us  a  song  against  that  hour,  "  Oh,  death,  where  is  thy  sting'!' 
He  has  secured  to  his  followers  a  happy  resurrection.  Angels 
heard  him  exclaim,  as  he  rose,  "  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the 
life ;  he  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he 
live  ;  and  he  that  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die."  He 
has  styled  himself  the  first  fruits  of  the  resurrection,  and  we  shall 
all  have  fellowship  with  him  in  his  escape  from  the  damps  of  the 
sepulchre.  As  he  is  our  head,  if  we  love  him,  we  shall  rise  with 
him  to  everlasting  life.  How  sweet  to  have  so  finished  a  fellow- 
ship with  our  Redeemer. 

But,  after  all  this  is  said,  the  grant!  medium  of  fellowship  is 
holy  love.  We  must  have  complacency  in  his  character,  and  he 
in  ours,  that  our  sympathies  may  be  perfect.  He  must  clothe  us 
with  his  own  beauties  before  he  can  fellowship  us,  and  we  must 
have  a  spiritual  discernment  of  his  excellences.  Hence,  how  cer- 
tain that  impenitent  men  can  hold  no  communion  with  him.  And 
how  undeniable  that  our  fellowship  with  him  in  the  coming  world 
will  be  more  perfect  than  in  the   present.     We  shall  then  see  him 


HEAVENLY    FELLOWSHIP.  203 

as  he  is,  and  our   love   to  him   will  be  perfect.     Let  us  attend  a 
little  to  this  future  and  more  perfect  fellowship. 

1.  Our  fellowship  will  hereafter  be  richer  and  sweeter,  as  we 
shall  leave  behind  us  all  our  fears  and  doubts.  There  remains  so 
much  iniquity  in  all  our  hearts,  that  the  most  holy  have  much  oc- 
casion to  fear  that  they  shall  never  reach  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
And  in  all  our  duties,  and  our  songs,  our  feasts,  these  fears  are  pre- 
sent to  alloy  our  pleasures.  But  when  Christ  shall  appear  we  shall 
be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is.  The  redeemed  shall  be 
confirmed  in  a  state  of  holiness  and  happiness.  Our  fears  will  be 
gone,  the  conflict  ended,  the  foe  defeated,  the  prize  won,  and  the 
palms  of  victory  awarded.  Then  what  a  sweet  communion !  On 
looking  back  we  shall  see  the  wilderness  all  trodden  over,  not  an- 
other snare  or  pit  in  our  path,  not  another  serpent  to  bite,  nor  foe 
to  assail.  Jordan  and  the  desert  behind,  our  feet  planted  on  the 
hills  of  promise,  and  our  hearts  at  rest.  We  may  descry  other 
pilgrims,  toiling,  weary,  tempted,  trembling,  u  faint,  yet  pursuing," 
but  our  own  case  happily  decided.  And  who  can  calculate  what 
joy  he  shall  feel  when  his  fears  are  gone,  how  sweet  that  marriage 
supper  where  there  will  mingle  no  apprehensions  of  disappointment. 

2.  Our  fellowship  will  be  more  enlightened.  Here,  at  the  best, 
we  see  but  through  a  glass  darkly.  Every  view  we  take  of  Christ 
and  truth  is  limited  and  obscure,  but  in  heaven  we  shall  know  even 
as  we  are  known.  This  is  a  dark  world,  that  will  be  lighted  by  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  And  our  communion  with  the  Re 
deemer  will  increase  its  pleasure,  in  proportion  to  our  increase  of 
light. 

3.  The  fellowship  of  heaven  will  not  be  disturbed  with  unbelief. 
Faith  will  have  done  its  work  and  be  changed  to  vision.  The  veil 
will  be  rent,  every  object  of  faith  be  a  reality,  and  the  things  un- 
seen be  distinctly  developed.  If  at  present,  though  now  we  see 
him  not,  yet  believing,  we  can  often  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory,  how  increased  will  be  that  joy,  and  how  unsul- 
lied that  glory  when  our  eyes  shall  see  him ! 

4.  Our  communion  in  heaven  will  be  enhanced  by  the  absence  of 
every  unbeliever.  We  shall  have  no  apprehension  that  any  traitor 
has  taken  his  seat  with  us  at  the  heavenly  banqui  t.  They  that  were 
ready  will  have  gone  into  the  marriage,  and  the  door  will  be  shut. 
The  tares  will  have  been  gathered  up.  In  the  apostolic  family  there 
will  be  no  Judas.  We  shall  cheerfully  extend  the  fellowship  we 
feel  to  all  who  shall  drink  with  us  of  the  river  of  the  water  of  life. 

*>.  And  what  is  a  still  richer  thought,  we    shall   be   holy.     No 


204  HEAVENLY  FELLOWSHIP 

body  of  sin  and  death  will  be  there  to  mar  the  feast.  Every  cor- 
ruption will  be  cured,  every  grace  made  perfect.  The  Redeemei 
will  frown  upon  none  of  the  holy  family.  Oli,  can  it  be  that  1  shall 
be  there,  and  you  brethren,  so  changed!  No  guilty  conscience  to 
spoil  our  fellowship.  We  shall  feel  that  we  have  a  right  there,  shall 
apprehend  no  wrong  motive,  shall  fear  no  repulse,  and  be  disturbed 
with  no  wrong  affections.  This  busy  world  will  not  intrude  its 
cares,  to  mar  our  pleasures  and  pollute  our  offerings.  As  we  shall 
yield  ourselves  to  the  Redeemer  in  every  song,  there  will  be  no  re- 
serve. He  will  be  seen  to  deserve  the  whole  heart,  and  the  whole 
will  be  his.  No  other  object  will  claim  a  share  in  our  worship,  or 
divert  the  current  of  our  affections.  Hence  our  communion  with 
the  Redeemer  will  be  uninterrupted,  and  unalloyed.  Every  act  of 
fellowship  will  raise  us  higher,  and  still  higher  in  the  scale  of  be- 
ing, till  at  length  we  shall  find  our  hearts  glowing  with  an  ardor 
akin  to  that  which  angels  feel,  and  our  song  vying  with  theirs  in  the 
sweetness  of  its  melody.  Brethren,  let  it  be  our  paramount  con- 
cern to  equip  ourselves  for  this  sublime  and  immortal  fellowship. 

6.  There  is  something  pleasant  in  the  thought  that  we  shall  not 
carry  to  the  heavenly  banquet  these  weak  and  dying  bodies.  At 
these  communions  we  are  liable  to  be  faint  and  weary.  Sabbaths 
and  ordinances  lose  at  present  much  of  their  sweetness  through 
the  morbid  influence  of  a  diseased  body.  The  spirit  is  willing  but 
the  flesh  is  weak.  We  tire  amid  the  heavenly  road.  Hence  many 
of  our  tears,  hence  many  of  our  groans,  and  much  of  our  gloom 
and  despondency.  But,  when  once  we  have  breathed  the  air  of 
heaven,  we  shall  feel  all  the  vigor  of  youth,  we  shall  tire  no  more, 
we  shall  be  dull  no  more.  And  how  rich  an  ingredient  will  this  be 
in  our  future  fellowship! 

Finally. — In  the  coming  world  our  fellowship  with  Christ,  and 
with  his  holy  family  will  continue  uninterrupted  for  ever.  Much 
of  our  comfort  in  prayer,  and  in  the  ordinances,  and  in  all  our 
acts  of  devotion  in  the  present  life,  is  destroyed  by  the  intruding 
thought  that  the  season  will  terminate.  If  we  had  begun  to  taste 
the  blessedness  of  heaven,  and  had  almost  forgotten  that  Ave  were 
in  the  body,  we  were  soon  reminded  of  our  mistake,  and  were  con- 
strained to  descend  and  have  our  ardor  cooled  by  a  flood  of  world- 
ly cares.  These  Sabbaths,  and  these  communions  have  their 
periods.  We  shall  find  nothing  permanent  till  we  come  to  heaven, 
and  there  nothing  will  be  transitory.  Our  song  and  our  fellowship 
will  be  increasingly  new  for  ever. 


SERMON    XVI. 

THE  WISE  BUILDER.* 

PROVERBS    XIV.    1. 

Every  wise  woman  buildeth  her  house. 

It  is  rem  irkable  that  the  Scriptures  have  adapted  their  instruc- 
tion to  every  character  and  condition  in  human  life.  Here  the  fa- 
ther and  the  master,  the  son  and  the  servant,  learn  their  duties. 
•Here  the  husband  and  the  wife,  the  child,  the  youth,  and  the  old 
man  ;  the  magistrate  and  the  monarch  are  each  instructed  in  his 
respective  obligations.  Hence  every  one  should  study  that  book, 
and  form  a  character  after  the  model  it  exhibits.  The  text  will 
lead  me,  as  you  perceive,  to  address  one  great  division  of  the  hu- 
man family.  This  division  includes  about  half  of  our  race.  It 
will  be  my  object  to  exhibit  some  thoughts  calculated  to  aid  in 
forming  the  female  character.  The  text  suggests  a  natural  di- 
vision, and  will  lead  me  to  describe  the  wise  woman,  and  show  that 
such  a  woman  will  build  up  her  house. 

I.  I  am  to  describe  the  wise  woman.  It  will  be  obvious  that  in 
this  description  I  must  not  confine  myself  to  any  particular  age  or 
situation,  but  must  follow  her  through  all  the  various  offices  and  re- 
lationships which  she  may  be  called  to  sustain.  I  observe,  then  in  the 

1st  place — That  she  must  know  how  to  manage  with  prudence  and 
care  the  concerns  of  a  family.  All  other  qualifications  combined 
would  never  atone  for  deficiency  here.  Inspiration  declares  it  the 
business  of  the  woman  "  to  guide  the  house."  Where  the  mother 
is  a  cipher  in  her  family,  it  deranges  every  domestic  concern,  and 
is  a  certain  prelude  to  poverty  and  misery.  No  other  person  can 
feel  the  interest,  or  endure  the  fatigue,  requisite  to  the  discharge 
of  these  duties.  Hence  the  daughter,  who  for  any  reason  what- 
ever, is  kept  ignorant  of  domestic  concerns,  is  rendered  incapable 
of  filling  the  station  which  the  God  of  nature  has  assigned  her. 
And  to  be  willing  to  remain  ignorant  argues  a  depraved  taste.  It 
should  be  our  aim  to  prepare  ourselves   to  be  useful  in   the   place 

*  Prepared  anil  delivered  nt  a  (lunation  party  given  by  the  ladies  of  his  congregation   during  the 
author's  residence  at  Amherst,  Mass. 


206  THE    WISE    BUILDER. 

assigned  us,  and  to  fill  that  place  with  dignity  and  honor.  Hence 
every  daughter,  and  every  wife,  should  cheerfully  habituate  herself 
to  the  burden  of  domestic  care. 

How  many  when  they  had  thought  themselves  equipped  for  the 
direction  of  a  family,  have  needed  to  learn  the  first  principles  of 
domestic  economy.  That  taste  which  prepares  a  female  to  adjust 
the  ornaments  of  her  house,  is  not  sufficient,  nor  that  wealth 
which  can  furnish  it  with  elegance;  nor  that  ruggedness  which 
can  endure  the  drudgery  of  home  ;  nor  the  whole  combined. 
Health  is  an  invaluable  blessing,  and  a  fine  taste  is  a  source  of 
much  comfort,  and  wealth  has  its  value ;  but  in  connection  with 
all  these,  there  must  be  a  nice  and  accurate  knowledge  of  domes- 
tic economy,  to  render  a  Avife  a  help-meet.  The  husband  is  ru- 
ined who  does  not  find  his  house  a  respectable,  social,  neat,  and 
happy  home.  If  he  can  be  more  happy  in  any  other  house  than 
his  own,  he  is  a  lost  man. 

2.  A  wise  woman  will  improve  her  taste,  and  her  manners.  By 
taste,  in  this  connection,  1  mean  a  relish  for  the  beauties  of  nature 
and  of  art  ;  and  by  manners,  a  suitable  expression  of  a  good  taste. 
Some  taste  is  indispensable  in  the  decent  and  respectable  manage- 
ment of  a  family.  The  design  of  the  domestic  relations  was  the 
augmentation  of  social  blessedness.  Mere  subsistence  is  not  ah 
we  need,  but  all  we  can  acquire  without  some  improvement  of  taste  : 
and  no  faculty  is  more  improvable.  Its  improvement  must  add  to 
our  innocent  enjoyment,  and  was  given  us  for  this  purpose. 

I  am  aNvarc  that  many  have  been  considered  proud  because  they 
exhibited  taste.  But  the  probability  is,  that  one  can  be  as  proud 
of  his  hovel  and  his  rags,  as  another  of  his  palace  and  his  dress. 
I  have  seen  beings  in  the  shape  of  men,  who  were  proud  of  their 
deformities,  and  have  exhibited  no  shame  when  they  had  acted  the 
ape,  and  played  the  mastiff.  They  are  proud  who  treat  with  neg- 
lect or  contempt  their  equals  or  inferiors ;  or  exhibit  scorn 
towards  those  who  cannot  make  the  same  show  as  themselves  of 
beauty,  learning,  or  riches.  But  all  this  has  no  connection  with 
taste,  except  to  evince  its  absence 

Why  should  not  tne  improvement  of  this  faculty  as  well  as 
others,  render  us  happy  1  Why  are  the  civilized  more  happy  than 
the  savage  !  Why  is  the  landscape  spread  out  before  us  unless  an 
improved  taste  may  derive  pleasure  from  the  view?  One  univer- 
sal and  dull  monotony  would  have  served  every  purpose  of  xitil'thj, 
aside  from  the  pleasures  of  taste.  The  flower  might  have  had 
but  one  hue,  and  the  rainbow  but  one  color,   if  taste   is   a  useless 


THE    WISE    BUILDER.  20T 

faculty.  The  varied  sceneries  of  spring,  harvest,  and  winter,  are 
useless,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  but  to  the  eye  of  taste.  Has  the 
wise  Creator,  who  in  everything  else  had  his  purpose,  painted  na- 
ture in  the  richest  variety  of  shade  without  design  \  He  cannot 
be  charmed  himself  with  these  created  beauties,  and  the  brute  has 
no  relish  for  variety  and  harmony.  If  done  for  men,  and  done  in 
vain  till  the  taste  be  cultivated,  how  incumbent  on  all  who  would 
be  happy  to  prepare  themselves  to  see  a  God  employed  in  paint- 
ing the  beauteous  landscape  !  The  female  especially,  whose  taste, 
when  cultivated,  is  exquisitely  delicate,  who  would  answer  the  end 
of  her  being,  and  take  pleasure  in  the  variety  and  beauty  of  God's 
works,  will  not  permit  a  talent  so  useful  to  be   unimproved. 

And  with  her  taste  there  is  no  fear  that  she  will  not  improve  her 
manners.  I  acknowledge  that  this  is  a  species  of  improvement 
which  relates  principally  to  the  present  world,  but  it  has  an  impor- 
tant bearing  upon  religion.  The  Bible  enjoins  it  upon  us  to  be 
courteous ;  it  qualifies  us  to  make  our  religion  useful  ;  it  repels 
prejudice,  and  gives  us  readier  access  to  the  heart.  Ease  of  man- 
ners will  procure  us  friends,  extend  our  influence,  and  increase  our 
usefulness.  In  a  female,  it  creates  a  dignity  which  commands  re- 
spect, an  enchanting  softness  that  ensures  esteem.  It  is  not  reli- 
gion, but  it  is  her  handmaid,  and  is  not  beneath  the  dignity  of  a 
minister  to  teach  or  a  Christian  to  learn. 

'6.  A  wise  woman  will  aim  to  improve  her  mind.  This  department 
of  our  nature,  to  which  we  ascribe  perception,  thought,  reason, 
and  judgment,  is  capable  of  vast  enlargement.  It  is  at  first,  like 
the  body,  small  of  stature  ;  and  its  first  operations,  like  the  infant 
actions,  are  feeble.  Like  the  body  it  grows  to  maturity  by  nutri- 
ment ;  or  by  neglect,  may  remain  through  life  in  its  infant  state. 
It  is  amazing  how  circumscribed  are  the  limits  of  thought  in  some 
whose  years  indicate  wisdom.  When  they  should  have  explored 
much  of  the  natural  and  moral  world,  their  minds  have  scarcely 
left  the  threshold  of  their  habitation  And  ignorance  is  sure  to  fos- 
ter base  affections.  Hence  pride,  envy,  jealousy,  censoriousness, 
suspicion,  and  calumny.  The  ignorant  judge  of  every  object  by 
their  own  limited  experience.  Every  action  and  every  object  is 
brought  to  the  standard  of  their  own  contracted  apprehensions;  is 
hewn  down,  and  shaped  and  moulded,  to  their  own  dwarfish  concep- 
tions. Hence  one-half  of  the  tumult  and  misery  of  our  world. 
The  ignorant  have  within  themselves  no  source  of  happiness,  and 
they  are  a  barrier  to  the  happiness  of  others.     Like  some  dull  do- 


208  THE    WISE    BUILDER. 

mestic  animal,  they  never  go  abroad  for  food,  but  stay  rather  and 
starve  about  the  place  of  their  home. 

The  mind  is  enlarged  by  receiving  ideas,  and  by  using  them  as 
materials  of  thought  and  reasoning.  And  these  materials  may  be 
collected,  not  merely  from  books,  but  from  the  volume  of  nature, 
ind  from  every  event  of  providence  and  of  grace.  To  enlarge  the 
mind  is  merely  to  learn  to  think  wisely  ;  and  is  the  duty  of  all,  to 
whom  God  has  kindly  given  the  power  of  thought. 

To  be  willing  to  remain  ignorant,  is  to  feel  indifferent  whether 
God's  great  object  in  our  creation  be  accomplished.  We  have  at 
present  only  begun  our  existence  ;  we  are  destined  to  a  nobler 
state.  If  we  prove  obedient  subjects  to  God's  holy  kingdom,  he 
will  continue,  by  his  providence  and  his  grace,  to  ennoble  our  na- 
tures for  ever.  The  infant  in  its  mother's  arms,  if  not  injured  by 
her  who  should  be  its  best  friend,  is  yet  to  be  an  angel.  All 
through  eternity  we  may  hope  that  it  will  be  still  rising  to  a  no- 
bler stature.  "It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be."  And 
happily  we  live  in  an  age  when  no  man  presumes  to  say,  that  the 
female  mind  possesses  any  natural  imbecility,  which  must  neces- 
sarily cramp  its  growth,  or  depress  its  manly  stature. 

Every  wise  woman,  then,  will  enlarge  her  mind  ;  will  read,  ana 
think,  and  reason.  She  will  be  especially  ambitious  to  grow  in  the 
knowledge  of  God  ;  will  become  acquainted  with  her  own  being, 
and  with  being  in  general ;  that  she  may  be  the  more  happy,  and 
the  more  useful.  Sisters,  mothers,  there  lies  a  world  around  you, 
and  within  your  reach,  which  it  is  your  duty  to  explore.  It  rests 
with  you  to  determine  whether  you  will  carry  with  you  to  the 
grave  a  contracted  mind,  or  a  mind  large  as  the  regions  of  space. 
Men  have  been  found  base  enough  to  libel  your  characters,  and 
have  pronounced  the  female  sex  made  for  servitude.  The  re 
proach  is  unmerited,  and  has  been  promptly  repelled.  It  belongs 
to  you  to  settle  this  question  for  ever,  and  show  the  slanderer  that 
you  are  capable  of  an  intellectual  dignity,  which  can  look  him  into 
deserved  contempt.  Endeavor  in  yourselves,  and  your  daughters, 
to  give  noble  examples  of  female  magnanimity  ;  to  reach  that 
growth  of  thought  thai  shall  make  yon  and  them  blessings  to  un- 
born generations,  and  to  the  world. 

4.  A  wise  woman  will  endeavor  to  enlighten  and  improve  her  con- 
science. This  is  that  faculty  of  the  soul  hy  which  we  weigh  the 
morality  of  an  action;  than  which  no  power  of  our  nature  is  more 
susceptible  of  improvement.  To  improve  the  conscience  we  must 
crive  it  light,  and  let  it  guide  us.     Every  one  has  a  conscience,  and 


THE    WISE    EUILDER.  209 

will  be  guided  more  or  less  by  its  dictates,  in  the  way  of  life  or 
death ;  and,  if  that  conscience  be  uninformed,  or  misinformed,  it 
will  lead  us  on  the  route  to  ruin.  The  papist  is  conscientious 
when  he  worships  the  mother  of  Christ,  the  Mahometan  when  he 
stabs  his  brother,  the  Hindoo  when  he  immolates  his  offspring,  and 
the  Persian  when  he  prays  to  the  sun.  Paul,  while  he  persecuted 
the  saints,  thought  he  did  God  service.  There  is  no  calculating 
where  conscience  may  lead  us,  if  it  be  unenlightened  by  the  Bible 
or  the  Spirit  of  God.  Well  enlightened,  it  guides  us  to  happiness 
and  heaven.  But  wrong  will  not  become  right  because  we  are 
conscientious  in  the  wrong.  This  has  been  supposed  to  be  the 
meaning  of  that  text,  "  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he  ;" 
but  this  is  a  very  gross  perversion  of  a  very  plain  passage.  In  a 
female  a  tender  conscience  is  an  indispensable  ornament.  To  see 
her  fly  from  wrong,  as  the  tender  nerve  shrinks  from  the  touch  of 
fire,  is  her  highest  beauty.  It  casts  about  her  a  glory  Avhich  no 
slanderer  can  tarnish;  a  beauty  which  neither  time,  nor  care,  nor 
age,  nor  trials  can  deface.  She  will  have  honor  in  any  circle  where 
her  name  is  mentioned,  and  influence  in  whatever  concern  she  en- 
lists. These  will  attach  an  honor  to  her  offspring,  and  there  will 
rest  a  glory  upon  her  grave  that  will  long  survive  her  ashes. 

One  of  this  description  I  knew,  and  I  love  to  remember,  and 
mention  her.  Her  presence  awed  sin  into  shame,  rendered  the 
slanderer  dumb,  and  the  proud  humble.  All  about  her  loved  her, 
for  she  loved  them.  Unless  she  could  speak  well  of  her  neighbor 
she  was  silent.  Her  piety  was  respected,  because  her  conscience 
was  enlightened.  She  gathered  around  her  the  pious  and  the  wise, 
and  made  them  happy  till  she  was  summoned  to  heaven.  They 
wept  at  her  funeral,  and  her  mantle,  I  hope,  fell  on  some  who  wit- 
nessed her  ascension.  Her  children  were  respected  by  all  who 
knew  their  mother,  and  some  of  them  I  hope  will  enjoy  her  socie- 
ty in  heaven. 

A  female  without  a  conscience  is  a  frightful  character.  Her  hus- 
band can  have  no  confidence  in  her  fidelity,  and  who  can  guarantee 
the  character  of  her  children  1  No  prudent  man  will  make  her 
house  his  home.  Her  touch  pollutes,  and  her  embrace  is  death 
To  all  about  her  she  opens  the  avenues  of  infamy  and  hell.  To 
the  full  extent  of  her  influence  she  carries  misery  and  tears.  She 
destroys  her  children,  poisons  the  streams  of  friendship,  breaks  the 
bonds  of  affection,  and  chills  every  stream  of  social  and  celr-tial 
life.  And,  finally,  there  settles  upon  her  grave  a  dark,  black  cloud. 
a  cloud  in  which  there  is  no  bow  of  promise,  a  horrid  beacon  to 
27 


210  THE    WISE    BUILDER. 

unborn  generations,  warning  them  not  to  make  shipwieck  of  cen- 
se ience. 

5.  Jl  wise  woman  will  be  particularly  careful  to  cultivate  the  heart 
There  may  be  improvements  made  in  the  temper  and  affections  of 
the  heart,  aside  from  religion.  The  instinctive  affections  are  capa- 
ble of  improvement  by  other  means  than  grace.  Selfish  motives, 
or  an  improved  taste,  may  lead  us  to  become  tender,  affectionate, 
kind,  and  soft,  in  our  social  and  domestic  intercourse. 

Still  grace  is  the  only  effectual  source  of  right  affections.  The 
heart  is  naturally  too  hard  to  he  much  softened  by  any  other  than 
a  celestial  influence.  The  baser  passions  must  be  eradicated,  holy 
affections  infused  and  cultivated,  and  the  whole  life  made  new,  by 
the  same  creative  power  that  formed  us  at  first.  The  female  cha- 
racter when  otherwise  improved  is  still  essentially  defective  in  the 
absence  of  piety.  We  delight  to  see  them  disciplined  to  domestic 
care,  we  admire  an  improved  taste  and  an  enlightened  mind,  still 
more  a  tender  conscience,  and,  most  of  all,  a  pious  heart. 

Religion,  in  a  female,  secures  all  her  interests.  It  graces  her 
character,  promotes  her  peace,  endears  her  friendship,  secures  for 
her  esteem,  and  adds  a  dignity  and  a  worth  indescribable  to  all  her 
deeds.  How  sweet  when  the  mistress  of  a  family  is  the  handmaid 
of  the  Lord;  when  the  mother  of  children  is  an  example  of  piety  ; 
when  the  wife  of  the  bosom  is  espoused  to  the  Redeemer,  how  de- 
sirable that  the  daughter  be  a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ ;  that  the  sis- 
ter lean  on  his  arm,  who  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother;  that  the 
songsters  of  the  temple  belong  to  the  heavenly  choir !  How  plea- 
sant, when  the  absent  husband  can  think  of  home,  and  reflect  that 
angels  watch  the  place,  that  they  may  guard  the  interest  and  the 
health  of  his  heaven-born  companion,  and  the  children  of  the  cove- 
nant !  When  about  to  leave  her  a  widow,  and  commit  to  her  ex- 
clusive care  his  helpless  offspring,  how  consoling,  if  her  character 
is  such,  that  she  can  lean  upon  the  widow's  God,  and  put  her  chil- 
dren under  the  guardianship  of  Him  who  is  a  Father  of  the  father- 
less!  Then  he  quits  the  world  calm  and  happy,  supported  by  the 
hope  that  he  shall  meet  their  mother  and  them  all  in  heaven. 

Religion  has  a  peculiar  sweetness  when  it  mingles  with  the 
modest  softness  of  the  female  character.  So  the  dew-drop  bor- 
rows beauty  and  fragrance  from  the  rose. 

Females  need  the  comforts,  the  hopes,  and  the  prospects  of  re- 
ligion, more,  if  possible,  than  the  other  sex.  Subjected  peculiarly 
to  the  trials  of  disobedience,  and  the  weakness  of  a  feebler  consti- 
tution, their  state,  when  raised  by  improvement,  and  propped  with 


THE    WISE    BUILDER.  '211 

Christian  consolations,  is  still  a  state  of  subjection  and  pain.  Sup- 
pose one  of  your  number  yoked  to  a  husband  of  acid  temper,  and 
the  prey  of  disappointment  and  disease,  where,  but  from  heaven, 
does  there  dawn  upon  her  one  beam  of  light.  But  if  she  can  look 
upward  and  descry  a  place  of  rest  when  the  toils  of  life  are  fin- 
ished ;  a  home  where  she  may  be  happy,  a  friend  who  will  ever  be 
kind,  and  a  nature  raised  above  fatigue,  and  pain,  and  death — then, 
while  the  pains  of  living  are  softened  by  the  hope  of  dying,  and 
earth  blotted  out  by  the  glories  of  heaven,  she  can  exercise  patience 
and  submission  till  the  time  appointed  for  her  release.  Thus  re- 
ligion fills  the  cup  with  pleasure  that  was  full  of  gall,  converts  the 
veriest  hovel  into  a  palace,  and  adapting  the  spirit  to  its  lodgment, 
makes  it  happy.  Thus  the  hope  of  heaven,  if  that  hope  were  a 
dream,  smoothes  her  passage  to  the  tomb,  and  renders  religion 
essential  to  her  happiness. 

Thus  I  have  enumerated  some  of  the  qualifications  of  a  wise 
woman.  To  obtain  them  will  require  much  pains  and  many  sacri- 
fices, but,  when  acquired,  they  are  worth  more  than  worlds.  And 
if  time  may  be  spent,  and  pains  endured,  and  ease,  and  health,  and 
even  life,  sacrificed  to  acquire  riches,  which  at  the  best  are  poor, 
uncertain,  and  unsatisfying  ;  may  not  more  pain  be  endured,  and 
greater  sacrifices  be  made  in  acquiring  that  wisdom  that  will  ren- 
der us  happy  in  life,  in  death,  and  forever. 

Were  this  our  only  state,  intellectual  improvement  would  lose 
more  than  half  its  value  :  but  we  are  to  live  forever;  and  the  pre- 
sent state  is  preparatory  to  a  future.  This  is  but  the  infancy  of 
our  being,  and  the  mind  is  our  better  part,  and  is  capable  of  indefi- 
nite enlargement.  The  more  enlarged,  the  happier  will  be  our 
state  in  heaven,  and  it  may  be  our  lot  to  grow  in  knowledge  for 
ever.  Such  are  our  ideas  of  that  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory  promised  believers  in  the  coming  world. 

The  base  suggestion,  that  as  the  female  is  confined  at  home  she 
needs  no  intellectual  improvement,  has  long  since  been  repelled. 
She  may  pass  through  life  alone  ;  shall  she  become  the  prey  of  the 
first  villain  that  may  wish  to  rob  her  of  her  rights  \  And  if  united 
to  a  husband,  is  it  not  most  desirable  that  she  be  capable  of  I 
his  help-meet  1  The  laws  of  many  of  our  states,  have  wisely 
directed  that  the  daughter  share  equally  with  her  brother  in  the 
estate  of  the  father  ;  and  shall  she  not  be  capable  of  managing  her 
own  interest  1 

.Mothers  who  have  not  had  the  advantages  which  their  daughters 
now  have  for  improvement,  will  join  me  in  these  remarks, and  will 


212  THE    WISE    BUILDER. 

urge  their  daughters  to  husband  well  their  opportunities,  and  take 
a  high  and  dignified  station  in  the  grade  of  being.     But  I  proceed 

II.  To  show  that  a  wise  woman  buildeth  her  house.     The  lan- 
guage    is   figurative,   the   house   being   expressive   of  the  family. 
Hence,  to  build  her  house,  is  to  promote  the  best  good  of  her  hus 
band  and  her  offspring.     It  would  be  very  easy  to  show,  in  a  vari 
ety  of  particulars,  how  the  influence  of  a   wise  woman  must  sub- 
serve this  object.     We  are  not  afraid  to  inquire,  in  the 

1  Place — How  such  a  woman  will  affect  their  estate.  On  this 
subject  I  remark  she  will  not  render  them  poor.  Her  refined  feel- 
ings, and  ardent  piety,  may  expend  something  in  charity.  But 
this  will  not  diminish  their  wealth,  for  "  The  liberal  soul  shall  be 
made  fat."  If  she  should  perform  less  manual  labor  than  some 
others,  her  prudence  and  economy  will  make  amends,  and  more 
than  amends  for  the  loss  sustained.  Her  wisdom  will  save  more 
than  her  hands  could  earn.  Not  always  does  the  woman  who  can 
perform  the  most  labor  increase  most  her  husband's  estate.  Some 
have  labored  for  ever  and  yet  have  made  their  families  poor  because 
ignorant  of  domestic  economy.  Hard  labor  is  sometimes  asso- 
ciated with  wasteful  extravagance.  A  wise  woman  will  not  waste 
her  husband's  estate  in  extravagant  dress  and  ornaments.  These 
are  more  generally  the  marks  of  a  small  mind,  and  a  bad  taste. 
Those  who  are  first  in  the  fashion  are  sometimes  last  at  the  library, 
and  perhaps  are  never  there. 

But  if  her  books  and  her  charities  should  draw  upon  her  hus- 
band's  estate,  still  such  a  sister,  such  a  wife,  such  a  mother,  is  an 
invaluable  blessing.  "  A  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance 
of  the  things  which  he  possesseth."  Of  what  value  are  riches  but 
to  buy  comforts.  And  why  not  spend  some  of  our  wealth  to  feed 
the  mind^. 

But  I  have  hinted,  that  it  is  not  by  mere  dint  of  labor  that  the 
wife  performs  her  part  in  the  accumulation  of  estate.  Possessed 
of  an  improved  mind,  there  are  a  variety  of  ways  in  which  she 
can  advance  the  interests  of  her  family.  She  can  help  her  husband 
lay  his  plans,  can  teach  his  children,  can  draw  him  back  from  liti- 
gation, can  guide  his  concerns  in  his  absence,  expend  to  advantage 
the  fruits  of  his  industry — and,  in  ways  innumerable,  increase  their 
mutual  interest,  accommodation,  and  comfort. 

2.  She  will  render  her  family  respectable.  This  is  the  meaning 
of  that  remark  of  the  wise  man,  when,  speaking  of  the  virtuous 
voman,  he  says,   "  Her  husband    is   known  in  the   gates,  when  he 


THE    WISE    BUILDER.  213 

sitteth  among  the  eiders  of  the  land."  He  will  imbibe  from  her 
good  impressions  of  cbaracter,  and  may  rise,  through  her  unnoticed 
influence,  to  a  commanding  respectability.  How  often  are  child- 
ren regarded  with  attention  on  account  of  their  mother.  This 
alone  has  often  introduced  them  to  the  best  of  families.  How  it 
honored  Timothy  that  his  mother  and  grandmother  could  be  so 
respectably  mentioned  !  And  how  it  reproaches  Ahaziah  when 
said,  that  "  His  mother  was  his  counsellor  to  do  wickedly."  It  is 
probably  true  that  the  mother  does  more  to  give  her  house  its  cha- 
racter than  the  father.  And  not  unfrequently  does  the  wise 
woman  entail  respectability  to  her  children's  children. 

3.  She  will  render  her  family  happy.  She  will  so  manage  as  not 
to  irritate  their  passions,  she  will  concentrate  their  wishes,  and 
identify  their  interest.  Her  frown  will  suppress  every  quarrel,  or 
rather  her  wisdom  will  prevent  the  evil.  Her  example  will  breathe 
through  the  house  a  mild  and  soft  atmosphere,  that  will  soothe 
every  passion.  While  her  wisdom  will  enlighten  them  ;  her  indus- 
try will  make  them  love  employ  ;  her  subordination  to  her  hus- 
band, wiL  subject  them  to  her  authority  ;  her  prudence  will  render 
them  discreet,  her  sympathy  will  render  them  compassionate,  and 
her  active  benevolence  teach  them  charity.  Her  softness  will 
sweeten  their  manners,  her  gentleness  render  them  mild,  her  cour- 
tesy render  them  respectful,  her  ingenuousness  render  them  hon- 
est, and  her  discretion  teach  them  caution.  Her  modesty  will 
make  them  unassuming,  her  uprightness  render  them  just,  her  ten- 
derness make  them  affectionate ;  and  we  cannot  but  hope  that  her 
religion  will  render  them  pious. 

There  is  no  resisting  the  combined  influence  of  so  many  virtues. 
And  what  she  cannot  do  by  her  precepts,  and  her  examples,  she 
effects  by  her  prayers.  She  will  often  carry  them  in  her  arms  to 
heaven,  and  commit  them  to  his  care  who  can  sway  the  heart. 
This  done,  she  will  have  a  powerful  hold  upon  their  consciences. 
While  they  respect  her  and  love  her,  they  will  be  ashamed  and 
afraid  to  offend  her.  She  will  train  up  their  consciences  to  respect 
her  laws,  and  her  government  will  not  be  limited  by  her  presence. 
I  knew  a  case  when  the  son  was  afraid  to  disobey  the  mother,  even 
when  she  could  never  have  known  of  the  disobedience.  By  thus 
laying  restraint  upon  the  conscience  a  wise  woman  will  extend  her 
influence  to  unborn  generations.  She  will  generate  consciences 
like  her  own,  to  operate  when  hers  is  released  from  its  labors. 
Her  mantle,  as  she  ascends  to  heaven,  will  fall  upon  her  children, 
who  will  live  to  prolong  her  memory  and  build  her  house. 


C14-  THE    WISE    BU1LDEK. 

And  while  the  wise  woman  will  thus  bless  her  own  family,  she 
will  extend  a  happy  influence  to  others.  And  yet  all  the  good  she 
does  from  home  will  recoil  upon  her  own  head.  There  will  be  a 
reaction  that  will  bless  her  own  house.  Her  kindness,  her  hospi- 
tality, her  sympathy,  her  alms,  and  her  prayers,  will  return  into 
her  own  bosom.  While  she  scatters  blessings,  they  will  accumu- 
late at  home.  While  she  prays  for  others,  many  prayers  will  be 
offered  for  her  and  her  family.  While  she  feeds  the  poor,  poverty 
will  desert  her  doors.  While  she  sends  the  gospel  to  the  heathen, 
her  own  children  will  begin  to  live  :  thus  "  she  that  tarries  at  home 
will  divide  the  spoil."  She  generates  a  light  to  shine  into  distant 
lands,  and  the  reflected  beams  illumine  her  own  habitation.  And 
when  she  is  dead,  generations  unborn  will  read  upon  her  tomb, 
"  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed." 

REFLECTIONS. 

1.  Females  see  how  they  are  to  rise  in  the  scale  of  being.  Their 
state  has  always  been  a  state  of  subordination,  and,  in  some  coun- 
tries, incredibly  servile.  The  gospel  emancipates  them.  But  even 
in  gospel  lands  they  have  never  risen  so  high  as  they  may.  And 
they  must  rise  by  increasing  in  wisdom.  When  the  sun  would 
break  the  bars  of  winter  he  does  it  by  a  mild  and  gentle  influence. 
He  does  not  summon  all  his  fires,  and  storm  the  castle  of  winter 
with  lightnings.  He  merely  shines,  and  the  habitations  of  ice  and 
frost  feel  and  are  melted  by  his  beams.  So  the  female  sex  must 
soften  the  roughness  and  thaw  the  coldness  of  the  other  sex,  by 
constant  and  lucid  exhibitions  of  wisdom  and  goodness.  Men  can- 
not be  scolded  into  compassion,  nor  can  resist  the  melting  influ- 
ence of  distinguished  and  gentle  goodness. 

Si.  You  see  the  importance  of  supporting  good  schools.  If  your 
daughters  are  to  become  wise,  and  help  you  build  your  house, 
there  must  be  a  nursery  provided  where  they  may  grow.  They 
must  have  able  teachers,  and  leisure  for  the  acquisition  of  science. 
On  this  important  subject  the  public  pulse  still  beats  too  low.  We 
cannot  rear  a  wise  generation  without  expense,  care,  and  time. 

3.  We  see  the  importance  of  the  gospel.  In  its  absence  there 
would  be  nothing  left  that  the  wise  and  good  could  value.  And 
females,  although  they  have  no  vote  in  society,  have  always  ex- 
erted a  kind  influence  in  its  support.  But  for  them,  many  a  dis- 
trict in  Zion  had  been  laid  waste.  And  they,  in  the  mean  time, 
promote  their  own  mercies ;  for  the  moment  the  gospel  abandons* 
a  people  ieiuales  lose,  in  a  great  degree,  their  influence,  their  re 


THE    WISE    BUILDER.  215 

spectability,  and  their  comfort:  while,  under  its  benign  influence, 
they  are  wise,  respectable,  and  happy.  Hence  all  heathen  lands, 
and  other  countries  in  proportion  to  their  ignorance  of  the  gospel, 
are  marked  with  the  degradation  of  the  female  sex. 

4.  How  important  that  females  make  the  Scriptures  their  study. 
This  is  the  book  that  must  form  their  characters,  and  render  them 
wise  and  good.  This,  friends,  is  your  guide  to  honor,  happiness, 
and  heaven.  Make  it  the  man  of  your  counsel,  the  constant  com- 
panion of  your  solitude,  the  furniture  of  your  nursery,  the  subject 
of  your  morning  and  evening  study  ;  and  it  will  prove  the  nurse 
of  your  childhood,  the  monitor  of  your  youth,  the  light  of  your 
feet,  and  the  lamp  of  your  way;  till  at  length,  matured  in  its  doc- 
trines, and  habituated  to  its  duties,  it  will  be  your  stay  in  death, 
and  your  law  in  heaven. 

5.  But,  in  order  to  all  this,  you  must  be  born  again.  No  woman 
can  be  wise  and  not  pious.  If  you  die  unsanctifled,  you  will  feel 
yourself  to  be  a  fool  at  the  last,  though  possessed  of  every  other 
native  and  acquired  excellence. 

The  wife  can  be  the  means  of  rendering  her  husband  happy  or 
wretched,  now  and  for  ever.  To  make  him  happy,  let  the  conjugal 
affection  be  strong  and  tender.  Let  your  bosom  friend  discover 
in  you  a  cheerful  and  unwearied  attention  to  his  wants,  a  charity 
that  can  hide  his  faults,  a  patience  that  can  endure  his  roughness, 
a  meekness  that  can  soothe  his  passions,  and  a  piety  that  can  la- 
ment his  sins.  Let  him  know  that  you  have  neither  interest  nor 
character  distinct  from  his;  that  your  hopes  are  one,  your  joys 
one,  your  tears  one,  and  your  cares  one.  Then  you  touch  every 
tender  string  of  his  heart ;  he  becomes  kind  to  you  and  attentive 
to  the  gospel.  And  you  may  be  the  means  of  bringing  him  to 
heaven.  It  is  a  rare  case,  when  the  husband  is  in  no  degree  under 
the  influence  of  his  partner.  Let  that  influence  then  be  used  in 
rendering  him  holy  and  happy.  Then,  when  the  conjugal  tie  is 
sundered,  you  may  hope  to  rise  together,  and  be  kindred  spirits 
for  ever,  and  feel  a  warmer  and  still  warmer  attachment  through 
all  the  years  of  heaven. 

If  you  are  passing  through  life  alone  ;  or,  if  death  has  severed 
the  cords  that  bound  a  husband's  heart  to  yours,  and  no  beloved 
children  engross  your  cares,  then  is  there  a  miserable  world  that 
needs  your  blessing.  You  can  be  peculiarly  useful  in  making  a 
little  verdant  spot  around  you,  by  using  the  means  of  grace  on  all 
about  you,  and  urging  upon  them  the  considerations  of  life  and 
glory,  and  in  spreading  abroad  the  knowledge  of  God.     You  can 


216  THE    WISE    BUILDER. 

exert  an  influence  which  shall  wake  the  energies  of  a  sleeping  gen- 
eration. You  can  rouse  to  benevolent  exertion,  and  concentrate 
the  streams  of  charity,  that  flow  to  fertilize  the  wastes  of  a  ruined 
world. 

But  the  duty  of  mothers,  is,  if  possible,  still  greater.  Immortal 
beings  are  committed  to  your  care,  perhaps  to  be  saved  or  lost  by 
your  influence.  They  already  feel  the  effects  of  your  example, 
and  will  probably  feel  them  more  and  more  for  ever.  From  you, 
rather  than  the  father,  or  any  other  being  on  earth,  they  will  take 
their  character.  You  can  render  them  idle,  ungovernable,  selfish, 
and  malevolent.  You  can  teach  them  to  be  covetous,  proud,  en- 
vious, censorious,  unkind,  and  inhospitable.  You  can  form  them 
to  a  character  hated  of  men,  and  detested  of  angels  and  of  God. 
Oh!  none  like  you  can  qualify  them  for  everlasting  burnings.  Or 
you  can  teach  them  industry,  subordination,  and  benevolence;  can 
make  them  generous,  modest,  prudent,  kind,  and  hospitable  :  can* 
with  the  promised  blessing,  form  them  to  a  character  approved  of 
men,  and  lovely  to  angels  and  to  God.  Oh  !  none  like  you  can 
qualify  them  to  live  in  heaven.  God  has  given  you  that  influence, 
that  authority,  that  affection  and  access,  which  places  your  off- 
spring at  your  disposal.  To  whom  will  they  listen,  when  they  will 
not  hear  the  voice  of  a  mother  1  When  her  government  is  despis- 
ed, who  shall  control  them  ?  Who  shall  love  them  sufficiently  to 
teach  them,  when  maternal  affection  cools]  Who  shall  find  access 
to  their  consciences  and  their  hearts,  when  barred  against  the  ap- 
proach of  a  mother  1  Mother  !  the  name  is  very  sweet.  In  all 
the  majesty  of  maternal  love,  she  can  sit  down  by  the  heart  and 
conscience  of  her  child,  and  shape,  and  mould,  and  temper  it  al- 
most to  her  pleasure.  The  world  can  be  excluded,  and  every  pas- 
sion hushed  to  calmness,  by  her  maternal  sweetness  and  authority; 
while  in  the  midst  of  the  calm,  she  can  teach  them  divine  wisdom, 
fire  them  with  benevolent  affections,  and  give  their  minds  a  high 
and  heavenly  aspect. 

How  pleasant,  when  the  mother  may  teach  her  own  child.  If 
common  bent  volence  can  make  it  pleasant  to  teach  (mother's  chil- 
dren, how  delightful  the  work,  when  there  is  joined  to  this  bene- 
volence the  strong,  instinctive,  maternal  affection.  Who,  if  the 
mother  will  not,  shall  teach  the  child  to  pray,  and  lead  it  on  in  the 
way  to  heaven.  May  she  depend  on  a  stranger,  who  lacks  the  in- 
stinctive stimulus?  We  must,  not  forget  that  our  dear  children 
are  depraved,  and  will  choose  the  way  to  death  ;  are  in  a  world  full 


THE    wrSE    BUILDER.  217 

of  temptations,  and  must  inevitably  perish  if  permitted  to  pursue 
their  own  course. 

Mothers,  it  may  be,  that  your  children  are  fatherless,  and  are 
committed  to  your  exclusive  care.  To  you  it  is  left,  to  stamp  the 
last  impress  of  character,  and,  by  your  example  and  influence,  fix 
the  destiny  of  your  husband's  children.  A  voice,  while  I  address 
you,  issues  from  their  graves,  urging  me  to  my  duty,  and  you  to 
yours.  What  would  be  their  language,  if  your  deceased  husbands 
could  appear  in  this  assembly.  Would  they  not  with  all  the  elo- 
quence, which  death,  and  the  grave,  and  heaven,  and  hell  can  in- 
spire, say  to  the  mothers  of  their  children,  "  Oh,  teach  my  offspring 
the  way  to  heaven !  Keep  them  from  the  paths  of  the  destroyer. 
My  voice  cannot  reach  them ;  you  must  do  for  them  what  I  neg- 
lected. Farewell,  we  shall  meet  soon."  What  an  overbearing 
eloquence  would  there  be  in  an  address  like  this ! 

And,  while  the  father  lives,  it  is  especially  the  mother's  province 
to  form  the  character  of  her  daughters.  You  must  lead  them  on 
to  character,  to  happiness,  and  heaven.  They  wait  to  have  you 
offer  them  your  hand,  they  prize  your  counsel,  and  tremble  at  the 
prospect  of  passing  this  friendless  world  without  a  mother's  in- 
struction. Let  them  mingle  with  you,  and  form  their  characters 
under  your  eye,  that  they  may  have  profit  from  your  advice,  and 
may  find  you  their  guardian  in  the  hour  of  temptation.  If  years 
have  taught  you  any  thing  of  truth  and  duty,  let  that  knowledge, 
like  your  estates,  accumulate  in  its  descent.  Then  every  genera- 
tion would  be  wiser,  the  mother  would  live  again  in  her  children, 
and  soon  from  one  such  parent,  there  would  spring  a  whole  church, 
whose  holy  principles  and  correct  habits,  would  exhale  a  fragrance, 
that  would  sweeten  all  the  surrounding  moral  atmosphere. 

I  know,  that  in  order  to  all  this  the  mother  must  be  herself  a 
disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  She,  who  traverses  the  broad 
way,  cannot  conduct  her  offspring  to  heaven.  She  may  put  the 
Bible  into  their  hands,  but  her  example  will  teach  them  to  doubt 
its  doctrines,  and  hate  its  duties;  and  one  may  easily  presume 
which  they  will  believe.  And  yet  some  of  your  children  may  be 
saved,  and  you  perish.  The  covenant  of  God  may  bind  them  to 
a  pious  ancestry,  and  he  may  remember  his  covenant,  and  save 
them,  while  a  parent  is  lost. 

But,  as  many  of  my  hearers  are  youth,  part  of  my  address  should 
be  to  them.  Precious,  beyond  all  computation,  is  the  present  pe- 
riod of  your  life.  Your  prospect  is  now  joyful,  but  bye-and-bye 
the  retrospect  will  place  some  gloomy  shades  in  the  picture.  It  i.* 
28 


218  THE    WISE    BUILDER. 

but  honest  to  acquaint  you,  that  you  have  embarked  upon  a  deceit- 
ful sea.  The  present  is  calm,  but  soon  probably  your  course  will 
lead  you  athwart  the  storm.  There  are  trials  between  you  and  the 
grave,  and  I  name  them  merely  to  turn  your  attention  to  another 
object.  1  would  point  you  to  a  world  where  there  are  no  trials; 
and,  if  you  would  ever  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  world,  you  must 
now  direct  your  eye  upward.  There  is  a  day  of  grace,  and  you 
now  enjoy  that  day,  but  there  follows  it  a  moment,  when  God 
abandons  the  gospel  abuser  forever  ;  and  he  does  not  always  destroy 
as  soon  as  he  abandons.  "  They  are  joined  to  their  idols,  let  them 
akme." 

The  most  important  period  of  the  season  ot  grace,  is  its  vernal 
years.  This  period  improved,  you  are  saved;  but,  misimproved, 
your  state  is  worse.  And  some  of  you  are  already  crossing  that 
line,  beyond  which  your  salvation,  if  yet  unregenerate,  will  be 
less  probable.  How  dreadful  to  go  down  into  the  vale  of  years 
without  a  Savior,  a  promise,  or  a  hope  of  everlasting  life.  A  dark 
cloud  will  then  eclipse  your  sun,  a  cloud,  in  which  there  will  be 
painted  no  arch  of  promise.  Then  stupidity  will  increase  upon 
you,  while  every  sermon,  and  every  Sabbath  will  but  mature  your 
character  for  the  judgment.  Gray  hairs  will  but  testify  to  your 
revolving  years,  and  perhaps  neglect  of  means,  to  your  increased 
stupidity  ;  till  finally,  the  tempter  may  assure  you  that  your  day 
of  orace  is  over.  Oh,  reach  not  that  gloomy  period  till  an  ever 
lasting  covenant  unites  you  to  a  Redeemer. 

If  already  you  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  there  opens  before 
you  a  vast  field  of  usefulness.  The  dying  and  the  dead  are  al. 
around  you.  I  will  not  suppose  it  possible,  that  you  can  be  want- 
ing in  respect  and  attention  to  your  aged  parents.  You  will  make 
it,  I  hope,  a  prime  concern,  to  aid  them  on  to  heaven.  If  you  see 
your  associates  verging  on  to  ruin,  you  will  warn  them,  and  pray 
for  them,  and  by  your  example  and  influence  endeavor  to  bring 
them  with  you  to  heaven. 

You  are  to  exert  a  mighty  influence  upon  the  rising  generation. 
The  other  sex  will  receive  a  bias  from  your  example,  and,  aiming 
to  be  what  you  approve,  will  owe  much  of  their  character  to  your 
sentiments  and  influence.  If  you  make  it  your  own  object  to  be 
holy,  and  to  reach  heaven,  they  will  accompany  you. 

It  will  be  your  duty,  and  I  hope  your  pleasure,  to  aid  all  the  ope- 
rations of  benevolence,  especially  the  propagation  of  gospel  light. 
This  is  a  work  in  which  your  sex  have  a  special  interest.  You 
owe  your  freedom,  your  influence,   and   all   your   comforts  to  the 


THE    WISE    BUILDER.  219 

gospel.  Advance  a  single  furlong  beyond  its  light,  nnd  you  and 
the  female  sex  in  a  state  of  perpetual  servitude,  treated  like  beasts 
of  burden,  and  secluded  from  all  the  joys  of  civil  and  social  life. 
Could  they  but  know  the  blessings  that  fall  to  your  lot,  and  the 
reason  why  they  are  so  oppressed  and  miserable,  they  would  raise 
a  cry  for  the  gospel  loud  and  eloquent  as  the  shrieks  of  death.  They 
would  not  rest  till  they  could  place  in  the  hands  of  their  oppress- 
ors, that  volume,  which  is  the  charter  of  your  liberties.  Then  they, 
too,  would  be  free,  respected,  and  happy. 

These  facts  have  helped  to  wake  the  daughters  of  Zion  to  their 
duty,  and  I  trust  will  keep  them  awake,  till  the  light  of  revelation 
has  shined  into  every  dark  place  of  the  earth,  and  the  principles  it 
generates  have  rescued  every  daughter  of  the  apostacy  from  her 
prison  and  her  chains.  I  have  no  fears  that  you  will  not  act  your 
part  in  this  humane  and  Christian  enterprise. 

Females  have  succored  the  ministers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
The  Savior  himself  testified  to  their  kindness,  and,  as  we  all  re- 
member, found  beloved  friends  in  the  sisters  of  Lazarus,  and  a  very 
pleasant  home  in  their  house.  And  after  him  the  apostles,  and  af- 
ter them  all  who  have  proclaimed  the  gospel,  have  lived  upon  their 
charities,  and  been  supported  by  their  sympathies  and  their  prayers. 
All  this  is  said  without  design  to  flatter.  I  should  be  unworthy 
the  office  of  a  minister,  if  any  such  motives  could  move  me.  May 
tbat  gospel,  which  you  thus  support  in  your  kindness  to  its  minis- 
try, be  the  means  of  your  salvation  !  May  none  of  you  abuse  its 
blessings,  and  thus  fail  of  the  glory  it  reveals!  And,  when  the 
Son  of  Man  shall  come  the  second  time,  without  sin  unto  salva- 
tion, may  you  be  among  the  first  to  shout,  "This  is  the  Lord,  we 
have  waited  for  him,  and  he  will  save  us:  this  is  the  Lord,  we 
have  waited  for  him :  we  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in  his  salvation." 


SERMON    XVII. 

THE  CONTROVERSY  SETTLED 

2  cor.  v.  20. 
Be  yc  reconciled  lo  God. 

To  the  whole  human  family  it  is  an  eternal  disgrace  that  such  a 
sentence  should  be  found  written  in  the  book  of  God.  A  creature 
unreconciled  to  God !  Living,  too,  upon  his  bounty,  subject  to 
his  control,  completely  in  his  hands,  and  exposed  to  his  wrath  ! 
Does  there  live  a  man  who  cannot  be  pleased  with  infinite  beauty, 
with  perfect  rectitude  ;  who  is  at  variance  with  the  God  of  hea- 
ven. How  has  it  come  to  pass  that  a  creature  of  God  has  made 
himself  so  base  1  Was  he  born  thus  depraved,  or  has  he,  since  his 
birth,  transformed  his  soul  into  the  image  of  hell  1  Alas  !  my 
readers,  we  are  constantly  reminded  of  that  sad  hour  when  the 
tempter  prevailed,  and  our  first  parents  fell.  That  was  a  horridly 
guilty  hour.  Not  only  did  they  ruin  themselves,  but  all  their  race. 
They  were  destined  to  the  curse  of  begetting  children  in  their 
own  likeness,  not  guilty  of  their  sins,  but  like  them  inclined 
to  iniquity,  exposed  to  temptation  and  ruin.  There  is  now  born  a 
wretched  race,  who  as  soon  as  they  breathe,  rebel.  Why  1  they 
can  offer  no  reason.  Infinite  excellence  is  found  in  God,  is  seen 
in  his  law,  and  exhibited  in  his  providence.  And  is  there  through- 
out our  province  a  general  revolt  1  Are  there  none  who  have  not 
become  rebels?  As  God  is  true,  there  are  none.  A  precious  few 
have  become  reconciled  to  him,  and  are  now  approximating  toward 
a  state  of  purity,  and  joy,  and  blessedness.  But  even  yet  we  can 
can  cast  our  eye  abroad,  and  see  our  world  filled  with  rebels. 
What  will  be  the  issue,  God  knows,  and  he  has  told  us.  Those 
that  are  not  reconciled  to  him  must  die  ;  those  that  are,  shall  re- 
ceive the  smiles  of  God  for  ever.  The  infinite  God  has  himself 
contrived  a  way  to  pardon  the  rebel,  and  yet  secure  his  own  honor. 

In  pursuing  this  subject,  /  shall  shore  that  sinners  are  in  a  state 
of  hostility  with  Goo1,  while  he  is  kindly  disposal  toward  them.  I  shall 
then  inquire  whether  there  be  aay  just  anise  for  these  hostile  feelings 
toward  God,      I  shall  then  state  the  terms  on  which  the  sinner  can  be 


THE  CONTROVERSY  SETTLED.  22  i 

reconciled,  and  offer  some  motives  why  the  reconciliation  should  take 
place. 

I.  I  am  to  show  that  sinners  are  in  that  state  of  hostility  with 
God,  while  he  is  kindly  and  graciously  disposed  toward  them. 

In  proving  these  points  I  shall  make  my  appeal  to  Scripture  and 
fact.  The  hostile  disposition  of  sinners  toward  God  is  one  of  the 
most  conspicuous  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  "  The  carnal  mind  is 
enmity  against  God."  Sinners  rob  God  and  fight  against  him,  and 
say  to  him,  "  Depart  from  us  ;  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy 
ways."  "  The  rulers  take  counsel  together  against  the  Lord,  and 
against  his  anointed,  and  exert  themselves  to  break  their  bands 
asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  them."  In  the  survey 
which  God  took  of  earth,  he  found  that  all  had  "  gone  out  of  the 
way,  and  had  become  filthy;  there  were  none  that  did  good,  no, 
not  one."  All  this  looks  like  general  and  open  revolt.  It  is  im- 
possible to  give  these  texts,  and  much  more  of  the  same  book, 
such  an  interpretation  that  they  shall  not  teach  us  the  doctrine 
that  sinners  are  hostile  to  God. 

Let  us  now  make  our  appeal  to  facts.  As  men  show  how  they 
feel  toward  each  other  by  the  manner  in  which  they  treat  every 
person  and  thing  that  relates  to  the  other,  so  impenitent  men 
show  how  they  feel  toward  God  by  the  manner  in  which  they 
treat  those  persons  and  things  that  relate  to  God. 

Let  our  first  inquiry  then  be,  How  have  sinners  treated  the  Son 
of  God1?  He  ventured  to  come  down,  and  put  himself  in  the 
power  of  man.  And  was  ever  another  man  so  cruelly  treated  \ 
The  world  united  in  praying  him  to  depart  out  of  their  coasts. 
They  rose  against  him,  as  if  he  had  been  an  assassin  or  a  robber. 
They  glutted  their  revenge  with  his  blood.  They  could  not  rest 
till  they  had  nailed  him  to  a  tree.  And  yet  their  consciences  pro- 
nounced him  innocent. 

If  any  suppose  that  Christ  would  not  now  be  treated  so,  were 
he  on  earth,  it  is  no  doubt  their  unhappiness  to  make  one  of  three 
grand  mistakes.  They  either  suppose  that  Christ  is  now  better 
treated  than  he  was  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  Avhich  is  not  true;  or 
they  suppose  that  human  nature  is  not  now  so  depraved  as  then, 
which  is  false  ;  or  they  have  brought  themselves  to  believe  that  a 
more  improved  state  of  civilization  has  tamed  the  ferocity  of  the 
carnal  mind. 

Now,  how  can  we  account  for  it,  that  Christ  should  be  treated 
so  unkindly  by  men,  except  by  admitting  the  principle  that  sinners 


222  THE    CONTROVERSY    SETTLED. 

are  in  a  state  of  hostility  with  God,  and  hence  as  Christ  was  tne 
image  of  the  invisible  God,  they  made  him  the  object  of  their 
scorn  and  hatred.  In  treating  him  thus,  they  showed  how  the} 
felt  toward  God. 

Let  us  now  inquire,  how  sinners  treat  the  people  of  God.  Au- 
thentic history  informs  us  that  in  every  age  since  there  was  a 
Christian  on  earth,  they  have  been  subjected  to  ill-treatment.  In 
apostolic  days  they  began  to  be  the  song  of  the  drunkard,  and  the 
jest  and  proverb  of  the  world.  Then,  and  ever  since,  when  hu- 
man law  did  not  impose  restraint,  they  were  persecuted  to  death. 
Upon  them  have  fallen  the  united  curses  of  an  ungodly  world. 
When  wicked  men  can  meet  in  no  other  point,  they  can  be  one  in 
destroying  the  Christians.  They  consider  them  as  the  common 
enemy.  Hence  thousands  of  holy  souls  have  gone  to  glory  from 
wrecks  and  dungeons. 

And  what  better  are  things  in  the  present  day  1  True,  there  is 
less  blood  spilt,  but  no  less  anger  felt,  and  no  less  pains  taken  to 
cover  them  with  infamy,  and  expose  them  to  scorn  when  they 
"live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus."  Does  not  every  day  bring  us  fresh 
testimony  of  the  hatred  of  the  wicked  against  the  saints.  If  not, 
what  do  they  mean  by  the  common  cry  of  hypocrite!  Why  do 
they  take  so  much  pains  to  try  to  prove  that  Christians  are  the 
worst  men  on  earth.  Why  do  they  love  to  hear  that  they  have 
fallen  ]  Why  pleased  when  they  tarnish  their  character,  and 
wound  the  cause  of  their  Redeemer  \  Facts  like  these  prove  that 
sinners  hate  the  Christians.  And  why  is  this,  unless  because  they 
bear  the  image  of  God,  and  for  his  sake  are  hated.  At  any  rate 
they  do  bear  the  divine  image,  and  the  world  hates  them,  which 
unquestionably  proves  them  to  be  in  a  state  of  hostility  against 
God  ;  for  if  they  hate  his  image  they  hate  him. 

This  hostility  to  God  has  often  been  clearly  seen  in  a  time  of 
revival.  Then  God  increases  the  number  of  his  children,  and  en- 
rages his  foes.  True,  they  are  sometimes  overawed,  and  when 
this  is  not  the  case,  they  storm  with  rage.  They  have  exhibited 
evident  signs  of  distress  as  the  divine  shower  approached.  All 
the  means  and  instruments  by  which  a  revival  was  introduced  or 
promoted  felt  their  malice.  Indeed  the  world  has  gone  out  in  one 
united  phalanx  to  make  head  against  the  work  of  God.  They 
have  dreaded  and  opposed  a  revival  as  they  would  a  famine  or  a 
plague. 

Now,  why  all  this  1  Do  they  not  hate  a  revival  because  it 
brine's  into  view  the  God  they  hate,  and  reminds  them  of  that  hea- 


THE    CONTROVERSY    SETTLED  223 

ven  in  which  they  could  not  live.  Again,  then,  do  we  see  that 
they  are  in  a  state  of  hostility  with  God. 

The  same  hostility  is  proved  while  sinners  daily  break  the  laws 
and  oppose  the  government  of  God.  Daily  and  hourly  we  witness 
their  disregard  of  the  law,  while  they  refuse  to  shape  their  lives 
by  its  precepts,  and  yet  dare  name  the  justice  of  God  as  the  foun- 
dation of  their  immortal  hopes.  And  how  constant  are  their  com- 
plaints against  the  ways  of  Providence.  Hear  their  midnight 
murmurs,  and  see  their  vexation  and  disappointment  while  any 
adverse  event  transpires,  or  any  fond  expectation  is  disappointed. 

If  sinners  were  not  hostile  to  God,  would  they  not  love  his 
word  and  his  worship  1  Would  they  treat  with  cold  neglect  the 
book-  of  God,  the  only  guide  to  everlasting  life'?  And  would  they, 
as  often  appears,  be  indifferent  to  the  praises  and  the  prayers  of 
the  temple.  Would  they  utterly  refuse,  as  they  do,  to  elect  God 
as  their  master,  or  enlist  in  his  service.  Undoubtedly  they  would 
not  try  to  prevent  others  from  serving  him,  were  they  not  hostile 
to  his  glory. 

The  maxims  which  sinners  adopt,  prove  the  existence  of  a  hos- 
tile temper.  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor,  and  hate  thine  ene- 
my." Said  Christ,  "  Love  your  enemies."  "An  eye  for  an  eye, 
and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  Said  Christ,  "Resist  not  evil."  "Give 
me  wealth  first,  and  then  religion."  Said  Christ,  "  Seek  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness."  In  every  controversy 
let  the  offender  ask  for  reconciliation,  but  in  the  controversy  be- 
tween  God  and  sinners  they  are  in  fault,  yet  God  prays  them  to  be 
reconciled.  It  is  more  blessed  to  receive  than  to  give,  is  practi- 
cally the  maxim  of  the  world,  but,  said  Christ,  "It  is  more  blessed 
to  'rive  than  to  receive."  Thus  sinners  are  all  wrong.  In  all  their 
maxims  they  make  evident  opposition  to  what  is  the  mind  and 
will  of  God.  Now,  could  there  be  found  this  long  list  of  oppo- 
sites,  were  not  sinners  in  a  state  of  hostility  to  God  \ 

And  yet  God  is  kindly  disposed  toward  them.  This  appears  in 
all  he  says,  and  in  all  he  does.  It  appears  in  his  word.  He 
there  declares  that  he  feels  kindly  toward  sinners,  and  he  there 
asks  them,  in  the  language  of  real  compassion,  "  Why  will  ye 
die  V  We  learn  the  same  while  we  see  the  forbearance  of  God 
toward  sinners.  Not  until  they  have  sinned  many  years  is  he  so 
provoked  with  them  as  to  put  them  in  hell.  He  not  only  lets 
them  live  in  his  world,  but  offers  them  mercy,  and  repeats  his  in- 
vitations, and  presses  t'hem  to  accept,  assuring  them  that  they 
shall  have  eternal   life,  if  they  will    repent    and   believe.     All  this 


224  THE  CONTROVERSY  SETTLED. 

makes  it  certain  that  God  feels  kindly  toward  sinners,  while  their 
feelings  are  so  hostile.     Let  us  then  inquire, 

II.  Whether  there  be  any  just  cause  for  these  hostile  feelings 
toward  God.  They  seem  to  say  that  God  has  done  something 
wrong.  To  the  sinner,  then,  we  must  appeal,  What  has  God  done 
to  offend  1 

His  first  interference  with  your  concerns  was  in  the  act  of  your 
creation.  Was  it  here  that  he  offended  1  True,  he  did  not  con- 
sult you  whether  you  would  be  or  not,  uor  ask  you  what  kind  of  a 
creature  you  would  choose  to  be.  It  was  his  opinion  that  you  had 
no  right  to  be  consulted  in  these  matters.  Do  you  complain  that 
God  made  you  capable  of  misery  1  Instead  of  this  it  should  be 
your  rejoicing  that  he  made  you  capable  of  happiness:  especially 
since  he  has  put  immortal  blessedness  within  \o\w  reach,  and  so 
constituted  things  that  misery  will  not  be  yours  unless  you  choose 
death  rather  than  life.  Do  you  complain  that  you  were  not  made 
angels  1  Instead  of  this,  you  ought  to  be  thankful  that  you  were 
not  made  serpents  or  worms.  But,  "  shall  the  thing  formed  say 
unto  him  that  formed  it,  why  hast  thou  made  me  thus."  "Hath 
not  the  potter  power  over  the  clay,  of  the  same  lump  to  make  one 
vessel  to  honor  and  another  to  dishonor."  In  the  act  of  creating, 
God  has  not  injured  you,  and  where  no  injury  is  done  there  can 
be  no  complaint. 

Ever  since  that  period  he  has  watched  over  you,  and  provided 
for  you  :  in  all  this  has  he  erred  1  For  parental  tenderness  which 
watched  your  infant  and  youthful  days,  you  are  indebted  to  God. 
He  gave  the  instinct  which  originated  a  father's  care  and  a  moth- 
er's tear.  He  formed  those  powers,  those  limbs  and  eyes,  by  which 
you  have  defended  yourself.  Besides  all  this,  there  has  perhaps 
been  around  you  unobserved  a  guard  of  angels. 

"  What  ills  their  heavenly  care  prevents, 
No  earthly  tongue  can  tell.**— 5 

In  addition  to  all  this,  God  has  kept  his  own  eye  fixed  upon  you, 
and  has  protected  you  with  his  own  arm.  But  for  this  care  death 
awaited  you  every  step  of  your  way.  Every  particle  of  air  which 
you  have  breathed,  was  pregnant  with  death  till  he  made  it  pure 
He  had  his  eye  on  you  in  all  your  slumbers,  and  at  his  bidding  the 
midnight  pestilence  fled,  and  the  breeze  brought  life  and  health. 
Perhaps  when  tossed  upon  the  ocean  the  waves  knew  his  voice 
and  were  si  ill 


THE    CONTROVERSY    SETTLED.  225 

He  gave  you  your  birth  in  a  goodly  land  ;  furnished  you  kind 
friends  to  smooth  your  rugged  way  through  life,  and  gave  you 
every  other  needed  comfort.  "  He  opened  his  hand,  and  your 
wants  were  all  supplied.  His  goodness  has  been  like  a  river  by 
your  side.  He  watered  your  fields  and  brought  on  your  harvests. 
He  kept  off  the  frosts,  and  ripened  your  fruits,  he  kept  off  his 
storm  and  secured  your  merchandise.  He  sent  the  gale  that  waft- 
ed India's  xiches  to  your  coast.     In  all  this  did  God  offend  1 

He  gave  you  the  means  of  instruction,  that  you  might  be  wise 
Was  this  unkind  X 

He  early  put  you  under  law  :  was  this  unkind  1  True,  the  law 
has  dreadful  penalties,  and  must  not  once  be  broken.  It  curses 
"  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  the  things  written  in  the 
book  of  the  law  to  do  them."  Whether  it  was  kind  or  not  in  God 
to  put  you  under  such  a  law  will  depend  on  whether  the  law  was 
good.  This  is  its  tenor,  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  heart,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  If  God  deserves  su- 
preme affection,  and  our  neighbor's  happiness  is  worth  as  much  as 
our  own,  this  is  a  good  law.  To  give  creatures  such  a  law  was 
simply  telling  them  to  be  happy.  It  was  not  only  right  that  God 
should  demand  supreme  regard,  but  best  for  creatures  that  they 
should  thus  regard  him.  And  in  that  strong  mutual  affection 
which  the  law  demands,  men  have  found  rich  ingredients  of  com- 
fort. In  demanding  that  the  law  should  in  no  one  instance  be  bro 
ken,  God  prepared  the  way  to  keep  misery  from  his  creation. 

It  is  only  by  disobeying  this  law  that  men  are  rendered  miser- 
able. But  for  this  we  had  never  heard  the  groans  of  the  dying, 
the  sighs  of  the  widow,  or  the  plaints  of  the  orphan.  Then  the 
mourning  garb  had  never  darkened  our  assemblies.  Man  had  not 
learned  to  weep,  unless  it  were  tears  of  gratitude. 

And  we  may  say  the  same  of  other  worlds.  Heaven  continues 
to  obey  the  law  of  God  and  is  happy.  Hell  has  disobeyed  and 
continues  to  disobey,  and  is  consequently  filled  with  groans 
of  despair.  And  how  many  soever  other  worlds  there  may  be, 
they  too  are  happy  or  miserable  according  as  they  have  obeyed 
or  disobeyed  the  law  of  God.  If,  then,  the  law  is  good,  and  dis- 
obeying it  has  made  us  unhappy,  what  charge  can  we  bring  against 
God  for  giving  us  such  a  law  1  The  law  was  intended  as  a  great 
bond  that  should  bind  intelligent  creatures  to  God,  and  10  one 
another.  This  bond,  this  silver  cord  sinners  have  broken,  and  so 
have  stopped  the  communication  of  bliss  to  their  souls. 

But   my  readers,   let  this   be  the   closing  remark  on  this  point 
29 


'2Q6  THE    CONTROVERSY    SETTLED. 

The  law  which  God  has  given  is  the  only  one  which  he  could 
have  'riven.  It  is  the  copy  of  his  heart.  He  must  have  been  a 
different  being,  and  his  creatures  must  have  sustained  different  re- 
lations to  him  and  to  one  another  before  a  different  law  could  have 
been  given.  If,  then,  sinners  have  any  charge  to  bring  against 
God  on  account  of  the  law,  the  charge  is  unreasonable  ;  they  cen- 
sure him  for  doing  what  it  was  impossible  he  should  not  do.  Is 
there,  then,  any  fault  here  1 

But  God  has  made  exertions  to  save  sinners,  is  there  here  any 
cause  for  blame  1  Has  he  not  made  the  terms  of  salvation  as 
easy  as  possible  1  Is  man,  while  he  receives  pardon,  subjected  to 
any  unnecessary  degradation  or  reproach  1  Is  any  penance  de- 
manded very  difficult  to  perform  1  Does  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  for- 
bid  tlie  exercise  of  reason  1  And  is  the  love  of  God  inconsistent 
with  the  exercise  of  the  natural  instincts  and  affections  1  Or  does 
religion  so  employ  the  powers  of  the  man  as  to  make  him  unhap- 
py \  Is  not  salvation  offered  on  conditions  the  best  possible. 
Then,  where  is  the  offence  1 

In  pressing  such  a  salvation  upon  the  sinner,  is  not  the  Deity 
kind  1  In  varying  and  repeating  the  invitation,  and  calling  upon 
sinners  by  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  by  alarming  events  of  pro- 
vidence,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  by  an  awakened  conscience,  to 
turn  and  live, —  while  God  thus  stands,  and  pleads  with  a  guilty 
world  from  year  to  year,  and  from  age  to  age,  what  is  there  in  all 
liiis  hut  kindness  1 

Would  any  be  glad, — sinners,  would  it  please  you,  could  you  be 
left  undisturbed  by  these  kind  invitations  of  the  God  of  mercy  ? 
Would  you  wish  to  go  on  till  your  destiny  was  sealed  before  the 
gospel  trump  disturbs  you  \ 

Do  any  find  fault  with  God  because  he  chastises  them  1  Do  I 
hear  one  say,  God  has  torn  my  partner  from  my  bleeding  bosom, 
and  my  children,  just  as  they  began  to  entwine  my  heart  \  He 
nit  the  winds  to  sink  my  merchandise,  and  the  incendiary  to 
burn  my  dwelling.  How  can  I  love  such  a  God  1  Did  you  ever 
thank  God  for  those  blessings  1  Did  you  ever  pray  for  their  con- 
tinuance 1  Did  you  teach  that  child  to  pray  whom  you  lately 
covered  with  the  clods  1  God  has,  then,  only  reminded  you  of 
your  sins  in  removing  these  comforts. 

Moreover,  they  were  at  first  his  gift,  or  rather,  his  loan  ;  and 
he  has  now  recalled  them,  no  sooner  than  you  had  reason  to  ex- 
pect. He  never  promised  you  that  you  should  retain  these  com- 
forts to  any  given  period.     Where,  then,  is  there  any   ground  of 


THE    CONTROVERSY    SETTLED  221 

charge  against  God  1  He  bus  done  more  than  lie  promised  ;  lie 
has  been  kinder  than  you  had  any  reason  to  expect  Where,  then, 
is  there  cause  of  offence  ? 

But,  says  one,  God  has  threatened  sinners  with  everlasting  ruin, 
and  has  built  a  hell  for  them:  can  I  love  such  a  God!  Hell  he 
built  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  and  he  will  send  none  of  our 
race  there  who  would  be  willing  to  live  in  heaven.  All  who  pos- 
sess such  a  temper  as  would  convert  heaven  into  a  place  of  horror 
and  despair,  and  who  are  more  fit  to  be  the  companions  of  devils 
than  of  angels  and  blessed  saints, — only  these  will  be  sent  to  hell. 
And  in  the  sentence  every  holy  being  will  join,  and  the  sinner's 
own  mouth  will  then  be  shut.  Why,  then,  is  there  here  any 
ground  of  charge  against  God  ? 

Thus,  through  all  that  God  has  done  and  said,  do  we  search  in 
vain  for  any  plea  that  can  support  the  sinner  in  his  revolt.  Perhaps 
in  what  he  is  a  plea  can  be  found.  "  There  clusters  in  his  name 
every  attribute  that  can  contribute  to  render  him  great  and  glori- 
ous. The  clustering  of  these  attributes  is  God."  What  attribute, 
then,  can  be  spared  from  the  cluster  1  Let  him  cease  to  be  holy, 
and  what  will  follow  ?  Sin,  that  has  made  every  tear,  every  sigh, 
and  every  groan,  will  be  approved,  and  the  prince  of  devils  may 
walk  arm  in  arm  with  Gabriel.  An  infuriate  mob  from  hell  wil. 
soon  lay  waste  the  mansions  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 

Or  let  Jehovah  cease  to  be  true,  then,  says  the  sinner,  he  would 
not  execute  his  threatenings.  No  ;  nor  his  promises  !  That  blessed 
promise,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee,"  on  which 
many  a  trembling  believer  has  hung  his  dying  hope,  fails.  Every 
angel  lays  by  his  harp  and  looks  out  for  ruin.  The  holy  arc  no 
longer  sure  that  they  shall  be  happy.  The  foundation  on  which 
they  stood  has  begun  to  sink,  hell  is  astonished,  and  the  universe 
is  ruined. 

Shall  Jehovah  be  no  longer  just  1  Where  then  is  the  sinner 
that  will  consent  to  be  treated  unjustly  !  Devils  would  not  consent 
to  this. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  every  Divine  attribute.  Alter  any 
one,  and  the  universe  is  all  in  tears.  No  one  dares  to  live  or  die 
Is  it  not  best  then  that  God  continue  capable  of  government,  and 
remain  just  what  he  is  !  Thus  do  we  find  at  every  step  we  take 
that  there  is  no  fault  in  God.  No  possible  plea  can  be  found  to 
support  the  sinner  in  his  rebellion.  God  is  right,  has  .spoken  and 
done  right,  but  the  sinner  is  wrong,  has  spoke/)  wrong,  ami  dmm 
'•rong.     I  hope,  then,  the  way  is  prepared  for  reconciliation.    But, 


228  THE    CONTROVERSY    SETTLED. 

III.  I  a.ii  now  to  state  the  terms  on  which  God  will  receive  the 
sinner  to  favor. 

The  sinner  must  disapprove  of  his  own  character  and  conduct. 
Till  he  does  this,  God  will  consider  him  in  a  state  of  hostility 
The  sinner  must  become  vile  in  his  own  eyes  and  polluted  in  his 
own  view.  He  must  see  and  hate  his  own  evil  passions,  and  all 
their  corrupt  fruits,  and  must  join  with  God  in  condemning  him- 
self as  a  rebel  deserving  eternal  ruin. 

When  brought  to  feel  thus  he  will  be  humble.  He  will  take  to 
himself  the  punishment  of  his  sins,  and  ascribe  righteousness  to 
his  Maker.  In  this  condition  God  will  begin  to  regard  him.  But 
this  is  not  all  that  God  will  require. 

The  sinner  must  change  his  character  and  conduct.  He  must 
have  a  different  set  of  affections,  and  must  exhibit  a  course  of  con- 
duct altogether  diverse  from  that  exhibited  in  his  former  life. 
This  will  be  saying  to  the  world,  that  he  now  approves  of  the  law 
which  he  broke,  considers  it  good,  and  the  penalty  just. 

The  only  terms  on  which  God  will  ever  receive  the  sinner  to 
favor  must  include  the  following  : 

1.  He  must  unsay  all  the  hard  things  he  has  said  against  God  : 
the  reproaches  he  has  cast  upon  his  law,  the  unholy  things  he  has 
said  against  his  people,  and  against  his  government,  and  his  king- 
dom. All  the  hard  speeches  that  ungodly  sinners  have  made 
against  heaven,  and  all  their  trifling  about  hell,  and  the  judgment, 
and  the  quenchless  fire,  and  the  never-dying  worm,  and  the  bot- 
tomless pit,  and  the  bridgeless  gulf.  All  the  contradictions  of  his 
truth,  and  all  the  gainsayings  of  the  infidel  heart — all  this  must  be 
unsaid,  must  be  taken  back.  This  is  an  indispensable  preliminary 
in  the  first  effort  at  peace.  Else  there  can  be  no  reconciliation. 
This  is  a  law  among  men.  If  men  are  at  variance  they  always 
begin  conciliation  with  concession,  and  it  must  be  thus  when  we 
deal  with  God. 

2.  When  we  have  unsaid,  we  must  undo  the  unhallowed  things 
that  we  have  done  against  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  restore  that 
which  we  have  taken  away.  If  any  are  not  aware  of  having  done 
any  thing  which  they  would  undo,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
they  have  not  made  the  first  essay  at  a  genuine  repentance.  Soon 
as  the  heart  relents  we  can  easily  find  that  there  are  a  great  many 
things  that  we  have  done  that  must  be  undone.  There  are  immor- 
tal beings,  bound  to  the  judgment,  and  whose  eternity  of  bliss  n» 
of  wo  unutterable  depends  on  their  character,  and  that  charactei 
we   have   given,  first  or  last,  a  polluting  touch.     These   pollutions 


THE    CONTROVERSY    SETTLED.  22S 

we  must  endeavor  to  wipe  off".  And  there  are  others  that  we  have 
injured — these  injuries  we  must  repair.  We  shall  find,  on  a  little 
reflection,  that  we  have,  in  a  thousand  ways,  set  in  operation  main- 
engines  of  death,  which,  with  a  little  timely  care,  we  can  stop,  and 
we  must  stop  them.  All  this  is  necessary  to  the  first  beginnings 
of  the  exercise  of  a  genuine  repentance. 

3.  And  when  we  have  unsaid  and  undone  all  that  we  can  re- 
member to  have  said  and  done  against  God  and  his  kingdom,  we 
shall  find  that  we  have  entered  a  field  of  mischief  where  we  had 
been  so  many  years  putting  things  wrong,  and  the  mischief  has 
become  so  wide-spread  and  desolating,  that  it  will  require  a  whole 
lifetime  to  put  them  right  again.  What  was  said  of  the  apostles 
fahehj,  that  they  turned  the  world  upside  down,  the  penitent  finds 
true  in  his  own  case.  He  has  been  scattering  fire-brands,  arrows, 
and  death,  while  he  pretended  to  be  only  in  sport. 

4.  Wherein  the  mischief  cannot  be  undone  it  can  all  be  ingenu- 
ously confessed.  If  we  confess  our  sins,  God  is  faithful  and  just 
to  forgive  us  our  sins  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness. 
Thus  we  come  upon  the  subject  of  a  gratuitous  pardon,  our  only 
nope  of  our  acceptance  with  a  gracious  and  merciful  God.  Here 
oegins  peace,  and  hope,  and  joy,  through  a  pardoning  and  gracious 
Redeemer.  Through  his  kind  and  timely  intercessions  the  sin- 
ner's whole  debt  is  freely  forgiven,  and  God  is  reconciled. 

In  addition,  this  humiliation  and  its  correspondent  fruits,  the 
sinner,  in  order  to  pardon,  must  be  willing  to  receive  mercy.  A 
sinner  does  not  deserve  pardon :  the  supposition  is  absurd.  He 
must  be  willing  to  be  pardoned  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  and,  after 
being  pardoned,  must  be  willing  to  be  an  everlasting  monument  of 
a  Savior's  love.  He  must  entirely  commit  his  cause  to  Christ,  as 
his  advocate,  depending  on  him  for  every  good  which  he  hopes 
for  from  a  justly  offended  God. 

These  are  the  terms.  1  am  happy  to  have  it  in  my  power  to 
add  that  Christ  is  ready  to  be  the  sinner's  friend.  He  even  be- 
seeches you  to  allow  him  to  plead  your  cause,  and  ensure  your 
acceptance   with  his  Father. 

Let  this  now  be  the  question.  Will  sinners  quit  their  rebellion 
and  turn  to  God  that  they  may  live  1  Will  they  do  it  now  ?  When 
God  offers  a  sinner  pardon  there  must  be  immediate  acceptance, 
or  he  takes  the  offer  back.  The  impenitent  cannot  leave  the  place 
where  they  are,  before  it  will  be  reported  in  heaven  that  they  have 
accepted  or  rejected  the  message.     Thus  God  deals  with  us,  and 


230  THE    CONTROVERSY    SETTLED. 

thus  must  we  deal  with  him.  He  will  not  allow  sinners  to  despise 
his  mercy  with  impunity. 

Perhaps  some  are  thinking  about  a  reconciliation,  but  wish  to 
know  the  terms.  We  have  no  new  terms  to  propose.  You  will 
find  the  terms  in  all  your  Bibles,  and  be  assured  God  will  never 
alter  them  ;  no,  never.  He  will  sooner  abandon  his  throne,  and 
consign  sun,  moon,  and  stars  to  ruin.  No  j  the  terms  are  the 
easiest,  they  are  the  best  that  a  holy  God  could  propose. 

Do  any  plead  that  their  sins  are  so  numerous  and  so  aggravated 
that  God  will  not  accept  them  1  This  plea  need  not  be  made. 
There  is  an  infinite  Savior,  and  there  is  infinite  compassion  in 
the  heart  of  God.  And  there  is  one  promise  which  throws  the 
light  of  day  on  this  subject.  "  Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet  they 
shall  be  as  white  as  snow,  though  they  be  red  like  crimson  they 
shall  be  as  wool." 

IV.  Let  us  notice  some  of  the  motives  to  a  speedy  reconciliation. 

1.  Sinners  should  become  reconciled  to  God  because  he  is  the 
only  being  who  can  be  the  sinner's  permanent  friend.  None  but  he 
can  comfort  you  in  adversity,  raise  your  hopes  in  the  day  of 
gloom,  or  soften  your  dying  bed.  None  but  he  can  cheer  your 
disembodied  spirit,  and  inspire  it  with  a  relish  for  the  angelic  song. 
Indeed,  be  it  a  calamity  or  not,  so  it  is  that  God  has  made  no  ob- 
ject fit  to  be  your  portion.  He  must  himself  fill  the  soul  or 
you  are  for  ever  poor. 

2.  Though  God  has  not  given  the  offence  he  makes  the  first 
overtures  of  reconciliation.  This  is  wonderful  condescension  in 
God.  He  has  no  need  of  you,  he  can  make  his  kingdom  happy 
without  you,  and  there  is  no  obligation  on  his  part  why  he  should 
thus  meet  you  with  the  offers  of  mercy.  It  is  a  matter  of  the  tru 
est  surprise  that  God  will  thus  stand  and  plead  with  his  creatures, 
is  it  not,  then,  a  reason  why  they  should  be  reconciled  1 

3.  Consider  farther,  that  God  has  removed  the  obstacles  that 
were  in  the  way  of  your  salvation  :  this  should  press  your  con- 
science. He  gave  his  own  dear  Son  to  die  that  you  might  be 
saved,  and  yet  he  be  just.  And  you  can  now  be  completely  re- 
stored to  the  Divine  favor.  From  being  a  wretched  outcast  you 
may  become  a  son  and  an  heir.  What  consideration  can  be  more 
persuasive  than  this  1  A  condemned  criminal  is  offered  all  the 
joys  of  heaven  on  becoming  reconciled  to  his  justly-offended  God. 

4.  If  sinners  do  not  become  reconciled  to  God  they  must  lie  un- 
der the  weiirht  of  the  curse  of  a  broken  law  for  ever.     And  eter- 


THE  CONTRO  ERSY  SEITLED.  23  * 

laity  only  can  fully  tell  how  heavy  this  curse  will  be.  You  are  en- 
treated, then,  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  by  all  that  is  terrible  in  his 
anger  ;  by  all  that  is  dreadful  in  the  thought  of  being  the  object  of 
his  wrath  for  ever;  by  all  the  misery  that  an  immortal  soul  can 
suffer,  or  an  almighty  arm  can  inflict.  If  God  can  make  sinners 
wretched,  and  if  sin,  un repented  of,  be  of  such  a  horrid  nature 
that  infinite  goodness  must  be  willing  to  punish  the  incorrigible 
for  over,  then,  by  all  that  is  dreadful  in  this  thought,  sinners  are 
entreated  to  repent. 

5.  I  urge,  as  the  last  motive  why  sinners  should  immediately  be- 
come reconciled  to  God,  that  it  will  soon  be  too  late.  There  will 
come  a  day  when  the  door  of  mercy  will  be  closed  for  ever  upon 
some  unhappy  souls.  Perhaps  in  that  day  some  of  my  readers 
will  stand  without  and  raise  their  distressing  cry,  "  Lord,  Lord, 
open  unto  us."  But  the  door  can  never  be  unbarred.  He  that 
shutteth  and  no  man  openeth  will  reply,  "  I  know  you  not."  You 
will  see  Abraham  and  all  the  prophets  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
yourselves  be  rejected.  A  father,  mother,  or  sister  enters  into 
life,  and  you  are  lost.  The  very  partner  of  your  bosom  takes  her 
seat  at  the  marriage  supper,  while  you  are  not  permitted  to  taste. 
Methinks  there  will  be  scenes  exhibited  in  that  day  at  which  the 
very  angels  will  weep.  Will  sinners,  then,  attend  to  these  things, 
while  mercy  is  possible  1  Sinners  are  every  day  perishing  una- 
wares. They  are  every  Sabbath  hearing  their  last  sermon.  It 
may  be  that  some  one  is  now  reading  this  who  has  misimproved 
many  a  sermon,  and  is  now  uttering  the  closing  sentences  of  the 
last  one  that  will  ever  disturb  his  quiet.  He  has,  perhaps,  so  near- 
ly filled  up  his  measure  of  iniquity,  that  only  a  few  drops  are 
wanting.  The  opposition  which  he  may  feel  to  this  sermon,  and 
the  resistance  he  may  make  to  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit  may  run 
his  measure  over,  and  bring  the  curse  of  his  Maker  upon  him.  It 
is  impossible  to  say  when  God  will  shut  up  his  bowels  of  compas- 
sion with  regard  to  any  sinner.  Though  he  bear  long  he  will  not 
bear  with  them  always.  He  is  holy  and  true  as  well  as  good. 
The  day  must  come  when  his  threatenings  will  be  fulfilled  as  well 
as  his  promises.  And  to  sinners  who  refuse  to  desert  the  standard 
of  revolt,  that  will  be  a  tremendous  day.  But,  since  they  will  not 
be  persuaded,  they  must  go  on  and  provoke  Divine  goodness  till 
the  curse  lights  upon  their  heads.  I  add  no  more :  I  hope  I  am  free 
from  the  blood  of  my  hearers  to-day.  It  will  be  found  in  their 
own  skirts 


SERMON    XVIII. 

THE  BURNING  BUSH. 

EXODUS    III.    3. 
And  Moses  said,  I  will  now  turn  aside,  and  see  this  great  sight,  why  the  bush  is  i,ot  burned 

Moses  was  keeping  the  flocks  of  his  father-in-law  in  Midian  ; 
and  having  occasion  to  drive  them  to  the  desert,  to  the  borders  of 
mount  Horeb,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to  him  in  a  flame 
of  fire  in  a  bush.  He  perceived,  that  though  the  bush  burned  with 
fire  it  was  not  consumed.  "  And  Moses  said,  I  will  now  turn  aside, 
and  see  this  great  sight,  why  the  bush  is  not  burned."  He  expect- 
ed, no  doubt,  to  see  the  bush  consumed  ;  but  while  he  looked  upon 
it,  and  perceived  that  every  branch  and  every  leaf  remained  entire 
amid  the  flames,  it  naturally  awakened  his  amazement,  and  led  him 
to  turn  aside  and  view  the  wonder  with  attention.  As  he  approach- 
ed the  bush,  a  voice  issued  from  the  midst  of  the  flames,  which  bid 
him  pull  his  shoes  from  his  feet,  as  the  ground  on  which  he  trod 
was  holy.  God  now  assured  him  that  he  was  the  God  of  his  fa- 
thers, and  gave  him  his  commission  to  go  and  redeem  his  brethren 
from  bondage.  The  burning  bush,  with  God  in  the  midst  of  it, 
uninjured  by  the  flames,  represented  the  Church,  living  undimin- 
ished in  the  midst  of  afflictions  and  persecutions.  Probably  Moses 
had  suspected  that  the  rigors  of  the  Egyptian  persecution  would 
ultimately  annihilate  the  Church.  To  remove  this  gloomy  appre- 
hension, and  encourage  him  to  accept  a  commission  for  their  eman- 
cipation, he  was  favored  with  this  vision.  In  using  this  scrap  of 
history  for  our  present  edification,  it  is  my  purpose  to  make  seve- 
ral distinct  observations. 

I.  The  Church  of  Christ  has  always  been  exposed  to  nfllictions  and 
persecutions,  has  often  seemed  in  imminent  danger,  but  has  lived 
unhurt  through  every  period  of  its  long  and  bloody  conflict.  There 
has  been  a  Church  ever  since  the  conversion  of  Abel.  During  the 
period  from  the  fall  to  the  deluge  it  was  very  feeble,  and  very  small, 
mid  often  persecuted.  In  the  death  of  Abel  was  fulfilled  the  pre- 
diction, "  It  shall  bruise  thy  heel."  Mention  is  made  but  of  two 
or  three  eminent  saints  during   this   period,  of  which   Enoch  was 


THE    BURNING    BUSH.  '       233 

one  of  the  most  distinguished.  God  so  loved  him  that  he  took 
him  to  heaven  without  seeing  death.  He  was  a  prophet,  and  plain- 
ly predicted  the  terrors  of  the  deluge  and  of  the  last  judgment. 
There  seems  to  have  been,  during  this  period,  several  times  of  re- 
vival, but  during  the  whole  the  Church  must  have  been  compara- 
tively small.  Finally  it  was  confined  to  the  family  of  Noah,  and 
seemed  about  to  become  extinct.  It  was  now  surrounded  by  a 
host  of  enemies,  and  must  have  perished,  without  some  extraor- 
dinary divine  interposition  of  its  chief  Shepherd.  Jehovah  granted 
his  people  the  help  they  needed,  and  swept  the  whole  of  that  un- 
godly world  to  perdition.  The  wondrous  means  by  which  he  res- 
cued his  people  from  the  general  ruin,  must  have  taught,  it  would 
seem,  all  future  generations,  that  destruction  awaits  the  enemies 
of  the  Church.  We  are  amazed  that  Noah  could  live  and  be  a 
preacher  of  righteousness  one  hundred  and  twenty  years,  when  the 
Church  was  so  small,  and  when  the  earth  was  filled  with  violence, 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  striving  with  them  during  all  that  period  in 
vain.  But  the  covenant  promise  of  God  preserved  his  people  un- 
hurt, like  the  bush  which  was  embosomed  in  the  flame  but  not 
consumed.  In  the  family  of  Noah  God  continued  to  have  a  seed 
to  serve  him.  But  the  Church  was  soon  brought  very  low,  and  at  the 
time  of  the  calling  of  Abraham  was  almost  extinct.  We  see,  during 
this  period,  the  strong  features  of  depravity ;  and  although  the 
history  of  the  Church  is  scanty  and  general,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
but  that  it  had  to  struggle  with  afflictions  and  persecutions.  To 
promote  the  prosperity  of  the  Church  God  resolved  to  confine  it 
principally  to  one  family.  Accordingly,  Abraham  must  leave  his 
country,  and  become  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  that  his  descend- 
ants might  be  preserved  from  idolatry,  and  true  religion  live  in  his 
family  till  the  coming  of  Christ.  During  much  of  this  period  we 
find  them  an  afflicted  and  persecuted  people,  and  are  often  led  to 
wonder  at  their  preservation.  How  wonderful  was  the  escape  of 
Lot!  first  from  captivity,  and  afterwards  from  the  tempest  of  fire 
that  consumed  the  cities  of  the  plain.  How  often,  and  how  nar- 
rowly, did  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  with  their  respective  fami- 
lies, escape  being  swallowed  up  by  idolatry,  or  destroj  ed  by  their 
enemies.  But  they  were  a  holy  seed,  from  whom,  according  to 
the  flesh,  Christ  should  come,  and  among  whom,  till  then,  God 
would  preserve  his  Church.  Their  history  is  a  constant  scene  of 
miracles,  and  their  very  existence,  like  the  bush  that  burned  but 
was  not  consumed,  is  a  living  monument  of  God's  covenant  faith- 
fulness- When  the  patriarchal  family  had  settled  themselves  in 
30 


234>  the  bltl.ni.ng  bush. 

Egypt,  anil  Joseph  was  dead,  and  they  had  become  Pharaoh's  bond- 
men, their  ruin  seemed  inevitable  :  especially  when  the  Egyp- 
tians, jealous  of  their  increase,  and  fearful  of  their  resentment) 
made  a  decree  to  destroy  them,  we  look  upon  them  with  awful  ap- 
prehensions. But  this  very  decree,  contrary  to  its  design,  saved 
the  Church.  It  became  the  means  of  raising  up  Moses,  and  of  fur- 
nishing him  a  princely  education,  that  he  might  become  the  law- 
giver and  the  prince  of  that  injured  family-  From  his  birth  till 
he  had  the  vision  of  God  in  Horeb,  the  Jewish  family  were  indeed 
like  the  bush  that  burned  with  fire  but  was  not  consumed.  It  is 
matter  of  the  truest  amazement  that  the  Egyptians  did  not  utterly 
destroy  them,  when  they  were  so  completely  enslaved,  and  entirely 
within  the  power  of  their  masters.  Rut  God  had  otherwise  de- 
creed. Their  enemies  dealt  violently,  but  their  violent  dealing 
came  down  upon  their  own  pate.  Their  infamous  conduct  awaked 
the  wrath  of  heaven,  and  issued  in  their  own  ruin.  Still  their 
struggle  was  long  and  desperate.  Many  a  time  there  seemed  but 
a  step  between  the  Church  and  destruction.  On  the  banks  of  the 
Red  Sea  nothing  but  a  miracle  could  save  the  children  of  the  cove- 
nant. But  the  miracle  was  wrought,  the  sea  divided,  Israel 
escaped,  and  their  enemies  were  all  overthrown.  When  we  read 
the  history  of  their  passage  through  the  desert,  the  dangers  they 
encountered,  the  sins  they  committed,  the  judgments  they  felt, 
and  the  enemies  that  lined  their  path,  we  wonder  that  they  ever 
reached  the  promised  land.  But  God  was  in  the  midst  of  them. 
Time  could  not  wear  out  their  garments,  the  rock  watered  them, 
and  the  clouds  fed  them,  and  the  very  fowls  of  heaven  flew  to  their 
camp  to  become  their  meat.  And  when  they  entered  Canaan  we 
are  amazed  that  a  single  month  did  not  furnish  them  all  a  grave. 
That  land  was  thickly  peopled,  the  people  at  home,  and  prepared 
for  war.  That  Israel  should  be  able  to  inarch  through  that  land 
and  tread  down  its  mighty  population  and  ultimately  possess  it  all, 
was  a  most  surprising  exploit. 

The  history  of  that  people,  from  the  time  of  Moses  to  Christ, 
fills  the  reader  with  constant  surprise.  At  one  time  they  were 
tributary  to  one  kingdom,  then  to  another,  and  then  to  a  third,  but 
all  the  time  multiplied.  When  they  went  into  captivity  it  seemed 
impossible  but  that  the  Church  must  become  extinct.  But  they 
outlived  all  their  oppressors,  and  celebrated  the  funeral  of  every 
kingdom  that  ever  lifted  a  hand  to  vex  them.  Their  foes  perished 
by  a  perpetual  consumption,  but  the  Church  continued  unhurt  in 
the  very  centre  of  the  contagion.     True,   the   Church   finally  ran 


THE    BURNING    BUSH.  235 

low  at  the  time  of  its  transfer  from  the  family  of  Abraham  to  the 
Gentiles,  but  it  never  became  extinct.  Under  the  ministration  of 
the  Son  of  God  and  his  apostles,  the  Church  received  again  a  vast 
and  glorious  accession.  But  it  was  still  a  bush  in  the  midst  of  the 
flames,  burning  but  not  consumed.  Christ  was  crucified  for  darino- 
to  be  her  friend,  and  the  apostles,  most  of  them,  spilt  their  blood 
at  her  altar.  As  religion  spread  under  the  new  dispensation,  it 
awakened  the  wrath  of  the  enemy  as  it  never  had  before.  A 
countless  army  took  the  field  for  the  destruction  of  the  rising 
Church.  Every  province  where  there  was  a  follower  of  the  Lamb, 
cursed  its  soil  with  their  blood,  till  finally  the  enemy  was  weary  of 
destroying  them.  The  fact  was  seen  and  felt,  that  every  execution 
augmented  the  number  of  believers.  They  could  slay  individuals, 
but  the  Church  itself  was  immortal. 

Pursuing  her  history,  from  the  apostolic  age  to  the  reformation, 
Ave  often  see  her  on  the  very  margin  of  destruction.  Under  Con- 
stantine  she  seemed  for  a  moment  to  prosper,  and  yet  his  very 
touch  was  death.  He  nursed  her  body,  but  he  starved  her  spirit, 
and  the  Church  had  almost  perished  with  him.  But  he  died,  and 
the  Church  outlived  the  boasted  immortality  of  his  sepulchre. 
Under  the  Roman  pontiffs  the  Church  almost  disappeared.  They 
polluted  her  charter,  put  out  the  fire  on  her  altars,  sealed  the  lips 
of  prayer,  and  finally  seemed  to  dig  her  grave.  But  the  Church 
had  retired  from  Rome,  and  was  living  in  the  mountains  of  Pied- 
mont. There  she  breathed,  and  bled,  and  prayed,  till  the  eventful 
period  of  the  reformation.  Then  the  Lord  graciously  lengthened 
her  cords,  and  strengthened  her  stakes.  But  for  many  years  her 
sons  paid  for  the  privilege  of  discipleship  with  their  blood.  Fires 
were  kindled  in  every  province  of  Christendom  to  consume  the 
bush.  Even  England,  now  one  of  the  fairest  provinces  of  Chris- 
tendom, fattened  her  soil  with  the  heart's  blood  of  the  saints. 

And  when  the  reformation  was  at  length  established,  the  Church 
did  not  cease  to  live  in  the  flames.  Errors  in  doctrine  and  in 
practice,  threatening  the  extinction  of  piety,  have  at  different  times 
overspread  almost  every  province  of  Christendom.  But  the  Church 
has  lived,  and  to  the  present  day  is  a  standing  monument  of  the 
power  and  the  truth  of  God. 

This  leads  me  to  remark, 

II.  It  is  wonderful  that  there  should  have  been  a  Church  till 
now,  and  its  continuance  is  a  living  miracle.  This  will  appear  il 
we  consider, 


236  THE    BURNING    BUSH. 

1.  How  small  her  number,  and  how  feeble  her  strength  compared 
with  the  hosts  of  her  enemies.  The  Church  of  Christ  is  still  a 
little  flock.  "  Strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way  that  lead- 
eth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it."  If  the  world  should 
unite  for  the  destruction  of  Zion,  how  small  would  she  be  in  their 
hands.  If  our  civil  governments  should  become  the  enemy  of  the 
Church,  how  easy  would  it  seem  to  destroy  her.  If  the  impeni- 
tent should  wage  war  against  her  interests,  how  easily  might  they 
achieve  her  destruction  unless  God  prevented.  The  Church  has 
numerous,  vigilant,  and  persevering  enemies.  The  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil,  are  leagued  for  her  destruction.  She  can  turn 
her  eye  in  no  direction  but  she  sees  an  enemy.  There  is  not  a 
moment  passes  when  there  is  not  laid  some  plot  for  her  destruc- 
tion. And  although  God  has  constantly  thwarted  the  designs  of 
her  enemies,  and  saved  the  Church,  when  a  host  encamped  against 
her,  yet  are  we  led  to  wonder  at  the  vigilant  and  decisive  move- 
ments of  that  unseen  agent,  who  ever  saves  the  Church. 

2.  We  wonder  at  the  existence  of  the  church,  because  there  is 
not  one  of  her  number  but  carries  her  worst  enemy  in  his  own 
bosom.  That  the  church  should  be  safe,  while  every  individual 
of  her  number  daily  offends  the  Lord,  so  as  to  deserve  destruc- 
tion, is  that  which  excites  surprise.  The  principles  of  apostacy 
and  revolt  are  in  every  Christian  bosom,  and  will  be  while  there 
is  a  church  on  earth.  The  perseverance  of  the  saints  is  a  living 
miracle.  Viewed  in  himself  there  is  nothing  impossible  or  im- 
probable in  his  final  apostacy.  It  is  rather  wonderful  that  he 
should  ever  persevere  than  that  he  always  should.  If  religion  had 
no  other  foe  than  the  remaining  corruption  in  the  hearts  of  God's 
people,  we  should  wonder  that  ever  one  of  them  reached   heaven. 

3.  We  wonder  that  the  church  lives  because  of  the  numerous 
hypocrites  which  she  carries  in  her  own  bosom.  Not  only  does 
the  church  live  in  a  world  of  enemies,  but  the  church  visible  is 
partly  composed  of  men  that  hate  the  Lord,  and  hate  his  kingdom. 
This,  it  is  perceived,  must  greatly  reduce  her  apparent  strength. 
Might  we  count  every  professor  as  the  friend  of  God,  Zion  would 
be  a  host  compared  with  its  real  strength.  But  she  is  at  present  a 
citadel  with  many  enemies  in  her  own  bosom.  That  every  hypo- 
crite weakens  the  strength  of  the  Church,  there  can  be  no  question. 
It  is  their  ungodly  conduct  that  awakens  reproach  against  religion, 
;iiid  arms  the  enemy  with  rage  for  her  destruction;  and  they  at 
the  same  time  discourage  the  hearts  of  God's  people,  ai  d  prevent 
the  Church  from  moving  forward  as  a  band  against  the  enemy. 


THE    BURNING    BUSH.  237 

4.  The  continuance  of  a  Christian  church  is  matter  of  surprise 
wuen  we  consider  that  if  God's  people  act  in  character  their  sen- 
timents and  conduct  constantly  enrage  the  world.  God's  people 
believe,  and  must  constantly  advocate,  those  doctrines  which 
wicked  men  disrelish  and  oppose,  and  must  practice  those  duties 
which  administer  constant  reproof  to  men  of  ungodly  lives. 
Hence  our  Lord  declared,  that  he  came  not  to  send  peace  on  earth 
but  a  sword.  For,  said  he,  "  I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance 
against  his  father,  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and  the 
daughter-in-law  against  her  mother-in-law,  and  a  man's  foes  shall 
be  they  of  his  own  household."  And  we  have  often  seen  this 
dreadful  prediction  exemplified.  Hatred  to  the  religion  of  Christ, 
has  been  seen  to  extinguish  the  strongest  instinctive  affections, 
and  to  create  war,  where  before  there  was  some  degree  of  harmo- 
ny. Christ  assured  his  followers,  "  They  that  will  live  godly  in 
Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution."  And  every  page  of  the 
Church  history  testifies,  that  the  religion  of  the  gospel  is  at  war 
with  the  wicked  passions  of  men.  Hence  how  wonderful  that  re- 
ligion has  not  long  since  been  extinguished,  and  the  world  been 
left  without  any  salt  to  save  it  from  moral  putrefaction. 

5.  Another  reason  why  we  wonder  that  the  Church  has  not  lono- 
since  become  extinct  is  that  she  has  always  depended  more  or  less 
on  the  world,  for  the  support  of  those  ordinances  and  institutions 
on  which  depends  her  own  existence.  No  age  of  the  Church  can 
be  named  when  wicked  men  did  not  contribute  to  feed  the  fires 
of  her  altars,  and  support  her  ministry.  In  Israel  the  wicked  as 
well  as  the  righteous  helped  erect  the  temple,  and  build  the  altar, 
and  furnish  the  daily  sacrifice,  and  support  the  family  of  Levi. 
They  contributed  largely  to  furnish  those  costly  offerings  which 
adorned  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  And  through  all  the  periods 
of  the  Jewish  dispensation,  wicked  men  were  occasionally  among 
the  most  active  in  promoting  the  external  interests  of  the  Church. 
And  since  the  introduction  of  the  gospel  dispensation  the  case  has 
not  altered.  There  was  found  at  least  one  unconverted  man  at 
the  very  commencement  of  the  Christian  Church,  who  sold  his 
possessions,  and  brought  a  part  of  the  price,  and  laid  it  down  at 
the  apostles'  feet.  And  in  every  country  where  there  has  been  a 
Christian  Church,  men  have  helped  support  her  ministry,  and  build 
her  sanctuaries,  and  supply  her  charities,  who  did  not  hope  to 
share  in  her  redemption. 

But,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  Church  has  lived  in  these  cir- 


238  THE    BURTsMNG    BUSH. 

cumstances  ever  since  its  first  establishment,  and  will  live  till  the 
last  of  the  elect  are  gathered  in.  And  it  seems  the  fires  are  to 
continue  to  burn  till  the  close  of  the  period  of  grace  Even  the 
millennium,  which  will  seem  to  have  put  out  the  fires  that  flame 
through  the  branches  of  the  bush,  will  not  raise  the  Church  above 
opposition,  for  at  the  close  of  that  period  we  read  that  Satan  shall 
be  loosed  out  of  his  prison,  and  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations 
which  are  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  Gog  and  Magog,  to 
gather  them  together  to  battle;  the  number  of  whom  is  as  the 
sand  of  the  sea.  And  they  went  out  on  the  breadth' of  the  earth, 
and  compassed  the  camp  of  the  saints  about  and  around  the  belov- 
ed city  ;  and  fire  came  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  and  devoured 
them.  1  think  we  gather  from  this  passage  that  when  the  millen- 
nium, or  Sabbath  of  the  Church  is  past,  she  will  still  have  enemies 
in  every  part  of  the  world  who  will  unite  their  strength  for  her 
destruction.  Thus  the  bush  will  still  burn,  but  it  will  not  be  con- 
sumed, for  God  shall  rain  fire  from  heaven  which  will  destroy  her 
enemies. 

REMARKS. 

1  If  the  Church,  as  a  whole,  is  thus  safe,  so  are  all  her  mem- 
bers. The  idea  that  the  whole  of  a  thing  can  be  safe,  and  yet  all 
its  parts  in  danger  is  absurd,  like  that  of  supposing  a  general, 
without  a  particular  providence.  The  bush  that  Moses  saw  re- 
mained entire  in  the  midst  of  the  flames.  Not  a  branch  nor  leaf 
perished.  If  there  is  no  security  for  the  perseverance  of  individ- 
ual saints  there  may  be  no  Church  on  earth  before  the  return  of 
another  Sabbath.  And  yet  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  text  af- 
fords any  security  to  hypocrites  ;  for  although  they  may  be  enroll- 
ed with  God's  people,  he  may  still  save  his  people  and  destroy 
them.  Were  the  visible  Church  entirely  composed  of  false  pro- 
fessors, there  would  be  doubt  whether  it  would  not  become  extinct, 
but  there  are  mingled  with  the  ungodly  professors  enough  to  en- 
sure the  continuance  of  a  visible  Church.  But  I  suppose  the  secu- 
rity prefigured  in  the  text  to  belong  only  to  those  who  are  real 
believers,  and  whom  God  knows  will  finally  be  admitted  to  the 
joys  of  his  kingdom. 

2.  How  vain  have  been  the  efforts  of  the  ungodly  to  destroy  the 
Church.  She  has  lived,  and  can  live  amid  all  the  fires  they  can 
kindle.  She  has  often  flourished  most  when  persecution  has  raged 
with   the   greatest  vehemence.     Hence  was   derived   that  saying, 


THE    BURNING    BUSH  239 

"  The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church.'"1  And  it  is  as 
well  for  the  world  at  large  as  for  the  Church,  that  their  efforts  are 
unavailing  :  for  the  saints  are  the  salt  of  the  earth — hence,  were 
the  Church  destroyed,  the  world  would  perish  too  ;  of  course,  their 
only  safety  is  in  their  defeat  If  they  achieve  their  purpose,  they 
undo  themselves. 

You  have  known  men  to  attempt  their  own  execution,  and  been 
prevented.  Their  failure  was  their  safety.  You  have  known 
youths  arrested  by  the  arm  of  paternal  authority,  when  setting  out 
in  a  career  of  ruin.  Their  defeat  saved  them  The  same  will  be 
the  ease  with  the  enemies  of  God's  kingdom  To  whatever  extent 
they  injure  the  Church,  they  will  hurt  themselves.  If  they  could 
destroy  the  Church,  they  would  ruin  the  world.  Every  thrust 
they  make  will  recoil  upon  their  own  heads. 

3.  How  useless  and  ungrateful  are  the  fears  of  God's  people 
They  are  useless,  for  they  achieve  nothing.  They  are  ungrateful, 
for  God  has  already  done  enough  for  his  Church  to  deserve  her 
confidence.  If  he  had  ever  seen  her  desolations  with  indifference, 
if  one  promise  of  his  had  ever  failed,  if  the  Church  had  ever  found 
him  her  enemy  in  the  hour  of  distress,  there  would  then  be  ground 
of  fear.  But  no  such  thing  is  true;  no  season  of  her  distress  has 
failed  to  move  his  pity;  he  has  never  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  her 
prayers  ;  no  one  of  his  numerous  promises  has  ever  failed  ;  nor 
did  her  enemies  ever  find  God  their  friend  in  a  season  of  his 
Church's  conflicts. 

4.  What  abundant  cause  have  God's  people  to  rejoice  in  bis 
covenant  faithfulness.  There  is  nothing  but  God  that  Christians 
love  so  much  as  the  Church  ;  and  while  the  Church  is  safe,  it 
must  make  them  happy.  In  her  safety  every  thing  dear  to  us  is 
safe,  in  her  ultimate  triumph  we  shall  find  our  own  salvation.  The 
subject,  then,  is  calculated  to  make  Christians  lift  up  their  heads 
To  not  be  happy  when  there  is  such  abundant  cause  for  joy,  will 
argue  disaffection  to  the  interest  we  have  professed  to  espouse, 
and  will  cast  upon  us  the  suspicion  of  treachery.  This  is  a  case 
I  wish  to  provide  against,  lest  in  my  dying  behavior  I  dishonor 
him  who  laid  down  his  life  for  me.  If  I  am  not  happy  when 
dying,  impute  it  to  derangement,  unless  it  will  the  less  dishonor  my 
divine  Master  to  conclude  that  I  have  always  been  in  the  gall  of 
bitterness,  and  under  the  bonds  of  iniquity,  and  am  now  deserted 
of  him  to  prove  that  "  I  am  about  to  go  to  my  own  place."  The 
Church  has  always  been  so  safe,  and  with  it  every  interest  of  mine, 


"240  THE    BURNING    BUSH. 

unless  I  havii  interests  that  are  distinct  from  Christ  s  interests,  and 
then  I  am  an  unbeliever,  and  have  no  part  nor  lot  in  the  matter. 
There  can  have  been  no  failure  of  the  everlasting  covenant.  God 
will  do  as  he  has  said.  And,  in  doing  so,  if  he  does  not  glorious 
things  for  me,  I  have  only  to  lie  down  and  die  with  shame ;  and 
the  one  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  who  are  about  the 
throne  of  the  Lamb,  will  say  forever,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain,  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength, 
and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing."  And  the  whole  multitude 
will  utter  their  loud  and  long  amen. 


SERMON    XIX. 

THE  TRUE  GOD  A  SURE  DEFENCE.— No.  1. 

2  KINGS  XVII.  33. 
They  feared  the  Lord  and  served  their  own  cods. 

When  the  king  of  Assyria  had  carried  captive  the  ten  tribes  of 
Israel,  and  placed  them  in  different  parts  of  his  empire,  he  brought 
hack  other  men  with  which  to  people  the  cities  of  Samaria.  But 
as  these  strangers  had  no  fear  of  the  God  of  Israel,  while  they 
occupied  the  consecrated  territory,  he  sent  lions  among  them,  that 
committed  such  ravages  that  complaint  was  made  to  the  king  of 
Assyria.  He  immediately  gave  directions  to  send  thither  one  of 
■.he  priests  that  they  had  brought  captive  from  that  land,  that  he 
might  teach  them  the  manner  of  the  God  of  the  land,  and  thus 
induce  him  to  be  propitious  to  its  new  population.  He  came  and 
dwelt  in  Bethel,  and  taught  the  people  how  they  should  fear  the 
Lord.  He  was  no  doubt  an  idolatrous  priest  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  officiate  in  the  idolatrous  worship  of  the  golden  calf. 
Howbeit,  every  nation  made  gods  of  their  own,  and  finally,  being 
unable  to  see  any  wide  distinction  between  the  calf  and  their  own 
favorite  idol,  paid  very  little  regard  to  the  established  worship. 
They  made  priests  of  the  lowest  of  the  people,  and  offered  sacri- 
fices in  their  high  places.  Then  follows  the  apparently  paradoxi- 
cal remark  of  the  text :  "  They  feared  the  Lord,  and  served  their 
own  gods." 

By  their  fearing  the  Lord  we  are  not  to  understand  that  they 
had  that  fear  of  the  Lord  which  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  else 
they  would  not  have  served  their  own  gods.  The  sense  appears 
to  be,  that  they  paid  some  attention  to  the  established  worship  of 
the  calf,  but  devoted  their  principal  zeal  to  the  idol  worship,  to 
the  worship  they  had  imported  with  them  into  their  new  territory. 
And  this  is  declared  to  have  been  the  manner  of  the  Israelites 
whom  they  had  carried  captive.  They  pretended,  in  their  national 
religion,  to  pay  some  kind  of  homage  to  the  true  God,  but  si  ill 
practised  the  worship  of  Baal.  But  that  all  this  show  of  homage 
to  Jenovah  was  offensive  to  him,  there  needs  no  argument  to  prove, 
31 


242  THE  TRUE  GOD  A  SUKE  DEfENCJE. 

other  than  to  state  the  fact  that  it  was   an   idol  worship  which  he 
could  not  accept. 

But  the  question  urges  itself  upon  us,  Have  we  any  thing  in 
these  gospel  times  that  savors  of  such  a  spirit.  We  boast  of  our 
superior  light,  but  are  we  not  conversant  with  the  same  indifTer 
ence,  and  the  same  lightness  that  was  practised  by  the  Samaritans 
two  thoiisand  five  hundred  years  ago  1  Let  us  trace  the  retern 
biance  between  some  of  the  features  of  that  age  and  this 

I.  There  was  evidently  great  indifference  felt  as  to  what  God 
was  worshiped — Jehovah  or  any  other  god.  Where  the  true  God 
was  pretended  to  be  worshiped,  under  the  image  of  a  beast  that 
had  horns  and  hoofs,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  he  would  claim 
nothing  more  of  his  worshipers  than  might  be  claimed  by  any  other 
idol.  There  might  be  some  sacredness  of  names,  or  ascription  of 
attributes  or  works  to  the  Israelitish  gods  that  they  had  not  been 
accustomed  to  give  their  idols,  but  the  untutored  Assyrian,  and 
Mede,  and  Persian  would  not  discern  the  difference,  and  would  be 
more  impressed  by  the  form  of  the  image,  than  by  any  ascription 
of  abstract  qualities  that  might  be  supposed  in  the  one  that  was 
not  in  the  other.  And  is  there  not  the  same  indifference  felt  now, 
by  very  many,  what  God  is  worshiped,  or  what  is  the  very  same 
question,  what  attributes  are  ascribed  to  the  God  we  adore.  How 
numerous  is  the  multitude  that  care  very  little  whether  the  God 
they  worship  is  so  holy  that  he  would  suffer  heaven  and  earth  to 
pass  away  sooner  than  permit  one  jot  or  tittle  of  his  law  to  fail ; 
or  so  indifferent  to  sin  that  he  will  save  all  men  even  without  re- 
pentance ; — whether  he  is  so  wise  as  to  know  the  end  from  the 
beginning,  and  will  work  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own 
will,  or  is  so  unfixed  in  his  purpose  as  to  never  have  determined 
whether  he  will  save  one,  or  ten  in  the  whole  of  the  human  family  ; 
— whether  God  is  a  sovereign,  and  will  do  his  pleasure  in  the 
armies  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  or  is  so 
weak  and  inefficient  that  he  will  suffer  a  worm  to  defeat  his  coun- 
sels, and  a  fly  to  frustrate  his  purpose  ; — whether  he  shall  have 
decision  enough  to  l\x  unalterably  the  rewards  of  a  Savior's  suffer- 
ings, or  leave  it  a  chance  whether  he  shall  not  have  squandered 
away  his  blood  ; — whether  he  shall  have  a  pure  and  holy  family 
about  him  in  heaven,  or  shall  martial  a  band  of  miscreants ; — whe- 
ther he  shall'  have  a  Church  on  earth  that  breathes  the  temper  of 
the  skies,  or  the  foetid  and  blasphemous  fumes  of  the  pit  ; — whe- 
ther his  word  shall  be  all  truth,  or  none  of  it  truth,  or  apart  of  it  j 


THE  TRUE  GOD  A  SURE  DEFENCE.  04,3 

and  his  people  have  a  sure  word  of  prophecy  to  rest  upon,  or  their 
feet  stand  or  sink  in  the  quagmires  that  skirt  the  bottomless  pit ; 
— whether  he  exercises  over  the  world  a  government  so  particular 
as  to  notice  the  falling  of  a  sparrow,  and  number  the  hairs  of  our 
head,  or  exercises  so  general  a  providence  as  that  empires  only 
shall  deserve  his  notice,  and  our  little  selves,  at  least  our  few 
little  sins,  escape  his  inspection.  How  few  in  a  whole  congrega- 
tion of  worshipers  care  whether  he  be  a  God  that  will  require  the 
hearts  of  his  people,  or  will  be  satisfied  with  the  soulless,  spirit- 
less, external  ceremonies  ;  whether  he  have  any  record  kept  of 
the  sins  of  his  creatures,  and  any  day  appointed  when  he  will  judge 
them,  or  he  shall  hear  and  bear  without  rebuking,  the  oaths  and 
curses  of  a  whole  apostate  world  1  That  whole  cursing  and  damn- 
ing community,  that  breathe  moral  pestilence  upon  every  wind 
that  blows,  do  you  not  suppose  that  they  would  prefer  a  God  that 
should  neither  see,  nor  hear,  nor  know  when  insult  is  offered  him 
and  blasphemy  uttered  1  Would  he  not  corrupt  the  public  faith, 
were  it  possible,  till  he  had  excluded  from  it  a  judgment,  and  a 
hell  \  So  the  Samaritans  cared  not  if  supreme  worship  be  offered 
to  Succoth-benoth,  or  the  golden  calf. 

II.  We  witness  in  many  men,  who  profess  to  be  decent  attend- 
ants upon  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  a  total  disregard,  what  is  the 
temper  and  conduct  he  will  require  in  his  worshippers  ;  whether  they 
shall  be  heavenly  minded,  and  lay  up  their  treasures  there  where 
God  is,  or  may  be  sordid,  and  grovelling  in  their  views,  and  in 
their  habits,  and  be  the  veriest  ungodly,  churlish  souls  in  all  the 
creation  of  God  ; — whether  they  shall  be  kind,  and  courteous,  and 
benevolent,  or  act  out  all  the  coarseness,  and  savageness  of  un- 
subdued nature  ; — whether  they  shall  be  meek,  and  patient,  and 
forgiving,  or  may  pour  forth  all  the  wrath,  and  malice,  and  hurry, 
and  impatience  of  one  just  broken  out  from  the  enclosures  of 
crime,  and  chains,  and  infamy ;  — whether  to  show  mercy  to  the 
men  who  are  sacrificing  themselves  upon  the  altars  of  devils,  and 
hold  them  back,  is  kind  and  Christian,  or  whether  one  may  live  up- 
on the  gains  of  iniquity,  and  thrive  and  fatten  upon  the  damnation 
of  souls ;  —  whether  to  bless  the  men  of  the  world  is  a  duty  at  all, 
or  whether  we  may,  with  the  same  divine  approbation,  pamper 
their  lusts  and  passions,  and  prematurely  plunge  them  into  ever- 
lasting fire; — there  is  resting  extensively  a  doubt  whether  the  spi- 
rit of  he  gospel  is  peaceful  or  contentious,  is  proud  and  overbear- 
ing       '  stubborn  and  refractory,  or  yielding,  and  kind,  and   amia 


'i-ii  THE  TRUE  GOD  A  SURE  DEFENCE. 

ble  ; — whether  men  may  not  drink  of  the  cup  of  the  Lord  and  of 
the  cup  of  devils  ;  may  not  love  the  world  more  than  believtrs, 
and  still  live  harmlessly  within  the  enclosures  of  God's  covenant  ; 
may  not  please  and  satisfy  the  world  more  than  the  Church,  and 
the  enemy  of  souls  more  than  God,  and  still  maintain  unbroken, 
and  unimpaired  their  high  claim  to  a  seat  at  the  supper,  and  a 
mansion  in  the  skies.  So  the  Samaritans  cared  not  whether  their 
cjods  demanded  virtue  in  their  worshippers,  or  were  equally  con- 
tented with  lust,  and  crime,  and  blood.  "  They  feared  the  Lord, 
and  served  their  own  gods." 

III.  There  is  the  same  indifference  felt  as  to  what  doctrines  con- 
stitute the  essence  of  the  gospel. 

Men  presume  that  they  are  hearing  the  gospel  when  the  doc- 
trines of  the  divine  decrees,  of  election,  and  of  divine  sovereignty 
are  reprobated,  and  scowled  upon  as  the  doctrines  of  perdition, 
while  these  doctrines  are  plainly  found,  in  one  shape  and  another, 
on  almost  every  page  of  the  Bible.  They  consider  it  the  gospel 
if  they  hear  vilified  and  abused  the  doctrine  of  the  permanency  of 
God's  everlasting  covenant  with  his  people,  or  the  divinity  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  or  the  eternity  of  future  torments,  or  they  hear  advo- 
cated the  supremacy  of  some  light  within  that  shines  above  the 
brightness  of  the  inspired  page.  In  one  word,  the  mass  of  un- 
godly men  do  not  discriminate  what  truth  is,  nor  what  the  gospel 
is,  and  of  course,  do  not  very  much  care  whether  they  hear  the 
true  gospel  or  another.  There  is,  in  fact  nothing  that  men 
care  so  little  about  as  God,  and  what  relates  to  his  truth,  and 
kingdom  and  glory.  That  gospel,  which  they  profess  to  believe, 
they  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  hear  often.  They  will  not  keep 
Sabbath,  nor  care  to  be  in  the  sanctuary,  nor  care  to  have  others 
keep  the  Sabbaths,  and  attend  upon  God's  worship.  To  speak  the 
whole  truth,  religion  and  God  are  the  things  by  which  they  hold 
the  most  loosely  possible,  and  for  which  they  will  make  smaller 
sacrifice  than  for  anything  in  the  whole  circle  of  human  interests. 
They  would  not  give  as  much  annually  to  sustain  the  worship  of 
God  as  they  would  bestow  in  one  evening  on  the  theatre,  or  ex- 
pend at  one  sitting  in  the  grog-shop,  or  gamble  with  a  single 
game,  or  squander  in  one  excursion  of  pleasure.  They  would 
barter  away  all  the  interests  they  have  in  God,  and  truth,  and  hea- 
ven, for  a  dinner  of  herbs,  for  a   mess   of  pottage. 

We  shall  naturally  be  led  now  to  inquire,  of  what  avail  enn  a  re- 
ligion be  that  takes  v,P  loose  a  hold  of  the  heart?     What  did  it  do 


THE    TRUE    GOD    A    SURE    DEFE.NCE.  245 

for  the  strangers  of  Samaria  1  Did  it  secure  the  Divine  presence 
and  hlessing  1.  Did  it  establish  between  them  and  God  any  per- 
manent covenant  1  Did  it  bring  down  the  rains  and  dews  upon 
their  territory  \  Did  it  even  keep  the  lions  oil"?  And  it  may  be 
:isked,  that  multitude  that  now  hold  loosely  by  everything  religious 
what  their  professed  regard  for  God  will  do  for  them  1 

1.   Will  it  secure  them  a  religious  character! 

Even  this  may  be  doubted.  If  iv-1'jion  is  worth  nothing  the 
world  will  say  it  is  nothing.  If  we  hold  so  loosely  by  it  that 
we  would  barter  away  all  its  interests  for  a  shilling,  the  world  will 
believe  that  we  esteem  it  a  worthless  religion.  If  to  gratify  a 
passion,  or  secure  an  interest,  or  secure  a  friend,  we  would  change 
our  religion,  or  be  without  its  ordinances,  and  place  our  posterity 
upon  the  crumbling  verge  of  infidelity,  may  we  not  well  doubt 
whether  we  shall  be  able  to  save  our  sinking  reputation  as  the 
friends  of  Christianity.  The  world  will  believe  us  religious  ex- 
actly to  the  extent  of  the  price  at  which  we  would  sell  our  reli- 
gious interests.  Hence  it  would  seem  that  the  great  mass  of  un- 
godly men  cannot  escape  the  charge  of  hypocrisy  in  any  profes- 
sion they  make  of  esteem  for  God's  character,  and  kingdom,  and 
glory. 

2.  Will  their  indefiniteness  of  views  and  feelings  on  religious 
subjects  tend  to  their  peace  of  conscience  1  If  there  is  much 
in  the  mind  it  will  not.  Men  who  have  really  given  the 
gospel  a  serious  and  frequent  hearing  have  seldom  failed  to 
discover  that  their  sins  are  unpardoned,  and  their  souls  un- 
sanctified,  and  they  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  under  the  bonds 
of  iniquity.  They  take  so  little  pains  to  please  God,  and  get  to 
heaven,  that  they  lose  all  the  pains  they  do  take,  and  go  on  unhap- 
py all  the  way  to  the  grave,  and  to  perdition. 

3.  Does  the  little  regard  that  ungodly  men  pay  to  divine  things 
increase  their  advantages  of  obtaining  salvation  1  I  fear  some- 
times that  the  opposite  may  be  the  effect ;  that  the  careless  manner 
in  which  they  attend  upon  divine  truth  may  harden  their  hearts 
against  its  sanctifying  influence,  that  the  few  shillings  they  may 
pay  for  the  support  of  the  gospel — less  than  they  would  expend 
upon  the  most  worthless  concern  of  life — will  induce  the  habit  of 
feeling  that  the  gospel  is  of  no  value. 

4.  Will  this  loose  and  indefinite  regard  to  religious  things  save 
the  soul  \  No  ;  if  it  will  not  secure  peace  of  conscience,  nor  in- 
crease the  means  of  salvation,  nor  even  secure  a  religious  charac- 
ter, it  surely  will  not  save   the   soul.     No  !  men  will  go  down   to 


246  THE  TRUE  GOD  A  SURE  DEFENCE. 

hell,  wearing  all  the  different  shades  of  disregard  to  God,  and  his 
kingdom. 

5.  Will  it  lay  the  passions,  and  still  the  appetites  1 

No!  the  soul  that  is  not  filled  with  God  must  be  ever  on  tht 
reach  to  find  something  else  to  fill  it  that  is  not  God,  and  must  fly 
from  vanity  to  vanity, 

"And  find  no  end,  in  wandering  mazes  lost." 

Each  object,  as  it  seizes  it,  will  say,  happiness  is  not  in  me. 

6.  Will  it  soothe  the  bed  of  death  1  No  ;  that  will  be  a  time 
of  decision,  and  to  have  not  been  honest  with  God  will,  in  the  re- 
trospective glances  of  that  hour,  be  the  most  horrid  and  torment- 
ing glance.  Men's  duplicity  in  the  things  of  religion,  will  be  the 
irhost  that  will  haunt  them  on  the  dying  bed. 

7.  Let  the  subject,  then,  teach  us  the  value  of  decision  in  the 
things  of  religion.  If  men  have  any  regard  to  God,  let  them  have 
enough  to  save  the  soul.  If  they  hear  his  word,  let  them  pray  and 
repent,  and  do  works  meet  for  repentance,  and  then  they  live  for 
ever,  and  God  will  keep  the  lions  off  while  they  live,  and  keep  off 
the  roariag  lion  when  they  die,  and  bring  them  to  his  kingdom  at 
last,  wht  re  they  may  bask  in  the  beams  of  his  face  for  ever 


SERMON  XX. 
THE  TRUE  GOD  A  SURE  DEFENCE — No  2. 

2.    KINGS    XVII.    33. 

They  feared  the  Lord,  and  served  their  own  gods. 

When  Israel  went  into  captivity  under  Shalmanezer,  king  of  As 
syria,  supposed  by  the  ancient  Hebrew  writers  to  be  the  same  with 
Sennacherib,  God  condescended  to  give  the  reasons  why  he  thus 
dealt  with  those  who  had  been  long  his  covenant  people.  "  They 
had  sinned  against  the  Lord  their  God,"  [read  from  7th  to  17th 
verse,]  "  therefore  the  Lord  was  angry  with  Israel  and  removed 
them  out  of  his  sight."  How  amazing  is  the  condescension  of 
God,  that  he  would  thus  stoop  to  give  a  reason  of  his  conduct  to 
the  very  men  who  had  awakened  his  indignation  and  his  wrath. 

Doubtless  it  may  answer  some  important  purpose  in  his  moral 
government — that  his  very  enemies  be  convinced  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  his  dispensations.  By  this  very  means  every  mouth  will 
be  stopped  and  all  the  world  become  guilty  before  God.  He  will 
thus  keep  up  the  fear  of  him  and  the  dread  of  him  among  the  na- 
tions, and  he  will  hold  in  restraint  the  very  enemies  of  his  throne 
and  of  his  kingdom.  It  is  added  as  an  item  of  guilt  on  the  part 
of  Israel  that  their  conduct  had  affected  Judah,  and  had  induced 
Judah  to  walk  in  their  statutes,  for  which  the  Lord  had  rejected 
all  the  seed  of  Israel.  This  evil  effect  of  their  example  induced  the 
Lord  to  reject  them,  and  afflict  them,  and  deliver  them  into  the 
hand  of  the  spoilers,  until  they  had  cast  them  out  of  his  sight. 
There  is  nothing  that  men  are  more  accountable  for  than  their  in- 
fluence :  the  bearing  that  theconduct  of  men  shall  have  upon  their 
neighbors,  may  constitute  the  most  prominent  item  of  their  guilt 
— God  may  destroy  the  wicked  sooner  than  he  would,  because  he 
will  protect  from  their  contaminating  example  the  men  who  are 
exposed  to  be  injured  by  their  vices.  This  was  manifestly  the 
fate  of  Israel.  They  had  stayed  longer  in  their  land,  and  the  foe 
had  been  held  in  check  had  not  the  kingdom  of  Judah  been  in 
danger  from  the  example  and  influence  of  their  idolatries. 

The  divine  penman  now  goes  back  to  rehearse  the  matter  from 
the  beginning,  and   speaks   of  God  as  having  rent  Israel  from  the 


2-iS  THE  TRUE  GOD  A  SUKE  DEFENCE. 

house  of  Judah.  This  would  seem  like  shifting  off  the  blame  of 
their  apostaey  upon  the  Creator.  But  we  remember  that  nothing 
is  more  common  in  Scripture,  than  the  ascription  of  the  same  deed 
both  to  God  and  man.  God  is  said  to  have  hardened  the  heart  of 
Pharaoh,  and  still  he  charges  upon  Pharaoh  the  crime  of  hardening 
his  own  heart.  He  is  said  to  have  moved  David  to  number  Israel, 
and  yet  we  hud  him  punishing  David  for  this  very  act.  It  is 
said  of  the  enemies  of  Israel  that  God  turned  their  heart  to  hate 
his  people,  and  still  he  punishes  them  for  hating  his  people.  These 
texts,  though  there  are  many  others  Hue  them,  are  sufficient  to 
show  that  the  Scriptures  are  familiar  with  the  ascription  of  the 
same  act,  both  to  the  Creator  and  the  creature. 

Should  we  now  recur  to  the  history  of  that  transaction,  we  may 
perhaps  discover  reasons  why  there  should  be  this  ascription  of 
the  same  event  to  two  distinct  agencies.  When  Kehoboam  was 
about  to  take  the  kingdom,  the  people  of  Israel,  headed  by  Jero- 
boam, complained  to  him  that  his  father  had  made  his  yoke  heavy, 
and  prayed  that  he  would  lighten  it.  He  took  counsel  of  his  prin- 
ces, and  answered  the  people  roughly,  and  the  result  was,  that  the 
ten  tribes  revolted  from  the  house  of  David.  They  made  Jero- 
boam their  king,  and  he  led  them  into  idolatry,  and  the  result  was 
that  the  wrath  of  God  was  kindled  against  them,  and  he  sent  them 
into  captivity  from  which  we  are  unable  to  say  that  they,  to  any 
very  great  extent,  ever  returned.  Now,  what  are  the  facts  in  this 
case,  that  would  go  to  show  that  the  transaction  was  of  Divine  ap- 
pointment, and  by  the  Divine  agency  1     In  the 

1.  Place,  we  see  some  some  reasons  that  God  had  to  be  offend- 
ed with  the  house  of  David,  and  why  he  should  sever  from  his 
family  part  of  the  kingdom.  In  the  latter  part  of  Solomon's  reign 
he  had  gone  into  a  state  of  dark  and  guilty  backsliding ;  had  mul- 
tiplied his  wives  and  given  up  his  heart  to  pleasure.  He  had  be- 
come the  richest  and  most  powerful  prince  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.  The  spirit  that  led  David  to  number  the  people,  had  led 
Solomon  to  feel  proud  in  the  extent  of  his  riches  and  his  power. 
Hence  Rehoboam  was  led  to  answer  roughly  and  proudly  the  prayer 
of  his  people,  when  they  asked  to  have  their  yoke  lightened.  This 
pride  of  royalty  God  would  check  and  would  punish.  He  had  so 
threatened  David  for  his  sin  in  the  case  of  Uriah.  And  we  see  in 
his  successors,  sufficient  reason  why  he  should  now  punish  the  ini- 
quity of  the  fathers  upon  the  children.  Hence  we  shall  not  be 
surprised  to  find  the  Divine  agency  employed  in  severing  the  king- 
dom. 


THE    TRUE    GOD    A   SURE    DEFENCE.  k„±\) 

2.  We  find  that  when  Rehoboam  had  gathered  together  his  one 
Hundred  and  eighty  thousand  warriors  to   reduce  the  rebellion  of 

srael,  that  God  forbade  him  to  go  up  to  fight  with  his  brethren, 
Diit  bid  every  man  to  return  to  his  house,  and  offered,  as  the  rea- 
son of  this  requisition,  "  This  thing  is  done  of  me."  Thus  are  we 
led  to  see  the  evidence  complete,  that  the  division  of  the  house  of 
David  into  the  two  kingdoms  of  Judah  and  Israel,  was  in  conso- 
nance with  the  Divine  plan  and  through  the  Divine  agency. 

3.  We  find,  moreover,  that  God  had,  even  in  the  time  of  Solo- 
mon, directed  Ahijah,  the  prophet,  to  show  Jeroboam  that  he 
should  be  king  over  ten  of  the  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel.  We 
have  a  record  of  the  facts  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the  first  book 
of  Kings,  (from  the  26th  to  the  40th  verse.)  Now  that  which  God 
would  direct  his  own  prophet  to  foretell,  must  be  an  event  that  his 
mind  has  purposed,  and  his  providence  is  pledged  to  accomplish. 
And  he  condescends  even  to  offer  a  reason  of  this  resolve  of  the 
Divine  mind.  Because  they  have  forsaken  me  and  worshipped 
Ashtoreth  the  goddess  of  the  Zidonians,  Chemosh  the  god  of  the 
Moabites,  and  Milcom  the  god  of  the  children  of  Amnion.  Thus 
a  father's  sins  may  create  mischief  in  his  house  ages  afterwards. 

Let  us  now  inquire  what  there  is  to  show  that  it  was  all  a  hu- 
man transaction,  and  that  though  it  led  to  the  apostacy  and  ruin  of 
Israel,  they  still  deserved  the  punishment  that  came  upon  them. 

1.  There  appears  something  suspicious  in  these  complaints — as 
no  good  reason  can  be  found  why  they  should  complain  of  the 
yoke  they  had  to  wear  under  the  reign  of  Solomon.  He  enriched 
and  advanced  the  kingdom,  and  did  all  that  could  be  done  to  make 
his  subjects  easy  and  happy.  There  was  peace  during  all  his 
reign.  They  suffered  not  by  invasion  during  his  time,  and  never 
had  to  jeopardize  their  lives  in  the  high  places  of  the  field.  They 
abounded  in  provisions,  and  money,  and  merchandise,  and  had,  it 
would  seem,  all  that  heart  could  wish.  Now  a  people  who,  at  the 
close  of  a  reign  like  this,  would  embody  their  complaints  and  peti- 
tion for  a  redress  of  grievances,  would  exhibit  prima  facie  evidence 
that  they  had  very  depraved  hearts,  and  that  probably  something 
else,  and  not  the  matter  mentioned,  was  the  ground  of  their  griev- 
ance. 

2.  The  Israelites  achieved  their  own  separation  and  ruin,  by  ad- 
hering to  the  counsel  of  an  impious  and  unprincipled  Jeroboam. 
He,  doubtless,  instigated  them  to  prefer  their  complaints,  that  he 
might  have  a  pretence  for  seizing  the  sceptre  of  the  ten  tribes,  be- 
fore Providence  gave  the  signal.     They  ought   to   have  seen  and 

32 


250  THE  TRUE  GOD  A  SURE  DEFENCE. 

been  aware  of  their  wickedness.  It  does  not  excuse  men's  sins 
that  they  have  presented  to  them  insidious  and  powerful  tempta 
tions.  We  may  not  give  up  our  minds  to  be  under  the  control  of 
any  other  mind,  till  we  know  that  the  mind  that  guides  ours  is  in- 
fallible. Else  we  must  be  responsible  for  all  the  results  as  if  we 
had  guided  our  own  steps. 

3.  There  was  precipitancy  in  Israel's  determining  to  be  a  king- 
dom by  itself,  till  they  had  asked  counsel  of  the  Lord,  whatever 
confidence  they  might  have  in  the  integrity  and  ability  of  their 
leader.  True  he  had  been  marked  out  as  a  king  by  the  Lord's 
prophet,  but  the  transaction  was  private,  and  could  be  known  to 
Israel,  only  as  Jeroboam  in  the  pride  of  his  heart,  had  without  au- 
thority divulged  it.  And  his  known  character  ought  to  have  made 
them  doubt  whether  their  interests  would  be  safe  in  his  hands. 
Men  may  not  resign  their  own  judgment  and  presume  on  the  Divine 
protection  and  guidance,  unless  they  look  well,  and  wisely,  and 
providently  to  their  own  interests. 

4.  The  people  of  Israel,  and  Jeroboam  with  them,  took  upon 
themselves  the  whole  responsibility  of  their  separation  and  their 
undoing,  by  forsaking  the  worship  of  the  true  God.  "  It  shall  be," 
said  the  Lord,  "  if  thou  wilt  hearken  unto  all  that  I  command  thee, 
and  wilt  walk  in  my  ways,  and  do  that  is  right  in  my  sight  to 
keep  my  statutes  and  my  commandments,  as  David  my  servant 
did,  that  I  will  be  with  thee,  and  build  thee  a  sure  house  as  I  built 
for  David,  and  will  give  Jerusalem  unto  thee."  Thus  would  the 
promise  of  God  have  secured  Israel's  prosperity,  if  they  had  walk- 
ed in  the  counsels  of  the  Lord.  While,  then,  the  purpose  and  pro- 
vidence of  God  made  Israel  a  distinct  people,  and  they,  as  it  would 
seem,  laid  the  train  for  their  own  undoing  ;  we  see  in  the  story 
every  feature  of  a  mere  human  transaction,  laying  the  foundation 
for  guilt  and  for  desert  of  punishment,  for  everlasting  reproach  and 
self-destruction  ;  God  rent  Israel  from  the  house  of  David,  and  yet 
Israel  rent  itself  from  the  house  of  David,  and  chose  its  own  king 
and  him  a  wicked  king,  who  drove  Israel  from  following  the  Lord, 
and  made  them  sin  a  great  sin.  For  the  children  of  Israel  walked 
in  all  the  sins  of  Jeroboam. 

It  is  evident,  then,  a  man  may  do  infinite  mischief — mischief 
that  shall  not  be  finished  in  his  own  age  or  generation,  the  stain 
and  the  shame  of  which  shall  adhere  to  his  blood,  and  pollute  his 
memory.  Jeroboam  is  held  up  as  an  example  of  wickedness,  in 
all  the  generations  after  him,  till  the  time  when  no  one  could  tell 
where  the  tribes  dwelt.     And  even  to  this  day,  when  not  a  trace 


THE  TRUE  GOD  A  SURE  DEFENCE.  251 

of  that  people  can,  with  any  great  assurance,  be  found,  that  man 
who  was  their  leader  in  this  revolt  from  the  house  of  David,  and 
from  the  worship  of  the  true  and  living  God,  is  held  up  as  on  a 
gibbet  to  warn  all  the  generations  not  to  copy  his  wickedness,  lest 
they  partake  of  his  plagues. 

The  sequel  is  awfully  admonitory.  Israel  departed  not  from  the 
sins  of  Jeroboam,  until  the  Lord  removed  them  out  of  his  sight,  as 
he  had  said  by  all  his  servants,  the  prophets.  "  So  was  Israel  car- 
ried away  out  of  their  own  land  to  Assyria  unto  this  day." 

REMARKS. 

1.  This  subject  should  lead  us  to  reflect  on  the  immutability  of 
all  our  own  moral  actions.  It  was  not  very  far  from  a  thousand 
years  before  Christ,  when  Jeroboam  instigated  Israel  to  revolt 
And  now,  almost  three  thousand  years  afterwards,  the  curse  is  still 
resting  on  the  house  of  Israel.  If  that  portion  of  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham has  not  become  extinct,  as  the  promise  would  seem  to  tell, 
how  incalculable  is  the  weight  of  that  man's  iniquities — and  who- 
ever else  might  sin  with  him,  and  all  Israel  sinned,  still  how  im- 
measurable in  their  moral  turpitude  are  his  crimes,  who  began  the 
whole  train  of  mischief. 

2.  How  inflexible  is  the  holiness  and  righteousness  of  God — un- 
pardoned sin  he  never  can  forget  to  hate.  Sin  not  purged  away 
in  a  Savior's  blood,  will  never  lose  its  odious  aspect,  though  under 
a  process  of  punishment  many  thousand  years.  And  how  can  we, 
with  such  facts  before  us,  doubt  but  that,  towards  the  incorrigibly 
wicked,  God  may  keep  his  anger  for  ever. 

3  The  subject  leads  us  to  adore  the  wonders  of  God's  moral 
government. 

An  event  may  be  30  his  own  that  he  appointed  it,  and  would  not 
let  another  defeat,  and  was  the  mighty  power  that  kept  all  the 
agents  in  life,  and  sustained  and  strengthened  them  while  in  the 
service,  and  there  may  be  great  sin  and  unpardonable  in  the  trans- 
action, and  still  God  do  only  right,  and  the  crime  and  guilt  all  be 
lona;  to  the  asjent  that  is  governed  and  controlled. 

4.  The  subject  will  lead  us  to  reflect  upon  that  text.  "  No  man 
liveth  unto  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  unto  himself." 

There  is  not  a  transaction  of  life,  if  wicked,  done  in  the  seeing 
or  the  hearing  of  our  fellow-men,  but  may  go  to  involve  them  in 
guilt,  and  operate  upon  their  character,  and  history,  and  destiny, 
when  they  may  have  perished  a  thousand  years  since.  Hence  we 
must  ask  those  around  us,  and  they  U3,  what  we  and  they  shall  be 


232  THE  TRUE  GOD  A  SUKE  DEFENCE. 

when  these  heavens  are  dissolved.     The   character   of    man  is  so 
pliable   that  it  may  be  easily  changed  for  the  worse  at  any  period 
of  its  formation,  and  no  touch  of  moral  influence  fails  to  change  it 
hence  every  man  lives  where   he   is  giving   character  to  a  world 
And  when,  at  last,  we  shall  read  the  history  of  these  moral  results 
we  shall  feel  it  to  have  been  a  terrible  thing  to  have  lived   in   sucl 
a  world,  where  souls  are  spread  out  around  us  on  every  side,  who 
destiny  will  depend   on  their   character — and  that  character  con 
nected  with  our  conduct. 


SERMON  XXI. 

Till'  MYSTERIES  OF  PROVIDENCE. 

PSALM  XCVII.  2. 

Clouds  and  darknesi  are  round  about  him. 

When  our  Lord  had  assembled  his  disciples  to  eat  with  him  the 
last  paschal  supper,  it  was  a  moment  of  amazing  interest.  The 
devil  had  put  it  into  the  heart  of  Judas  to  betray  his  Master,  and 
the  machinations  of  darkness  were  in  rapid  and  successful  opera- 
tion. A  few  hours  would  pay  the  price  of  blood,  seal  the  doom 
of  the  traitor,  and  scatter  the  little  flock.  There  would  be  great 
weeping  in  the  church,  and  equal  joy  without.  Our  Lord  could 
have  averted  that  storm,  but  his  purposes  of  mercy  must  then 
have  failed ;  hence  he  let  his  power  sleep,  and  gave  the  hosts  of 
hell  the  opportunity  of  a  triumph.  He  had  yet  one  lesson  to  teach 
his  disciples,  and  would  instruct  them  practically.  He  rose  from 
supper,  laid  aside  his  upper  garment,  took  a  towel  and  girded  him- 
self, poured  water  into  a  basin,  and  began  to  wash  his  disciples' 
feet,  and  to  wipe  them  with  the  towel.  He  came  to  Simon  Feter. 
Said  the  astonished  Peter,  "Lord,  dost  thou  wash  my  feet  1  '  The 
Lord  answered,  "  What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now."  What  could 
be  more  surprising  to  him  than  that  his  Lord  and  Master  should 
offer  to  perform  for  him  so  mean  an  office  1  But  the  astonished 
Peter  would  live  to  see  the  mystery  solved;  "thou  shalt  know 
hereafter."  He  would  learn  a  lesson  of  humility,  and  be  prepared 
to  teach  it  to  all  nations. 

But  the  text  is  not  of  private  interpretation,  and  may  teach  us, 
that  many  things  transpire  under  the  present  ministration  of  Divine 
providence,  which  to  men  are  very  mysterious. 

It  will  be  my  object  to  bring  into  view  some  of  these  mysterious 
events,  and  afterwards  inquire  into  the  source  of  the  mystery. 

I.  I  am  to  notice  some  of  the  events  of  Divine  providence  that 
are  mysterious.  It  cannot  be  expected  that  I  give  a  very  enlarg- 
ed catalogue  of  these  events.  It  will  be  sufficient  if  the  few  that 
I  may  notice  suggest  others  that  are  obvious  to  every  reflecting 
mind.     I  name, 


254  THE    MYSTERIES    OF    PROVIDENCE. 

1     The  limited  spread,  and  small  success  of  the  gospel. 

It  was  published  in  Judea  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  and  the 
injunction  was  that  it  be  preached  to  all  nations.  Our  Lord  had 
power  to  cause  this  command  to  be  obeyed.  He  could  have  raised 
up  the  proper  instruments,  and  could  have  given  the  truth  access 
to  the  conscience  and  the  heart  to  whatever  extent  he  had  pleased. 
A  very  few  of  his  disciples,  in  all  ages,  have  been  desirous  to  exe- 
cute this  last  will  of  their  ascended  Lord,  and  have  done  some 
part  of  their  duty.  But  the  number  has  been  small,  and  their  ef- 
forts so  insulated,  that  very  little  has  been  done.  Three  quarters 
of  the  globe  are  yet  unacquainted  with  the  book  of  life,  have  never 
heard  of  a  Savior's  death,  or  been  invited  to  the  marriage  supper 
of  the  Lamb.  Of  the  eight  or  nine  hundred  millions  who  inhabit 
the  adobe,  six  or  seven  hundred  millions  are,  up  to  this  day,  the 
worshippers  of  idols,  attributing  to  a  block  of  wood,  or  a  bar  of 
iron,  the  perfections  of  Jehovah,  and  offering  them  the  homage 
he  demands.  Almost  the  whole  population  of  Asia,  computed  at 
five  hundred  millions,  are  perfectly  ignorant  of  God  and  the  Sa- 
vior, as  the  beasts  that  roam  the  deserts.  The  fifty  millions  of 
Africa  are  in  a  condition  no  less  deplorable.  Among  the  two  hun- 
dred millions  of  Europe  can  be  found  millions  in  a  group  who  are 
involved  in  almost  total  moral  darkness.  Of  the  fifty  millions  in 
the  two  Americas,  something  like  four-fifths  remain  to  be  taught 
what  be  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God.  And  the  isl- 
ands of  the  sea  are,  with  a  few  exceptions,  so  many  moral  deserts. 
Thus  the  gospel  of  salvation,  the  forlorn  hope  of  a  perishing  world, 
the  invaluable  bequest  of  a  dying  Savior,  the  only  guide  of  the 
livino-,  or  hope  of  the  dying,  the  celestial  charter  of  a  blessed  im- 
mortality, at  the  end  of  sixty  generations,  circulates  only  through 
a  little  corner  of  this  revolted  world.  A  few  millions  enjoy  its 
noonday  beams,  and  others  its  twilight,  while  more  numerous  mil- 
lions are  immersed  in  the  shadow  of  death. 

From  some  regions  where  the  gospel  has  been,  it  seems  to  have 
taken  its  everlasting  flight.  Scarcely  an  inch  of  '.hat  territory 
where  prophets  taught,  and  where  apostles  bled,  can  be  considered 
within  the  limits  of  the  church  of  God.  Jerusalem,  and  Antioch, 
and  Ephesus,  and  Rome,  and  Carthage,  where  truth  once  had  a 
lodgment,  are  but  so  many  provinces  reconquered  by  the  prince  of 
darkness.  And  where  the  gospel  tarries  still  its  success  is  small. 
Compare  the  number  of  professors  with  those  who  are  without 
the  pale  of  the  Church,  and  they  are  lost  in  the  superior  numbers 
that  turn  their  back  upon  the  communion.      And  what  numbers  of 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  PROVIDENCE.  255 

those  who  feed  at  the  table,  will  not  at  last  sit  down  at  the  mar- 
riage supper  of  the  Lamb,  we  dare  not  calculate.  Beyond  a  doubt 
all  are  not  Israel  that  are  of  Israel.  We  know  that  many  in  the 
last  day  will  say,  "Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  eaten  and  drunk  in 
thy  presence  V  to  whom  Christ  will  respond,  "  I  never  knew 
you.'' 

Many  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ,  at  the  end  of  a  long  life,  have 
exclaimed,  in  the  language  of  the  prophet,  "who  hath  believed 
our  report,  and  to  whom  has  the  arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed  ? 
The  British  missionaries  labored  twenty  years,  in  the  islands  or 
the  South  Sea,  ere  they  could  tell  us  of  their  success.  Some  verj 
able  men  of  God,  have  been  heard  to  say  on  their  death-bed,  that 
they  were  doubtful  whether  they  had  been  the  means  of  saving  a 
single  soul.  They  have  feared  that  God  had  merely  employed 
them  to  bring  the  fate  of  Chorazin  and  Bethsaida  upon  an  aban- 
doned multitude.  Now  in  all  this  there  is  something  very  myste- 
rious. If  Christ  issue  a  gospel,  why  suffer  it  to  travel  round  the 
world  so  slow  1  Why  fertilize  here  and  there  a  little  spot,  and 
leave  the  residue  of  the  world  a  desert  1  If  he  design  to  bless 
our  race,  why  not  render  his  gospel,  wherever  it  is  proclaimed, 
the  wisdom  of  God,  and  the  power  of  God]  In  an  enterprise  so 
dear  to  the  heart  of  God  as  that  of  rendering  men  holy,  one  would 
think  that  he  would  embark  all  his  attributes.  "  Clouds  and  dark- 
ness are  round  about  him." 

2.  There  has  been  something  mysterious  in  the  success  that  has 
attended  the  propagation  of  error.  Why  will  the  blessed  God  give 
his  enemies  opportunity  to  fill  the  world  with  lies  1  The  more 
firm  our  faith  in  the  promise,  that  all  nations  shall,  one  day,  come 
to  his  light,  the  more  of  mystery  is  there  in  his  suffering  the  ene 
mies  of  truth  to  have  any  success.  Just  when  the  gospel  had  com 
menced  its  course,  Mahomet  was  permitted  to  impose  his  delusions 
upon  a  hundred  millions  of  souls.  And  as  the  darkness  of  pagan* 
ism  began  to  be  dispersed,  popery  riveted  its  chains  upon  another 
hundred  millions.  Many  districts  of  our  world,  which  were  once 
blessed  with  a  pure  gospel,  have  since  become  the  prey  of  error. 
How  many  sectaries  have  arisen,  and  grown  in  numbers  and  in  in- 
fluence, whose  delusions  were  too  bare-faced  to  deceive  any  but  n 
fool.  No  error  seems  too  gross  to  forbid  its  circulation.  The 
Svvedenborgian  and  the  Shaker,  who  could  have  collected  theii 
creeds  no  where  but  from  the  reveries  of  Bedlam,  have  not  failea 
to  gather  about  them  a  community  of  madmen.  And  we  could 
name  other  sects,  whose  fundamental  doctrines   have  no  foundu- 


256  THE    MYSTERIES    OF    PROVIDENCE. 

tion  either  in  Scripture  or  in  common  sense,  and  still  they  find  ad- 
herents. An  impostor  will  gain  a  host  of  proselytes,  while  he  who 
proclaims  the  truth  has  scarcely  made  a  convert.  I  know  that 
error  finds,  in  the  depraved  heart,  a  soil  that  is  congenial,  while, 
for  the  reception  of  truth,  its  fallow  ground  must  be  broken  up. 
Hence  no  surprise  is  felt  at  the  fact  that  wicked  men  should  love 
error  ;  but  God  is  the  Governor  of  the  world,  and  can  check  its 
progress  at  his  pleasure,  and  that  he  does  not  is  our  surprise. 

I  know  the  truth  will  finally  triumph.  The  witnesses,  whose 
souls  cry  from  under  the  altar,  will  yet  see  every  opposer  at  their 
feet.  But  why  the  temporary  triumph  that  God  allows  to  the  ene- 
mies of  his  gospel  ?  Why  must  good  men  so  often  encounter 
chilling  opposition  in  every  effort  they  make,  and  so  frequently 
seem  vanquished  I  So  Israel  encountered  many  a  defeat  in  con- 
test with  the  very  people  whom  God  had  devoted  to  destruction. 
I  do  not  say  that  faith  has  no  answer  to  these  queries,  but  that  it 
must  look  often  through  a  dark  cloud.  Even  in  the  present  day, 
when  the  finger  of  God  writes  success  on  every  banner  of  his  hosts, 
still  he  continues  to  allow  the  enemies  of  his  gospel  to  hope. 
Every  pious  effort  awakens  new  opposition,  and  passions  that  had 
lain  dormant  are  enlisted  against  his  kingdom.  One  of  the  once 
holiest  cities  of  our  land,  was  lately  enlisted,  with  its  wealth,  its 
eloquence,  and  its  influence,  against  the  immaculate  glories  of  the 
Lamb.  Now,  why  will  God  throw  influence  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies,  and  block  up  the  way  of  his  people  1  God  could  fill  the 
world  with  truth  in  an  hour,  and  say  to  Zion,  "  Arise,  shine,  for 
thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  arisen  upon  thee." 
While  "  the  hearts  of  men  are  in  his  hand,  and  he  turneth  them  as 
the  rivers  of  water  are  turned,"  why  will  he  allow  the  world  to  be 
overrun  with  error1.  He  has  promised  it  to  his  Son,  who  is,  one 
day,  to  "  reign  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth."  Now  why  will  he  keep  his  Son  out  of  the  promised 
inheritance  so  long,  when  he  could  so  e;isily  put  down  error,  and 
give  success  to  his  truth,  and  bring  every  knee  to  bow  to  him  \ 
"  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  him." 

'A.  The  gifts  bestowed  upon  bad  men,  viio  abuse  them,  while  many 
men  of  piety  have  smaller  talents,  is  mysterious. 

Said  our  Lord,  "I  thank  thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,  that  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent, 
and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes."  "  Nol  many  wise  men,  afte: 
the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  nol  many  noble,  are  called  :  but  Goa 
hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise 


THE    MYSTERIES    OF    PROVIDENCE.  257 

and  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound 
the  things  which  are  mighty."  The  fact  is  unquestionable  that 
men  of  the  finest  talents  have  often  been  the  avowed  enemies  of  the 
truth.  They  have  managed  wisely,  and  pleaded  eloquently,  the 
cause  of  the  adversary,  and  have  spent  their  influence,  and  their 
lives  to  prop  the  pillars  of  his  sinking  empire.  Hume  and  others 
of  the  family  of  infidels,  who  own  him  as  their  father,  lavished 
upon  a  bad  cause  the  energies  of  a  mighty  intellect.  They  wanted 
nothing  but  the  aid  of  truth  to  give  immortality  to  every  page  they 
wrote.  Their  destiny  to  forgetfulness  is  because  they  served  a 
bad  cause,  and  a  bad  master.  Every  age  of  the  Church  has  had 
employed  against  her  many  of  the  noblest  geniuses  ;  and  her  foes 
can  never  plead  that  they  were  foiled  because  they  lacked  the 
ablest  of  advocates.  And  yet  many  who  have  been  eminent  for 
piety  have  been  comparatively  wanting  in  powers  of  mind.  They 
met  the  approbation  of  their  master,  having  employed  in  his  ser- 
vice all  the  talents  that  he  had  given  them.  If  they  failed  in  elo- 
quence or  influence,  still  by  their  example  and  their  prayers,  they 
pleaded  nobly  the  cause  of  truth,  and  will  stand  high  at  last  in  the 
estimate  oi  heaven.  Their  names  will  be  remembered  when 
every  argument  and  every  orator  employed  in  the  cause  of  the 
adversary  shall  have  sunk  into  everlasting  contempt. 

We  are  not  prepared,  however,  to  say,  that  irreligion  can  boast 
of  a  balance  of  strong  argument  or  good  sense  on  its  side.  Argu- 
ment has  always  been  weak,  however  specious,  when  at  war  with 
truth,  and  good  sense  has  been  misnamed  when  associated  with 
infidelity.  Good  argument  must  be  founded  in  truth,  and  truth  is 
the  image  of  being  and  of  fact,  and  will  not  lend  its  aid  against  its 
own  honors.  Now  the  mystery  is  that  God  should  ever  arm  his 
enemies  with  talents  to  thwart  apparently  his  purposes  of  mercy, 
to  contradict  his  truth,  to  libel  his  character,  and  abuse  his  people. 

Will  his  providence  make  provision  for  strong  and  bitter  oppo- 
sition to  the  very  salvation  he  proclaims  ?  Will  God  undertake 
to  subdue  a  rebel  world  to  allegiance,  and  raise  up  in  that  same 
world  men  ably  qualified  to  neutralize  the  whole  spirit  and  import 
of  the  very  overtures  he  proclaims  1 

Why  does  he  not  blast  the  intell  ct  and  paralyze  the  tongue  that 
lend  their  influence  to  pervert  the  right  ways  of  the  Lord  ?  Why 
not  wither  the  arm  employed  in  efforts  to  dam  up  the  flow  of  his 
mercy  %  Why  no.  touch  the  lips  of  his  people  as  with  a  live  coal 
from  his  altar,  and  render  every  child  of  his  an  eloquent  advocate 
33 


0?8  THE    MYSTERIES    OF    PROVIDENCE 

of  the  doctrines  and  duties  of  his  salvation.     "Clouds  and  dark- 
ness are  round  about  him." 

4.   The  afflictions  of  the  good  men,  while  the  wicked  are  so  extensively 
prosperous,  appear  mysterious. 

Understand  me  not  to  say  that  ungodliness  hath  the  promise  of 
the  life  that  now  is.  And  still  the  fact  cannot  be  controverted, 
that  many  who  have  set  their  mouth  against  the  heavens,  seems  to 
thrive  well  under  the  present  ministrations  of  Divine  providence. 
There  attend  them  uninterrupted  health,  long-  life,  fulness  of  bread, 
and  success  in  all  their  schemes,  till  they  are  emboldened  at 
lensrth  to  deny  that  God  made  them,  or  that  there  is  any  omniscient 
eye  to  see  them.  And  because  sentence  against  their  evil  works 
is  not  executed  speedily,  their  hearts  are  fully  set  in  them  to  do 
evil ;  while  contemporary  with  them  are  seen  good  men,  who  be- 
come habituated  to  disappointment,  poverty,  and  pain.  Now,  why 
will  God  suffer  this  in  one  case  1  Whom  would  a  kind  father  smile 
upon,  and  bless,  and  prosper,  rather  than  his  own  children  %  When 
was  the  world  blessed  with  worthier  men  than  the  prophets  and 
apostles  \  And  what  class  of  men  have  ever  suffered  more  1 
"  They  had  trial  of  cruel  mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover, 
of  bonds  and  imprisonment .;  they  were  stoned,  they  were  sawn 
asunder,  were  tempted,  were  slain  with  the  sword  ;  they  wandered 
about  in  sheep-skins  and  goat-skins,  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tor- 
mented ;  (of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy  :)  they  wandered  in 
deserts,  and  in  mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth." 

The  summary  detail  that  Paul  gives  us  of  his  own  toils  and  suf 
ferinws,  cannot  be  read  without  strong  and  painful  emotions.  He 
speaks  of  himself  as  having  been  compared  with  others ;  "  In  la- 
bors more  abundant,  in  stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons  more 
frequent,  in  deaths  oft.  Of  the  Jews  five  times  received  I  fori  y 
stripes  save  one.  Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods  ;  once  was  I 
stoned  ;  thrice  1  suffered  shipwreck  ;  a  night  and  a  day  have  I  been 
in  the  deep  ;  in  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of 
robbers,  in  perils  by  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen, 
in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the 
sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren ;  in  weariness  and  painfulness, 
in  watchings  often,  in  hunger,  and  thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold 
and  nakedness."  And  the  long  list  of  martyrs  since  Paul  could 
each  rehearse  a  tale  that  would  torture  a  tender  heart.  Ages 
have  rolled  by,  when  the  dungeon,  the  rack,  the  cross,  and  fire, 
and  fagots,  and  every  other  instrument  of  torture,  that  ingenuity 
could  invent,  have  done  their  utmost  to  rid  the  world   of  its  besl 


THE    MYSTERIES    OF    PROVIDENCE.  939 

benefactors.  And  the  providence  of  God,  as  if  the  hand  of  malice 
were  too  slow,  has  hewn  down  the  best  of  men  in  the  morning  of 
life.  The  ministers  of  religion,  the  missionaries  of  the  cross,  the 
pillars  both  of  Church  and  state,  have  received  a  mandate  to 
quit  the  world,  at  the  moment  of  their  most  extended  influence, 
and  greatest  usefulness.  They  reached  an  eminence  that  qualified 
them  to  address  a  world,  and  rendered  their  services,  as  men  would 
judge,  indispensable  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Church,  and  were 
then  swept  into  the  grave.  So  fell  Dwight  and  Worcester,  and 
Mills,  and  Hall,  Everts,  Cornelius,  and  Wisner,  and  Payson,  and 
the  Churches  adopted  in  their  fall  that  mournful  dirge,  "Clouds 
and  darkness  are  round  about  him." 

Or  they  sometimes  live  but  to  suffer,  and  groan,  and  weep.  God 
does  not  allow  his  people  in  this  world  a  downy  bed,  or  the  con- 
veniences of  a  palace,  doubtless  because  he  sees  that  such  would 
not  be  the  safest  route  to  heaven.  Their  religion  often  procures 
them  trials,  and  plants  upon  their  brow  a  crown  of  thorns.  Whe- 
ther they  have  any  more  trials  than  they  need  is  not  now  the  ques- 
tion. No  doubt  God  could  sanctify  them  by  his  Spirit,  and  take 
them  to  heaven  through  a  less  stormy  passage.  Nor  can  their  tri- 
als be  such  as  to  render  it  doubtful  whether  God  loves  them. 
And  still  it  is  sometimes  a  mystery,  that  God's  dearest  people  may 
not  have  more  refreshments  in  the  wilderness,  and  fewer  pains  on 
their  way  to  his  palace  in  the  skies. 

In  the  meantime  the  wicked  prosper.  Health  attends  their  per- 
sons, and  success  their  enterprises,  and  there  is  poured  into  their 
lap  a  profusion  of  wealth  and  pleasures,  and  honors.  And  they 
live,  it  may  be,  to  scourge  the  Church,  to  scare  the  timid,  and  vex 
the  faithful,  and  stop  the  tardy,  and  wring  from  aching  bosoms, 
midnight  complaints,  and  agonized  prayers.  Thus  they  flourish 
like  the  green  bay  tree,  and  by  a  hardy  constitution  and  a  daring 
mind,  rise  superior  to  all  the  plagues  and  pains  incident  to  holy 
men.  The  basest  of  human  beings  have  sometimes  measured  out 
a  hundred  years,  have  attended  the  funeral  of  every  pious  con- 
temporary, and  have  even  blown  the  trumpet  of  revolt  in  three 
centuries. 

An  I  it  would  be  infidel  not  to  confess  that  God  had  their  life  in 
his  hand,  and  could  have  rid  the  world,  at  a  word,  of  their  con- 
taminating influence.  The  very  men  who  are  famous,  mid  weary 
themselves  to  commit  iniquity,  and  would  keep  a  thanksgiving  if 
they  could  see  the  Church  exterminated  ;  whose  only  prayer  is 
that  God  would  hate  and  curse  his  people  ;  these  very  men  live  by 


~60  THE    MYSTEIUES    OF    PROVIDENCE. 

Divine  appointment,  and  feed  daily  on  the  charities  of  Heaven 
All  this  transpires  under  his  government  who  holds  his  people 
dear  to  him  as  the  apple  of  his  eye,  and  has  engraven  the  walls  of 
their  sacred  city  on  the  palms  of  his  hands.  How  can  Ave  wonder 
that  the  weak  in  faith  are  sometimes  put  to  a  stand  by  events  like 
these,  and  are  led  to  say,  "  Verily  I  have  cleansed  my  heart  in  vain, 
and  washed  my  hands  in  innocency."  "  Thy  way  is  in  the  sea, 
thy  footsteps  are  not  known  1" 

5.  The  poverty  of  the  liberal,  while  the  churl  is  opulent,  is  another 
mystery. 

Ours  is  a  miserable  world,  and  might  be  meliorated  in  its  fall,  if 
the  generous  were  uniformly  wealthy.  We  meet  with  cases  of  dis- 
tress that  mere  sympathy,  if  we  have  no  oil  nor  wine,  cannot  cure, 
misery  that  cannot  be  washed  away  with  tears.  And  if  we  can 
add  a  few  crumbs  of  charity,  they  may  only  aggravate  the  misery 
attempted  to  be  relieved,  by  creating  a  taste  that  cannot  be  grati- 
fied, or  men  may  lack  these  sympathies,  but  have  the  means  of 
their  gratification.  Many  know  not  where  to  bestow  their  fruits, 
and  their  goods,  while  the  poor  may  beg  unpitied  the  crumbs  that 
fall  from  their  table.  But  with  this  misery  they  give  themselves 
no  concern.  The  wounded  may  be  in  the  streets,  but  they  can 
pass  by  on  the  other  side.  The  widow's  fires  are  gone  out,  and 
her  little  ones  are  hungry,  but  it  brings  no  tear  into  their  eye. 
Some  Macedonian  prayer  is  heard  from  the  wilderness  ;  immortal 
beings  are  going  on  to  the  judgment  without  a  Bible,  and  are 
finishing  their  probation  without  a  hope  of  immortality.  But  why 
disturb  them  with  these  foreign  and  frivolous  complaints  1  They 
but  shut  their  ears,  and  grasp  their  purse  the  harder,  for  every  out- 
cry of  want  that  may  assail  them. 

We  can  see  them  glory  in  the  means  they  have,  but  will  not  use 
in  curing  the  miseries  that  lie  spread  around  them.  One  man 
could  furnish  his  town  with  the  gospel,  but  lets  it  lie  a  waste 
place  ;  another  could  build  them  a  sanctuary,  but  suffers  the  place 
where  God's  honor  dwells  to  crumble  into  dust;  another  could 
support  a  domestic  missionary,  and  repair  the  desolations  of  many 
generations  ;  another  could  charter  a  vessel  with  Bibles  for  India  ; 
another  could  educate  an  evangelist,  and  another  support  him  in 
some  outpost  of  Zion  ;  and  yet  the  whole  of  them  combined  will 
not  unite  to  buy  themselves  the  gospel,  but  squander  away  the 
Sabbath  as  the  beast  does. 

Now  were  all  this  wealth  in  the  hands  of  the  benevolent,  it 
would  seem  wise  and  "food  in  him  that  governs   the   world.     The 


THE    MYSTERIES    OF    PROHDENCE.  261 

poor  would  be  supplied,  the  heathen  evangelized,  the  gospel  sup- 
ported, and  the  blessed  God  honored.  It  seems  impossible  that 
this  should  not,  then,  be  a  happier  world.  The  ruins  of  the  apos- 
tacy  would,  then,  be  more  than  half  repaired,  and  there  would  be 
seen  approaching  the  millenial  year  of  the  world. 

Now  the  mystery  is,  that  God  should,  in  so  many  cases,  give 
the  wealth  to  one,  and  the  benevolent  sympathies  to  another  ; 
should  place  the  talents  where  they  cannot  be  used,  and  the  kind- 
ness where  it  has  no  medium  of  display.  The  wealth  rusts  for 
want  of  use,  while  benevolence  bleeds  over  misery  which  it  has 
not  the  ability  to  relieve.  When  occasionally  the  two  things  meet 
they  are  like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver.  I  could  men- 
tion characters  that  will  go  down  to  posterity  with  honor  ;  in 
which  were  identified  opulence  and  charity.  With  these  to  be 
useful  was  to  live,  and,  though  dead,  they  yet  live  in  the  streams 
of  charity  they  created,  and  which  will  continue  to  flow  till  they 
have  fertilized  the  wastes  of  many  generations.  But  I  could 
name  others  who  had  hearts  to  feel,  but  had  not  the  means  of  re- 
lieving the  wretchedness  over  which  it  was  their  painful  luxury  to 
weep.  The  immortal  Howard,  having  devoted  his  patrimony  in 
the  cure  of  distress,  poured  out  his  tears  over  other  miseries  which 
the  smallness  of  his  resources,  and  the  shortness  of  human  life, 
disenabled  him  to  relieve.  To  adopt  the  sentiment  of  his  eminent 
eulogist,  "  he  visited  all  Europe,  not  to  indulge  in  its  luxuries,  but 
to  dive  into  the  depths  of  dungeons,  to  plunge  into  the  infection 
of  hospitals ;  to  survey  the  mansions  of  sorrow  and  pain  ;  to  take 
the  guage  and  dimensions  of  misery,  depression,  and  contempt ;  to 
remember  the  forgotten,  to  attend  to  the  neglected,  to  visit  the 
forsaken,  and  to  compare  and  collate  the  distresses  of  all  men  in 
all  countries.  His  plan  was  original,  was  full  of  genius  and  hu- 
manity. It  was  a  voyage  of  discovery  ;  a  circumnavigation  of 
charity."  Such  were  the  efforts  of  one  who  felt  for  the  misera- 
ble beyond  his  ability  to  administer  relief.  He  did  honor  to  the 
finest  feelings  of  our  nature,  and  erected  to  himself  an  imperisha- 
ble monument  in  the  memory  of  the  miserable. 

And  it  would  be  easy  to  name  men  of  the  opposite  character, 
who  have  the  means  of  making  the  wretched  happy,  but  on  whom 
no  child  of  sorrow  can  ever  fix  a  look  of  gratitude.  But  we  are 
happy  to  say  the  world  is  now  undergoing  a  change,  by  which  men 
of  this  description  must  become  as  contemptible  as  they  are 
wealthy.  God  is  saying  now  to  the  world,  that  the  silver  and  the 
gold  are  his,  and  many,  at   his  bidding,  are  casting  their  wealth 


262  THE    MVSTERIES    OF    PROVIDENCE. 

into  his  treasury,  and  the  father,  who  will  not  nov  aid  the  cause 
of  charity,  will  make  his  heirs  ashamed.  A  suffering  world  has 
raised  its  cry  to  heaven,  and  God  has  heard,  and  will  have  its 
miseries  relieved.  But  how  strange  that  for  so  many  thousand 
years,  he  should  have  permitted  wealth  and  charity  to  be  so  ex- 
tensively dissociated,  when  their  union  would  have  so  mitigated 
the  miseries  of  the  apostacy. 

6.  I  mention  but  one  other  fact  under  the  government  of  God 
that  would  seem  a  mystery,  the  small  degrees  of  sanctijicatiofi  in  his 
people.  Knowing  that  they  would  never  arrive  at  heaven  without 
his  interference,  God  has  undertaken  to  sanctify  them  by  his 
Spirit ;  and  has  even  promised  that  when  he  begins  a  good  work 
he  will  see  it  consummated. 

There  is,  then,  a  pledge  given  that  God  will  make  all  his  people 
like  him.  Hence  we  are  confident  that  he  has  never  abandoned 
one  that  he  has  begun  to  sanctify.  And  still  how  little  of  the 
image  of  God  is  seen  in  his  people.  And  I  have  no  reference  now 
to  false  professors,  but  to  those  who  give  the  best  evidence  that 
they  love  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  pious  kings  and  patriarchs  of 
Israel  all  polluted  their  memory,  and  marred  their  enjoyment  by 
sin.  The  best  men  whose  history  is  recorded  in  the  volume  of  in- 
spiration, are  seen  to  have  come  greatly  short  of  what  God  would 
have  them  to  be.  And  the  Christians  of  the  present  day,  are,  at 
the  best,  poor  polluted  creatures.  How  liable  to  become  worldly, 
to  pollute  their  consciences  with  crime,  and  dishonor  the  sacred 
name  into  which  they  have  been  baptized.  In  every  prayer  they 
make,  one  who  is  a  stranger  to  his  own  heart  is  liable  to  infer  that 
they  have  polluted  their  hands  with  capital  offences  against  the 
laws  both  of  God  and  man.  Now,  why  will  God  permit  his  family 
to  be  so  corrupt  1  Would  he  not  love  them  more  if  they  were 
like  him1.  And  their  songs  how  much  sweeter,  and  their  sacrifi- 
ces how  much  more  acceptable,  and  how  much  more  abundant 
their  comforts,  and  more  exalted  the  glory  that  would  redound  to 
their  Redeemer,  if  they  were  more  holy.  And  they  are  God's  own 
family,  whom  he  will  have  near  to  him  in  his  kingdom,  and  who 
arc  to  reflect  his  glory  for  ever.  He  intends  to  go  on  operating 
in  their  hearts  till  he  makes  them  like  himself,  and  yet  he  permits 
them  to  carry  about  with  them,  till  they  die,  a  body  of  sin  and 
death.  It  is  wonderful  that  an  everlasting  covenant  should  bind 
such  polluted  creatures  to  their  holy  Redeemer  ;  that  their  sins  do 
not  forfeit  them  the  endeared  relationship,  and  cut  them  off  from 
iiope,  and   happiness,   and   heaven.     And  equally  strange,   on  the 


THE    MYSTERIES    OF    PROVIDENCE.  263 

other  side,  that  since  God  could,  by  a  single  word,  render  them 
perfectly  holy,  he  should  still  permit  them  to  progress  so  slowly 
in  their  way  to  perfection.  Why  not  say  to  the  whole  family  of 
believers,  "  I  will,  be  ye  clean,"  and  thus,  in  one  moment  solve  the 
mystery,  and  render  millions  of  hearts  happy  \  "  What  I  do  thou 
knowest  not  now,  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter." 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  subject  should  render  us  humble.  Our  view  of  every  sub- 
ject is  so  limited  and  so  obscure,  that  no  very  great  degree  of 
confidence  can  become  us.  It  may  give  us  joy  that  God  knows 
how  every  thing  will  terminate,  and  that  in  the  end  we  shall  know 
that  God  has  done  all  things  well.  But  while  we  know  so  little, 
and  with  regard  to  many  things  hardly  venture  to  have  any  opin- 
ion, the  deepest  humility  becomes  us,  and  the  greatest  modesty, 
when  we  think  or  converse  on  the  ways  of  God.  A  proud  man,  in 
such  a  world  as  this,  is  a  monster,  and  not  to  be  tolerated  till  he 
is  smitten  with  a  deep  sense  of  his  own  insignificance.  To  be 
learning  all  we  can  is  our  duty,  and  still  it  is  our  duty  to  feel  till 
we  die  that  we  have  only  read  a  single  page  of  the  book  of  Provi- 
dence, and  have  read  that  page  by  the  dimmest  twilight.  We 
may  have  as  enlarged  hopes  of  the  discoveries  of  futurity  as  we 
please  to  cherish,  may  calculate  one  day  to  know  even  as  we  are 
known ;  but  to  have  at  present  any  confidence  that  God  has  made 
a  full  disclosure  on  any  subject,  is  to  lose  sight  of  our  own  novi- 
ciate, and  prepare  ourselves  for  sad  and  everlasting  disappoint- 
ment. 

2.  While  the  present  state  of  things  is  calculated  to  destroy  all 
self-confidence,  it  prepares  the  way  for  the  most  enlarged  faith. 
The  less  we  know,  the  greater  occasion  is  there  to  believe,  the  less 
we  are  permitted  to  discover  of  our  path  with  our  own  eyes,  the 
more  absolute  the  necessity  that  we  lean  upon  the  hand  of  God. 
If  we  walk  in  darkness,  and  have  no  light,  the  command  is  that  we 
trust  in  the  Lord,  and  stay  ourselves  upon  our  God.  If  we  can  but 
walk  safely,  though  it  be  by  starlight,  we  may  rest  assured  that, 
by-and-bye,  when  the  sun  has  risen,  we  shall  see  that  God  has  led 
us  in  the  right  way,  that  we  might  go  to  a  city  of  habitation. 
Surely  our  confidence  in  him  may  rise  to  the  highest  pitch  of  as- 
surance. If  it  be  important  that  we  learn,  before  we  reach  hea- 
ven, to  rely  with  the  most  entire  confidence  on  the  truth  and  faith- 
fulness of  God,  then  are  we  placed  in  the  very  world  where  we  can 
learn  this  lesson  to  the  happiest  advantage.     One  could  not   learn 


26-i  THE    MYSTERIES    OF    PROVIDENCE. 

to  believe  in  heaven,  learn  to  trust  where  no  danger  is,  learn  to  wait 
when  every  good  is  present,  or  be  diffident  when  the  whole  mys- 
tery is  developed.  And  we  cannot  tell  now  how  much  good  it 
may  do  us  in  heaven  to  have  been  bred  for  that  world  in  the  very 
twilight  that  now  surrounds  us.  It  may  render  heaven  a  far  hap- 
pier world  than  it  would  otherwise  have  been.  This  world  may 
hereafter  be  seen  to  have  been  the  nursery  where  only  we  could 
have  learned  some  of  those  first  lessons  that  lay  a  broad  founda- 
tion for  progress  and  joy  in  the  acquisition  of  heavenly  science. 
And  we  may  a  thousand  times  bless  the  Lord  in  our  future  songs, 
that  no  farther  light  was  granted  us  when  we  passed  this  desert. 
Let  faith  be  strong  and  we  can  hear  songs  in  the  night.  Job  sung 
sweetly  while  his  night  was  the  darkest.  "I  know  that  my  Re- 
deemer liveth."  His  song  was  the  dictate  of  faith  which  darted 
through  the  cloud,  and  perched  him  upon  the  summit  of  Tabor, 
where  lay  smiling  in  his  eye  the  fields  of  promise.  There  he 
sung,  and  Moses  after  him,  and  there  if  we  can  but  climb,  we  shall 
see  a  wider,  and  fairer,  and  more  fertile  Canaan  than  gladdened 
believers  under  the  darker  dispensation.  Come  ye  disciples  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  "Try,  try  your  wings," — let  your  faith  put  forth  its 
mightiest  efforts,  and  soon  you  rise  above  this  twilight,  and  ten 
thousand  intricacies  of  providence  disclose  their  mystery,  and  you 
see  a  wise,  and  great,  and  good  Jehovah  managing,  with  unerring 
skill,  the  darkest  operations  of  this  beclouded  world 


SERMON    XXII. 

THE  WAYS  OF  GOD  UNFOLDED. 

JOHN  XIII.  7. 

What  I  do  thou  knowebt  not  now,  but  thou  shall  know  hereafter. 

The  operations  of  Divine  providence  afford  the  believer  a  sub- 
ject of  contemplation,  the  most  delightful.  Little  as  he  can  know 
in  his  present  state,  and  darkened  as  must  be  all  the  views  of  a 
finite  mind,  when  employed  in  tracing  the  footsteps  of  an  incom- 
prehensible God,  still  the  research  is  pleasant.  When  vision  fails 
faith  operates.  The  solution  of  one  mystery,  leads  us  to  antici- 
pate the  moment  when  others,  darker  still,  shall  be  solved.  The 
light  that  has  dawned  shall  shine  brighter  and  brighter  unto  the 
perfect  day.  It  is  the  God  we  love,  who  is  seen  to  operate.  Not 
only  can  he  do  no  wrong,  but  he  will  yet  permit  us  to  see  that  he 
has  done  right.  A  child  passing  a  wilderness  in  a  dark  night,  in 
company  with  his  father,  would  not  feel  alarmed,  if  for  a  moment, 
he  could  not  see  the  hand  that  led  him.  Parental  love  secures  the 
child,  and  filial  confidence  renders  him  content  and  happy.  The 
wilderness  has  its  limits,  and  the  darkness  its  period.  Creatures 
from  their  very  structure,  can  never  know  but  little,  and  at  present, 
comparatively  nothing.  It  is  enough  for  us,  that  he  who  operates, 
knows  ;  he  who  moves  the  machinery,  has  decreed  that  the  result 
shall  be  wise  and  happy.  And  yet  it  is  our  duty  to  obtain  all  the 
light  we  can.  We  should  be  far  less  ignorant  of  God  and  his 
works,  if  we  were  more  industrious  in  our  researches.  Half  the 
mystery  of  which  we  complain,  we  create  by  our  inattention  and 
our  depravity. 

I.  We  can  at  present  know  but  little  of  the  ways  of  God. 

1.  We  often  mistake  the  Divine  purpose.  In  many  cases  the  ef- 
fect, which  God  designed  to  accomplish  by  a  particular  train  of 
operations,  is  already  produced,  while  yet  we  are  looking  out  fa" 
other  effects.  Deceived  as  to  what  was  God's  main  purpose,  we 
imagine  the  event  distant,  which  has  already  transpired.  God  wi  1 
give  us  at  present  no  other  account  of  his  purpose,  than  that  con- 
34 


2(36  THE    WAYS    OF    GOD    UNFOLDED. 

tained  in  his  word,  and  this  relates  merely  to  our  duty,  and  the 
consequences  of  obedience.  It  may  be  the  design  of  God  to  ac- 
complish many  things,  which  Ave  should  have  supposed,  would 
never  have  entered  into  his  plan.  He  may  permit  men  to  act 
basely,  merely  to  illustrate  the  depravity  of  their  hearts,  and  thus 
corroborate  the  testimony  of  his  word  ;  or  that  his  justice  may 
shine  the  more  conspicuously  in  their  condemnation;  or  that  they, 
in  their  overthrow,  may  become  a  beacon  to  warn  others ;  or  that 
his  people  may  be  rendered  the  more  grateful,  for  the  benefits  of 
restraining  and  sanctifying  grace.  We  are  altogether  too  igno- 
rant to  determine  what  is  a  desirable  event.  We  may  lament  as  an 
incurable  evil,  what  God  may  esteem  an  invaluable  good.  Hence 
we  may  labor  to  defeat  an  event,  to  accomplish  which  all  the  at- 
tributes of  omnipotence  are  embarked.  Our  prayers  and  energies 
may  be  excited  to  agony  in  warding  off  a  storm,  which,  it  is  his 
purpose  shall  come  down  upon  us  in  all  its  fury.  We  watch  at 
the  couch  of  a  languishing  child  ;  our  life  is  bound  up  in  his  ;  if  it 
die,  it  seems  to  us  that  God  must  design  to  undo  us  ;  and  yet, 
perhaps,  that  child  was  given  us  that  it  might  die  in  our  arms,  and 
be  the  means  of  our  sanctification.  We  dread  some  apprehended 
revolution,  as  calculated  to  sap  the  foundations  of  our  civil  liber- 
ties, and  yet  God  may  see  that  it  will  enhance  our  blessedness. 
Hence  it  will  often  happen,  that  God  and  his  people  will  seem  to 
be  at  strife.  They  aim  at  his  glory,  and  suppose  that  he  would 
be  honored  by  an  event  which,  should  it  transpire,  would  injure 
them,  and  cover  his  throne  with  a  deeper  darkness.  But  in  a  case 
like  this,  God  will  approve  our  motives,  but  will  thwart  our  pur- 
pose;  and  when  the  series  of  events  is  finished,  we  shall  see  and 
confess  that  we  were  mistaken,  and  that  God  was  wise. 

2.  The  remoteness  of  the  cause  from  the  effect,  renders  inexpli- 
cable many  of  the  events  of  Divine  providence.  When  we  see  the 
wondrous  machine  in  motion,  we  look  for  results  too  soon.  For- 
getful that  one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a 
thousand  years  as  one  day,  we  expect  him  to  finish  his  work  in  an 
hour.  The  wheel  we  now  see  in  motion  will  move  another,  and 
that  another,  and  another,  and  another,  till  at  length  the  hundredth 
generation  will  see  accomplished,  an  enterprise  which  we  see  begun. 
Voltaire  about  a  century  since  sowed  the  seeds  of  the  French  rev- 
olution, and  thus  commenced  a  train  of  events,  that  probably  will 
continue  in  operation  till  the  last  day.  Jeroboam  instituted  an 
idolatrous  worship,  which  resulted  twenty  centuries  afterward  in 
the  ruin  of  Israel.     Mohamed  more  than  one  thousand  years  ago, 


THE    WAYS    OF    GOD    U.NFOLDED.  267 

compiled  a  system  of  falsehood,  which  now  chains  in  the  dun- 
geons of  death,  perhaps  one  hundred  millions  of  souls.  But  we 
must  be  infidels  too,  to  deny  that  these  are  all  events  of  Provi- 
dence, by  which  ultimately,  God  will  cover  himself  with  glory. 

And  the  subject  will  apply  itself  to  things  nearer  home.  A 
careless  father  admits  into  his  family  to-day  a  worthless  laborer, 
whose  pernicious  principles  and  example  debauch  and  ruin  his  de- 
scendants to  the  fifth,  and  perhaps  the  tenth  generation,  and,  it 
may  be,  ultimately  render  his  family  extinct.  A  mother,  to  cover 
the  villany  of  her  son,  denies  a  fact,  or  asserts  a  falsehood  in  his 
presence,  and  thus  teaches  her  child  to  prevaricate,  and  entails 
crime  and  infamy  upon  her  remotest  posterity.  A  father  breaks 
the  Sabbath,  and  deserts  the  sanctuary,  and  thus  places  his  offspring, 
for  many  generations,  in  the  seat  of  the  scorner.  There  is  really 
no  calculating  how  extensively  may  flow  the  streams  of  corrup- 
tion ;  how  remote  from  its  source  may  be  the  outlet  of  those  wa- 
ters, that  carry  wretchedness  and  death  in  their  course. 

Or  if  we  look  at  the  brighter  side  of  the  picture,  the  prospect 
will  be  more  pleasant.  David,  and  Moses,  and  Asaph,  three  thou- 
sand years  ago,  penned  those  divine  songs,  which  to-day  produce 
joy  and  gladness  in  every  part  of  Christendom,  and  will  continue 
to  multiply  the  happiness  of  believers,  till  the  second  coming  of 
the  Redeemer.  Many  a  pious  mother  a  thousand  years  ago,  taught 
her  children  those  principles,  which,  to-day  secure  to  her  a  pious 
posterity,  and  to  the  world  a  host  of  benefactors.  Our  forefathers 
founded  those  institutions  which  are  now  the  pillars  of  our  land, 
and  taught  those  principles  which  are  now  the  stay  of  our  churches, 
and  the  prolific  sources  of  our  revivals.  And  when  the  great 
drama  shall  be  finished,  we  shall,  doubtless,  see  many  causes  and 
their  effects  separated  from  each  other,  to  the  distance  of  a  hun- 
dred generations.  In  these  circumstances,  how  can  we  hope  that 
in  the  passing  events  there  will  not  be  many  things  inscrutably 
dark  and  mysterious.  If  a  force  were  seen  in  operation  in  this 
country,  which  was  to  produce  its  effects  in  the  north  of  Europe, 
or  in  some  isle  of  the  Pacific,  who  could  hope  to  remain  at  home, 
and  comprehend  fully  the  structure  of  that  machine  \  And  the 
case  is  the  same  when  time,  as  when  space  separates  the  cause 
from  the  effect.  Standing  by  the  little  rivulet  that  issues  from  a 
mountain  spring,  how  can  we  hope  to  measure  and  explore  the  ef- 
fects of  that  stream,  when  it  has  traversed  a  continent,  and  is  pour- 
ing out  its  waters  into  the  bosom  of  the  ocean.  Could  we  follow 
the  eye  of  God  down  through  the  unmeasured  tracts  of  time  and  see 


268  THE    WAYS    OF    GOD    UNFOLDED 

every  plan  finished,  all  mystery  would  vanish.  Thus,  perhaps,  the 
angels,  born  to  noble  enterprise,  and  raised  by  their  immortality 
above  fatigue,  feast  their  expanded  minds,  on  the  interesting  nov- 
elties of  a  wonder-working  God. 

3.  We  are  often  involved  in  mystery,  because  we  do  not  see 
the  connection  betwen  the  powers  operating  and  their  results, 
even  when  not  very  remote.  Hence  many  causes  appear  never  tc 
have  produced  their  legitimate  effects,  and  many  effects  appear  tc 
have  transpired  without  a  cause.  There  was  a  cause  which  pro- 
duced the  effect,  but  one  or  the  other  was  hid  from  our  view 
The  human  mind  was,  perhaps,  incapable  of  looking  upon  both  at 
the  same  glance.  A  child  surveys  a  complicated  machine,  but  is 
able  to  see  no  connection  between  the  motion  of  a  water-wheel, 
and  the  effect  produced.  We  see  a  stream  of  liquid  fire  pouring 
from  the  bosom  of  a  cloud  ;  in  a  moment  we  see  an  oak,  which  had 
withstood  the  storms  of  a  century,  rived  from  its  summit  to  its 
roots,  but  how  this  effect  is  produced,  we  are  unable  to  say  with 
any  good  degree  of  assurance,  after  the  researches  of  six  thousand 
years.  There  is  a  philosophy  that  can  neutralize  the  liquid  fire ; 
there  is  an  eye  that  can  trace  the  forked  lightnings;  there  is  a 
hand  that  can  bind  together,  by  intermediate  links,  the  most  remote 
extremes.  To  one  thus  endowed,  and  to  him  only,  there  can  be 
no  mystery.  The  cause  and  effect  may  be  near,  and  the  connec- 
tion natural  and  visible,  and  yet  that  connection  hid  from  us.  Pe- 
ter could  see  no  relationship  between  the  humiliating  act  of  the 
Redeemer  in  washing  his  feet  and  the  lesson  of  condescending 
kindness  which  that  act  was  intended  to  teach.  Paul,  with  all  his 
faith,  wondered  that  he  must  be  tortured  with  that  thorn  in  the 
flesh.  And  many  a  Christian,  since  then,  has  quarrelled  with  his 
circumstances,  as  calculated  to  retard  his  spiritual  growth,  and 
has  endeavored  to  thrust  himself  from  a  situation,  where  he  was 
learning  the  best  lessons  that  heavenly  wisdom  could  teach. 

4.  Many  things  are  to  us  mysterious,  because  we  see  but  in 
part.  But  one  scene  of  the  grand  drama  falls  under  the  view  of 
any  one  generation.  We  see  the  commencement  of  a  process, 
which  will  not  be  finished  till  the  judgment;  or  we  see  a  result, 
whose  remote  cause  lies  hid  among  the  ages  that  have  elapsed. 
When  the  last  day,  which  will  see  every  scheme  accomplished, 
shall  throw  back  its  light  upon  the  long  train  of  causes,  which 
shall  then  be  seen  yoked  with  their  specific  results,  the  darkness 
of  which  we  now  complain  will  all  have  vanished.  A  parent  edu- 
cates his  son,  without  any  design  whatever,  except  to  procure  him 


THE    WAYS    OF    GOD    UNFOLDED.  269 

the  means  of  being  wealthy  and  happy.  Knowing  the  worth  of 
an  education,  he,  in  his  turn,  educates  his  son,  till  at  length  there 
rises  up  in  that  family,  perhaps  not  till  the  tenth  generation,  a 
Brainerd,  a  Schwartz,  or  a  Vanderkemp,  by  whose  pious  labors  the 
very  desert  is  made  to  blossom,  and  vast  tracts  of  its  wastes  are  re- 
deemed from  endless  desolation.  But  this  grand  result  can  never 
be  known  till  the  morning  of  the  judgment.  Then  we  learn  why 
that  first  youth  was  educated.  A  man  is  wealthy,  but  covetous  to 
a  proverb,  and  has  an  only  son.  All  the  wealth  he  can  grasp  he 
hoards  up  for  that  son,  but  he,  in  the  mean  time,  becomes  dissipat- 
ed, and  dies  a  vagabond,  and  the  father,  destitute  of  an  heir,  is 
constrained  to  put  his  overgrown  estate  into  circulation,  and  it  final- 
ly drops  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord,  and  is  expended  in  sending 
the  bread  of  life  to  the  perishing  heathen.  But  this  happy  result 
can  never  be  fully  appreciated  till  the  period  of  the  judgment. 
Then  we  shall  know  why  the  father  was  permitted  to  become  pe- 
nurious, and  the  son  dissipated.  And  the  same  is  the  case  with 
regard  to  almost  every  movement  of  the  wheels  of  providence. 
There  is  x\ot\\'mg  finished  in  the  present  world  but  character,  or,  if 
finished,  the  result  is  not  declared.  We  can  see  the  whole  of  no- 
thing. Onr  station  is  at  some  point  on  the  winding  banks  of  a 
stream,  whose  source,  and  whose  outlet  hide  themselves  in  the 
darkness  of  an  unmeasured  distance.  One  great  object  of  the 
judgment  will  be  to  show  that  God  was  wise  and  good  in  all  he 
did.  and  this  can  only  be  seen  when  every  event  is  finished.  Then 
the  widow  will  know  why  she  was  so  early  bereaved.  The  mother 
will  know  why  death  tore  her  infant  from  her  bosom.  The  aged 
minister  will  see  why  he  wept  away  his  life  over  a  hard-hearted 
people.  Then  the  believer  will  no  longer  see  through  a  glass 
darkly.  The  night  that  now  hovers  about  him  will  be  dispersed, 
and  the  full  blaze  of  a  noon-day  sun  shine  upon  every  unfinished 
scene  through  which  he  is  now  passing. 

5.  Another  source  of  mystery  arises  from  the  contrariety  be- 
tween the  means  employed  and  the  end  achieved.  The  very 
course  is  pursued  often  which  we  should  have  judged  would  have 
defeated  the  object.  Pharaoh  must  feed  the  family  of  Jacob  dur- 
ing the  years  of  famine,  and  to  compass  the  object  Joseph  must  go 
into  Egypt  a  slave.  Who  can  wonder  that  the  patriarch  exclaimed, 
"  All  these  things  are  against  me."  The  captive  Jews  must  enjoy 
the  patronage  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  to  compass  this  design 
Daniel  must  be  cast  into  a  den  of  hungry  lions.  On  that  dreary 
night  what  believing  captive  dared  to  hope  that  God   was   dealing 


27C  THE    WAYS    OF    GOD    UNFOLDED. 

kindly  with  his  people.  And  they  must  be  in  esteem  with  the 
court  of  Persia,  but  to  effect  this  a  gallows  must  be  erected  for 
Mordecai.  When  the  gospel  was  to  be  disseminated,  there  must 
be  upon  the  Roman  throne  a  cruel,  ambitious  Csesar,  who  should 
not  shrink  at  the  sight  of  blood  till  the  world  was  subdued  at  his  feet. 
The  idea  of  communicating  instruction  by  means  of  tracts  originat- 
ed in  the  mind  of  Voltaire,  was  first  used  in  the  propagation  of  infi- 
delity, and  is  now  among  the  best  means  employed  by  the  Redeem- 
er in  subduing  the  world  to  himself.  It  was  the  Divine  purpose  to 
cure  the  world  of  infidelity  ;  to  accomplish  this,  God  directed  that 
the  experiment  should  first  be  made,  whether  a  nation  could  be 
happy  without  the  Bible  ;  this  experiment  must  be  made  in  the 
very  centre  of  Christendom,  and  France  must  be  the  scene  of  its 
operation.  The  Scriptures  were  committed  to  the  flames,  and  so 
complete  was  the  conflagration,  that,  at  the  close  of  the  scene,  a 
search  was  instituted  and  continued  in  Paris  for  four  days  by  seve- 
ral enterprising  men,  without  being  able  to  discover  a  single  copy 
of  the  Bible.  The  dreary  result  you  know.  Infidelity  has  the 
heart  of  a  tiger  :  blood  is  its  proper  nourishment,  and  it  can  feed 
upon  its  own  bowels.  The  leaders  in  that  enterprise  invented  the 
guillotine,  and  dyed  its  beams  with  their  own  blood.  The  Jeho- 
vah whose  word  they  had  proscribed,  swept  them  all,  as  with  the 
besom  of  destruction,  into  one  untimely  grave.  The  tale  cannot 
be  told  without  emotion.  It  was  the  song  of  death,  and  the  work 
went  on  till  the  very  grave  said,  "  It  is  enough."  The  plague 
spread  throughout  the  empire,  till  almost  every  mother  in  the 
realm  grieved  that  it  had  not  been  her  destiny  to  live  and  die 
childless. 

Thus  we  saw  the  legitimate  fruits  of  infidelity,  and  this  experi- 
ment, strange  as  it  may  seem,  has  stabbed  the  vitals  of  that  mon- 
ster. No  nation  will  again  make  the  experiment  of  becoming 
happy  by  the  aid  of  infidelity.  All  are  receiving  the  Bible,  and  it 
will  soon  be  read  in  every  language  under  heaven.  Thus  means 
are  employed  apparently  the  most  contrary  to  the  design  which  is 
accomplished. 

6.  Another  source  of  mystery  is  the  amazing  disparity  between 
the  cause  and  the  effect.  An  arrow  shot  at  a  venture,  entered  be- 
tween the  joints  of  the  harness  and  slew  the  despot  of  Israel.  A 
shepherd's  boy,  with  a  sling  and  a  stone,  gained  Israel  a  victory 
over  the  army  of  Philistia.  When  Voltaire  was  a  School-boy,  who 
could  see  any  connection  between  him  and  the  plague  of  infidelity 
that  desolated  the  French  empire.     When  Alexander  and  Welling- 


THE    WAYS    OF    GOD    UNFOLDED.  271 

ton  were  in  their  cradles,  who  could  predict  that  they  were  to 
wade  in  triumph  through  the  carnage  of  Waterloo.  The  British 
government  laid  a  duty  upon  one  article  of  export  to  the  Ameri- 
can colonies,  and  it  resulted  in  our  independence.  A  little  cap- 
tive maid  directed  Naaman  to  Elisha,  and  convinced  the  court  of 
Syria  that  there  was  a  God  in  Israel.  So  the  little  stone  cut  out 
of  the  mountain  without  hands,  will  yet  become  a  great  mountain 
and  fill  the  whole  earth.  How  is  it  possible  that  we  should  not 
seem  surrounded  with  mystery,  while  we  inhabit  a  world  where 
the  greatest  events  are  thus  constantly  resulting  from  causes 
which  are  too  small  to  claim  any  relationship  to  those  events. 
Inattentive  to  what  is  passing,  the  event  breaks  in  upon  us  while 
yet  the  cause  lies  hid  in  the  profoundest  obscurity. 

7.  The  complication  of  causes  and  effects  casts  a  mystery  around 
the  movements  of  providence.  The  same  train  of  causes  produces 
more  than  one  effect.  That  which  we  term  an  event  is  often  the 
means  of  some  other  event.  In  the  case  of  Joseph,  God  intended 
to  afflict  and  sanctify  his  aged  father,  to  develope  the  depravity 
of  his  brethren,  to  cast  a  little  light  into  the  court  of  Pharaoh,  to 
bless  Joseph,  to  save  alive  his  father's  house,  to  drown  the  Egyp- 
tian host,  and  finally,  and  principally  to  get  to  himself  a  great 
name.  And  thus  is  connected  with  every  operation  of  providence 
a  great  variety  of  events.  At  times  we  find  it  impossible  to  come 
at  the  main  design,  and  perhaps  in  most  cases  the  main  design 
cannot  be  known  till  the  assize  of  the  last  day. 

8.  The  perpetual  variety  which  God  observes  in  the  movements 
of  his  providence  covers  his  designs  with  mystery. 

We  cannot  calculate  that  the  same  causes  will,  with  any  uni- 
formity, produce  the  same  effects,  even  when  all  the  circumstances 
are  apparently  similar.  The  same  disease  will  not  operate  on  one 
constitution  as  on  another,  nor  on  the  same  constitution  at  one 
time  as  at  another.  The  same  exposure  which  yesterday  caused 
death,  to-day  is  innocent  ;  and  the  medicine  which  in  one  case 
checked  the  rage  of  a  disease,  in  another  has  beenthouuht  to  aid 
its  operations.  The  same  remark,  which  yesterday  was  hurmless, 
to-day  kindles  a  fire  not.  to  be  extinguished  in  half  a  century 
Hence  we  can  predict  nothing.  God  seems  designedly  to  cover 
himself  with  impenetrable  darkness.  His  way  is  in  the  deep 
waters,  and  his  footsteps  unknown.  "  What  I  do  thou  knowest 
not  now,  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter." 

9.  We  perpetually  misjudge,  as  to  events,  which  arc  happy  and 
which  unhappy.      1  fence    the   mystery  of  the   crucifixion.     How 


272  THE  WAYS    OF  GOD  UNFOLDED. 

could  the  disciples,  who  hoped  in  a  Savior  that  would  redeem 
Israel  from  civil  oppression,  see  any  wisdom  in  the  arrest  and  the 
murder  of  their  master  1  And  yet  his  death  redeemed  myriads 
from  spiritual  bondage,  and  from  the  endless  miseries  of  the  second 
death.  A  mother  is  employed  during  a  score  of  months,  in  rear- 
ing to  intelligence  a  lovely  babe;  but  at  the  juncture  when  it  be- 
gins to  reciprocate  her  smiles,  when  it  had  entirely  entwined  her 
heart,  had  become  an  essential  ingredient  in  her  cup  of  blessings, 
she  wakes  and  finds  herself  embracing  a  lump  of  lifeless  clay.  All 
distress  and  darkness,  she  inquires,  Why  did  it  not  perish  in  the 
birth  1  Why  could  it  not  have  died  when  I  loved  it  less  1  Why 
must  it  live  till  a  mother  cannot  survive  its  death  1  And  yet,  per- 
haps this  very  event  is  the  means  of  snatching  the  mother  from 
perdition. 

In  one  word,  our  ignorance  is  the  principal  reason  why  the 
passing  events  of  providence  are  so  dark.  We  are  inadequate  to 
judge  how  it  becomes  God  to  treat  his  people,  and  how  his  ene- 
mies. And  our  duty  is  to  wait  patiently  till  the  light  of  a  brighter 
dispensation  dissipate  the  darkness  of  the  present. 

III.  One  word  on  the  promise,  "  Thou  shalt  know  hereafter." 
This  refers  us  to  the  light  of  the  last  day.  Then  Christ  will  come 
to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  admired  in  all  them  that  believe. 
Then  all  the  events  of  Divine  providence  will  be  finished.  We  shall 
then  know  what  was  the  Divine  purpose  in  every  dispensation. 
The  cause  and  the  effect  will  approximate,  will  develope  their  con- 
nection, will  lose  their  contrariety,  will  display  their  parity,  and 
unfold  (heir  intricacy.  We  shall  look  no  longer  upon  one  distinct 
part  of  a  dispensation,  but  shall  see  the  whole.  What  was  to  us 
an  infinite  variety,  will  appear,  perhaps,  to  have  been  the  most 
perfect  uniformity.  Judging  then,  as  God  now  does,  we  shall  see 
that  every  event  was  happy.  The  whole  series  of  events  will  be 
finished,  and  the  holy  universe  will  have  nothing  else  to  do  but  to 
wonder  and  adore. 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  subject  is  calculated  to  render  us  modest  and  humble. 
In  a  world  managed  so  entirely  without  us,  where  we  can  know  so 
little,  and  can  predict  nothings  we  have  very  little  cause  to  feel 
ourselves  of  much  importance,  and  have  constant  occasion  to  see 
and  feel  our  own  worthlessness. 

2.  And  yet   we  are   admonished  by  this  subject  to  be  very  cir- 


THE    WAYS    OF    GOD    UNFOLDED.  273 

cumspect  in  our  conduct.  Insignificant  as  we  may  appear  in  our 
own  eyes,  or  in  the  esteem  of  others,  we  may  do  incalculable  mis- 
chief. There  is  a  kind  of  immortality  attached  to  all  we  do.  Our 
imprudent  language  and  misdeeds  may  commence  a  train  of  mis- 
chievous operations,  ending  in  the  ruin  of  our  children  and  our 
neighbors ;  and  we  may  never  know  the  extent  of  the  mischief  til) 
we  hear  them  sentenced  to  perdition,  and  perhaps  perish  with  them 

3.  Let  the  subject  encourage  us  to  attempt  the  achievement  of 
great  good.  Causes  are  often  small  and  weak,  and  yet  the  effects 
incalculably  grand  and  glorious.  A  little  one,  under  the  Divine 
management,  may  become  a  great  nation.  If  Mordecai  had  been 
afraid  to  attempt  great  things,  the  captive  Jews  had  been  extir- 
pated, and  the  very  palace-chamber  stained  with  their  blood.  If 
we  shrink  from  the  labor  of  being  useful,  we  may  die  in  our  in- 
significance, and  God  will  give  to  others  the  honor  of  building  up 
his  kingdom. 

4.  How  capacious  beyond  conception  must  be  the  mind  of  God. 
Of  that  system  of  providence  which  we  contemplate  by  parts,  he 
takes  one  comprehensive  view,  and  manages  with  an  incontrollable 
sovereignty.  With  him  time  and  space  are  nothing ;  no  darkness 
can  obscure  his  view,  no  cloud  intercept  his  vision.  Very  obscure 
are  our  best  views  of  him,  very  low  our  thoughts,  and  very  poor 
our  noblest  affections.  In  heaven  they  behold  his  glory,  and  offer 
him  better  praise. 

5.  The  subject  must  be  full  of  comfort  to  GotTs  people.  The  pre- 
sent darkness  is  but  temporary,  and  the  God  whom  they  love 
manages  the  affairs  of  providence.  They  need  have  no  fear  that 
God  will  not  provide  for  their  safety  and  comfort.  He  reigns  to 
make  them  happy.  Their  interests  are  identified  with  his  own. 
He  will  guide  them  by  his  counsel,  and  afterward  receive  them  to 
glory.  There  they  may  be  delightfully  employed  for  ever  in  con- 
templating scenes,  which  now,  perhaps,  fill  them  with  alarm.  The 
danger  will  then  be  over,  the  wilderness  and  the  sea  behind,  while 
in  prospect  there  will  be  spread  out  a  boundless  and  n  blissful 
Palestine.  But  this  consolation  belongs  only  to  the  true  believer. 
The  hypocrite  will  not  arrive  at  heaven.  To  him  the  present 
darkness  will  continue,  and  become  more  and  more  dense  forever. 

Finally,  tin.-;  subject  offers  no  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  God. 
At  present  he  may  prosper  them,  but  they  can  have  no  hope  that 
he  loves  them.  They  are  forming  a  character  for  the  judgment, 
and  when  that  character  is  fully  formed  they  will  go  to  their  own 
place.  The  mischief  they  have  done  will  all  be  remembered,  and 
35 


274  THE    WAYS    OF    GOD    UNFOLDED. 

they  will  receive  the  due  reward  of  their  deeds.  They  can  hope 
for  no  brighter  day  than  the  present.  The  promise  in  the  text 
does  not  reach  their  case,  till  by  repentance  they  change  their  cha- 
racter. It  reads  in  the  page  of  inspiration,  and  is  a  dreadful  line, 
"  Darkness  shall  pursue  his  enemies."  The  same  cloud  that  light- 
ed the  tents  of  Jacob,  cast  impenetrable  darkness  into  the  camp 
of  the  enemy.  While  God's  people  are  destined  to  emerge  from 
the  present  darkness,  it  will  thicken  about  the  enemies  till  they 
shall  find  themselves  involved  in  the  blackness  of  darkness  for 
ever. 


SERMON  XXIII. 

THE  LOITERER  AT  THE  VINEYARD. 

% 

MATT-    X.\.    6. 
Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle. 

The  text  is  from  the  story  of  the  vineyard,  where  laborers  were 
nired  at  the  different  hours  of  the  day,  and  where  some  were  found 
idle  even  at  the  eleventh,  and  were  set  to  work  in  the  vineyard. 
Thus  is  illustrated  the  great  work  which  we  all  have  to  do,  and 
the  importance  that  we  be  about  it  early.  The  object  of  introduc- 
ing' this  parable  was  to  induce  men  to  think.  When  men  will  be- 
gin to  think,  a  very  important  object  is  gained  ;  this  thought,  how- 
ever, must  result  in  feeling,  or  nothing  radically  important  is  ef- 
fected. And  when  men  feel  they  must  act,  or  nothing  is  done  to 
any  lasting  or  important  purpose.  And  even  then  the  grand  de- 
sign of  the  gospel  is  not  answered  unless  men  act  from  right  mo- 
tives. If  men  suppose  that  God  thus  pushes  his  demands  too  fan 
they  have  only  to  be  told  that  every  human  parent  demands  all 
this  of  his  child. 

But  many  fatally  mistake  the  grand  design  of  the  gospel  and  o( 
life,  and  suppose  that  some  external  morality  is  all  that  God  re- 
quires. What  then  is  the  chief  end  of  man  1  This  is  not  a  mere 
child's  question  ;  but  should  be  put  to  the  youth,  to  the  middle 
aged,  and  the  man  of  gray  hairs.  We  should  put  it  to  ourselves 
in  the  morning  and  in  the  evening,  and  seven  times  a  day.  It 
should  be  written  over  the  posts  of  our  doors,  and  worn  as  a  sig- 
net upon  the  breast.  It  is  a  question  of  the  mightiest  import.  We 
learned  the  answer  when  children,  have  we  to  this  day  understood 
is  import  \  In  the  sacred  volume  the  question  is  ably  and  elo- 
quently answered.  "  God  has  made  all  things  for  himself."  He 
is  an  infinite  ocean  of  excellence,  of  wisdom,  holiness,  justice,  and 
goodness,  and  truth.  He  was  eternally  inclined  to  communicate 
his  happiness  to  creatures.  If,  therefore,  he  act  according  to  his 
nature,  he  will  make  creatures  happy.  Intending  thus  to  act,  he 
created  angels  with  great  capacities  to  contain  the  overflowings 
of  his  goodness.     He  made  man,  also,  to  share  in  the  same  bliss 


276  THE    LOITERER    AT    THE    VINEYARD. 

and  join  the  angels  in  a  general  song  of  praise.  Having  made  these 
immortal  beings,  be  began  to  make  himself  known  to  them,  that 
they  might  begin  their  joy.  He  opened  before  them  the  treasures 
of  his  grace,  and  invited  them  to  partake  and  be  happy.  To  us,  he 
has  revealed  himself  in  the  volume  of  nature.  The  whole  creation 
glows  with  the  beams  of  his  love.  In  the  still  richer  volume  of  his 
hand,  we  have  his  character  in  fairer  lines.  There  are  delineated 
the  features  of  immaculate  beauty. 

This,  then,  is  the  great  business  of  life,  to  know  and  love*  our 
Creator,  and  Benefactor,  and  Preserver.  If  we  already  know 
something  of  his  excellent  glory,  and  in  some  measure  love  him, 
our  present  business   is  to  know  him  better  and   love  him   more. 

Another  part  of  our  work  is  to  promote  the  knowledge  and  love 
of  him  in  others.  Is  any  immortal  mind  benighted,  it  is  our  work- 
to  find  access  to  it,  and  through  some  opening,  introduce  the  light 
of  heavenly  truth.  Is  any  heart  hardened  by  sin,  it  is  our  work  to 
place  it  beneath  the  droppings  of  the  cross,  and  let  it  there  dissolve. 
It  is  our  work  to  spread  out  before  it  the  character  of  God,  and 
give  it  opportunity,  by  our  transforming  view,  to  be  changed  to 
love.  Believing  God  to  be  an  infinite  fountain  of  good,  which  con- 
stantly overflows,  our  business  is  to  open  channels  of  communica- 
tion, that  it  may  flow  out  and  bless  the  world.  In  one  word,  this 
is  our  business,  we  are  to  use  our  time,  our  influence,  our  wealth, 
our  every  talent  in  the  grand  business  of  causing  God  to  be  known 
and  loved.     This  is  the  chief  end  of  man. 

This  is  the  work  which  every  man  must  do,  or  God  will  accuse 
him  of  standing  idle.  It  is  not  the  business  of  ministers  only. 
None  in  heaven,  earth,  or  hell,  are  exempt.  God  has  not  made 
one  creature,  that  can  be  spared  from  his  work.  Could  he  have 
spared  the  instrumentality  of  a  single  creature  which  he  has  made, 
that  creature  would  not  have  been  made.  He  would  not  have 
moulded  that  body,  he  would  not  have  infused  that  immortal  spirit 
to  be  a  mere  cumbrance  to  creation. 

No  one  can  be  excused.  Not  an  angel  can  be  spared,  not  a  man 
must  be  unemployed,  not  a  devil  but  must  advance  his  praise.  God 
must  be  known  and  loved.  Are  there  not  some  of  my  dear  read- 
ers who  have  not  yet  began  this  work  1  It  is  to  no  purpose, 
that  you  have  been  industrious;  it  is  to  no  purpose  that  you 
have  spent  anxious  days  and  restless  nights;  it  is  to  no  purpose 
that  you  have  heard  many  sermons,  and  attempted  many  prayers, 
it  is  to  no  purpose  that  you  have  fed  the  poor,  and  clothed  the 
naked,  and  led  moral  lives  ;  if  you  have  neglected  the  Divine  glory, 


THE    LOITERER    AT    THE    VINEYARD.  lZ  t  ( 

you  have  done  nothing  in  the  account  of  God. — Will  conscience 
now  do  its  office,  do  any  of  you  feel  willing  to  acknowledge,  that 
as  yet  you  have  done  nothing  1 — To  you,  then,  I  propose  one  short 
question, — "  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  ?" 

I.  Is  it  because  you  know  not  vjhat  you  have  to  do  !  Not  one  of 
you  can  make  this  plea,  you  have  had  the  Bible  in  your  hands  from 
your  infancy.  If  you  have  neglected  to  read  it,  or  if  you  have 
willingly  misunderstood  its  meaning,  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that 
God  has  given  you  a  revelation  of  his  will,  in  his  word.  The  parts 
of  that  sacred  book  which  your  memory  retains,  bears  daily  testi- 
mony against  you. 

You  have  listened  to  a  preached  Gospel.  The  ambassadors  of 
Christ  have  often  pressed  upon  you,  your  duty.  They  have  search- 
ed the  Scriptures,  and  told  you  the  will  of  God.  One  after  ano- 
ther has  Deen  sent,  till  by  their  united  efforts,  unless  you  have  ab- 
sented yourself  from  the  house  of  God,  they  have  explained  your 
whole  duty.  From  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  they  have  taken  their 
stand  in  the  sacred  desk,  and  have  published  in  your  ears  their 
heavenly  message.  Not  only  on  the  Sabbath,  but  on  other  days 
have  you  been  invited.  Scarcely,  since  you  left  your  cradle,  has 
the  Gospel  trump  ceased  to  vibrate  upon  your  ear,  and  God  will 
have  kept  the  whole  account. 

Many  of  you  have  enjoyed  the  instructions  of  pious  parents ; 
parents  who  have  labored  from  year  to  year,  with  many  discour- 
agements, and  many  tears,  to  impress  your  minds  with  a  conviction 
of  truth  and  duty.  They  have  spoken  of  these  things  to  you, 
"  when  they  sat  in  the  house,  and  when  they  walked  by  the  way, 
when  they  lay  down,  and  when  they  rose  up  :"  with  all  the  tender- 
ness of  anxious  love,  have  they  pressed  upon  you,  your  obliga- 
tions to  your  God,  and  your  dying  Savior. 

Some  of  you  had  other  friends,  who  have  been  faithful  to  your 
souls.  Perhaps  the  wife  of  your  bosom  has  awakened  you  in  the 
midnight  hour,  to  tell  you,  that  you  was  sleeping  on  the  margin  of 
the  pit.  Perhaps  a  brother  or  a  sister  has  wept  over  you,  and 
plead  with  you  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 

Had  you  enjoyed  none  of  these  means,  you  still  might  have 
known  your  duty.  You  might  have  learned  much  of  God  from 
the  works  of  nature!  For  the  invisible  things  of  him,  from  the 
creation  of  the  world,  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the 
things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead.  The 
very  heathen  are  without  excuse.      Even    the  knowledge  of  God 


073  THE    LOITERER    AT    THE    VINEYARD. 

which  they  may  acquire,  would  render  them  capable  of  serving 
him.  What  excuse,  then,  will  there  be  for  you !  Indeed,  the  Af- 
rican and  Hindoo  can  tell  you,  that  your  ignorance  will  furnish 
you  no  excuse. 

You  know  that  there  is  one  only  living  and  true  God,  who  is 
your  Creator,  and  whom  you  ought  to  love  and  serve  ;  assured 
that  you  are  giving  up  your  plea  of  ignorance  as  untenable,  I  again 
ask,  "  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  ?" 

II.  Is  it  because  it  is  not  an  important  work,  to  which  you  are 
called!  You  suppose  it,  then,  of  small  importance  whether  God 
be  honored,  or  whether  you  or  your  fellow-creatures  be  happy.  So  it 
seems,  then,  of  no  importance,  that,  what  was  God's  object  in  cre- 
atine- you,  should  be  accomplished !  Should  he  think  it  of  suffi- 
cient importance  to  induce  him  to  create  you,  and  will  you  think 
it  too  trifling  an  object  to  engage  your  attention  !  Can  you  possi- 
bly  think  it  of  no  importance,  that  God  be  known  and  loved  by 
his  creatures'?  God  himself  is  happy  in  being  known  and  loved. 
Herein  he  acts  out  his  nature,  and  continues  his  own  immortal 
blessedness.     Where,  then,  can  be  an  object  half  so  grand ! 

The  creatures  of  God  can  never  be  happy,  except  by  knowing 
and  loving  him.  In  no  other  way,  did  ever  men  or  angels  enjoy 
true  bliss.  And  it  seems  you  are  regardless,  whether  they  are 
happy  or  not.  Are  you,  then,  willing  that  heaven  should  cease  to 
be  a  place  of  joy  and  songs!  Are  you  willing,  in  wanton  cruelty, 
to  tear  away  the  angels'  harps!  Are  you  regardless  whether  any 
of  your  fellow-creatures  ever  again  feel  the  transports  of  holy 
love!     If  so,  pray  tell  me  where  is  your  benevolence. 

In  saying  that  the  work  is  not  important  to  which  you  are  invited 
to  attend,  you  implicitly  say,  that  your  own  salvation  is  not  impor- 
tant. Is  it  then,  unimportunt  that  you  have  God  for  your  friend  ! 
In  times  of  affliction,  when  you  will  be  sinking  under  the  pressure 
of  grief,  will  it  be  of  no  importance  to  you,  whether  you  have  a 
God  to  support  you  !  In  the  hour  when  you  die,  can  you  grapple 
with  the  monster  alone !  Can  you  pass  undismayed  through  the 
shadow  of  death,  without  any  Divine  conductor  !  Is  it  a  matter  of 
indifference  to  you,  whether  you  die  under  the  curse  of  the  law, 
or  under  the  smiles  of  a  pardoning  God !  When  with  your  dying 
breath  you  cry,  "  Lord,  Lord,  open  unto  me  !"  are  you  willing  to 
hear  him  say,  "  Depart,  I  never  knew  you  /"  In  the  morning  of  the 
resurrection,  would  it  not  give  you  joy,  to  have  the  Savior  meet 
you  at  the  grave,  and  bear  you   home  to  your  Father's  presence! 


THE    L0ITEKEK    AT    THE    VINEYARD.  279 

In  the  day  of  judgment,  would  you  not  be  glad  to  have  Christ  for 
your  advocate  !  Would  you  not  wish  to  hear  the  transporting  sen- 
tence, "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  father,  enter  into  the  joy  prepared 
for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world!"  Would  you  not  wish 
to  be  on  the  right  hand  of  the  judge!  And  when  slow  eternity  is 
rolling  away  its  ages,  would  you  not  rejoice  to  sit  among  the  re- 
deemed, and  help  them  sing  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb !  Is 
it  not,  then,  an  important  work  to  which  God  invites  you !  I  hear 
you  say,  it  is.     "  Then  why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  /" 

III.  Is  it  because  it  is  an  unreasonable  work  ?  What  then  was 
ever  reasonable  ?  You  are  required  to  attend  to  the  business  for 
which  you  were,  the  business  for  which  God  designed  you,  for 
which  he  has  prepared  you.  He  made  you  for  himself,  and  now 
only  requires  that  you  serve  him.  He  gave  you  the  faculties  you 
possess,  and  now  only  requires  you  to  use  them  as  he  directs. 
He  constantly  feeds  and  clothes  you ;  and  now  only  asks  you  to 
devote  that  life,  which  he  makes  his  care,  to  his  service.  How- 
could  you  possibly  be  better  employed,  than  in  serving  and  loving 
Godl  Where  is  there  an  employment  so  grand,  so  worthy  an 
immortal  creature  1  The  angels  are  thus  employed,  and  esteem  it 
an  honor.  They  think  it  reasonable,  that  their  noble  powers 
should  be  engaged  in  the  service  of  God.  And  yet  is  it  possible 
that  you  should  think  it  unreasonable  1 

Is  it  unreasonable  that  you  should  make  exertions  for  the  salva- 
tion of  your  fellow-creatures  ?  Their  happiness  is  worth  as  much 
as  yours.  In  heaven  they  would  rejoice  as  loud  as  you;  in  ever- 
lasting burnings  they  would  be  as  miserable  as  that  immortal 
spirit  of  yours.  They,  as  well  as  you,  are  destined  to  live  for  ever 
in  joy  or  misery.  You  would  think  it  reasonable  that  they  should 
make  exertions  to  promote  your  happiness,  then  why  not  you  to 
promote  theirs  1  Can  one,  possessed  of  real  compassion,  iOok 
upon  a  world  ignorant  of  God,  under  the  curse  of  his  law,  going 
down  to  people  the  regions  of  eternal  despair,  and  feel  no  distress, 
and  make  no  exertions  to  save  them ! 

But  there  is  another  thought  which  I  hope  will  come  home  to 
your  hearts.  You  are  called  to  make  exertions  for  your  own  sal- 
vation. Is  it  not  reasonable  that  you  attend  to  this  matter  1  Who 
will  attend  to  it,  if  you  neglect  it  1  This  is  your  seed-time,  and 
if  you  misimprove  it,  must  you  not  expect  to  "  beg  in  harvest,  and 
have  nothing  1"  Is  it  not  a  shame  that  you  should  make  no  exer- 
tion for  yourself,  when   heaven,  and  earth,  and   hell,  are  anxious 


280  THE    LOITERER    AT    THE    VINEYARD. 

for  you  1  God  contrived  a  way  for  your  salvation,  Christ  died  to 
redeem  you,  angels  flew  to  bear  the  tidings  of  mercy  and  to  min- 
ister to  the  heirs  of  salvation,  the  saints  in  glory  wait  for  the  news 
of  your  conversion,  and  saints  on  earth  are  praying  for  you,  and 
pleading  with  you,  devils  are  anxious  to  keep  you  out  of  heaven. 
All  this  anxiety,  and  you  none  for  yourselves  !  Tell  me  anything 
under  God's  heavens  more  unreasonable,  than  this  want  of  concern 
about  your  own  salvation. 

Is  there  any  unreasonable  sacrifice  that  religion  would  require 
of  you  1  You  are  required  to  renounce  your  sins,  to  take  up  your 
cross,  and  follow  Christ.  And  now,  in  all  this,  what  do  you  sacri- 
fice 1  For  everything  you  relinquish,  you  shall  receive  a  hundred 
fold  in  this  life.  For  your  hatred  you  will  have  love,  for  your 
pride,  humility,  for  your  stupidity  a  lively  sense  of  divine  things, 
for  your  selfishness,  a  warm  regard  for  the  welfare  of  others,  for 
Egyptian  darkness,  you  will  have  the  light  of  life,  for  your  sinful 
companions,  you  shall  have  the  warm  friendship  of  saints  and  an- 
gels, for  the  regions  of  death,  you  shall  have  the  fields  of  light. 
Where,  then,  is  the  unreasonable  sacrifice  1  Is  there  none  ?  then 
"  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  1" 

IV.  Do  you  reply,  there  is  time  enough  yet  !  This  excuse  is  the 
most  fatal  ever  offered  ;  while  others  have  slain  their  thousands, 
this  has  slain  its  tens  of  thousands.  He  that  resolves  to  neglect 
religion  today,  will  be  likely  to  neglect  it  tomorrow,  and  aarain  the 
next  day,  and  so  on  for  ever.  But  let  me  fairly  understand  the  ex- 
cuse. Do  you  mean  that  you  have  not  sinned  long  enough  1  that 
it  will  be  better  or  easier  to  begin  the  work  tomorrow  1  that  it 
would  be  painful  to  be  a  Christian  too  soon!  That  you  have  more 
tune  than  you  need  to  prepare  for  heaven!  that  God  will  excuse 
you  from  beginning  this  work  today,  or  that  he  will  not  cut  you 
off,  should  you  yet  continue  in  your  sins  !  One  of  these  must  have 
been  the  ground  of  this  excuse  ;  let  us  look  at  each  of  them  in  order. 

Do  you  think  that  you  have  not  yet  continued  in  your  sins  long 
enough  !  And  how  long  is  it  since  you  began  to  rebel  against 
God  1  With  some  of  you  it  is  ten  years  ;  is  not  this  a  long  time  ? 
Ten  years  in  the  ranks  of  rebellion,  is  a  distressing  length  of  time. 
All  that  time  God  has  been  dishonored,  his  work  neglected,  and 
your  soul  impoverished.  All  that  time  you  have  had  no  God,  and 
have  been  miserable.  You  have  been  all  that  time  separated  from 
the  saints,  an  enemy  to  truth,  and  under  the  curse  of  God  ;  now 
may  not  ten  years  of  such  misery  suffice  1     A'as1  I  fear  there  are 


THE    LOITERER    AT    THE    VINE\  4RD.  281 

some   of  my  readers  who  have  been  twenty,  and  thirty,  and  forty, 
and  sixty  years,  in  all  this  misery,  and  is  not  this  enough  !  ! 

Do  you  think  the  work  will  be  easier  to  begin  tomorrow  ?  This  is 
a  mistake,  your  heart  will  then  be  harder.  It  will  have  resisted  the 
influence  of  one  more  sermon  You  will  have  more  sin  to  repent  of 
God  will  be  more  angry  with  you.  The  grand  enemy  will  have  you 
more  completely  within  his  power,  and  you  will  be  nearer  the  mar- 
gin of  the  pit.  Every  moment  makes  the  work  harder.  Every  mo- 
ment increases  the  probability  that  you  may  never  be  a  child  of  God 

Why  will  it  be  better  to  begin  your  work  tomorrow'?  You  will 
then  be  one  day  back  for  ever.  You  can  never  be  so  happy 
as  though  you  had  begun  today.  If  the  soul  be  capableof  eter- 
nal progression  in  happiness,  then  one  day  lost,  puts  it  that  much 
behind  in  its  heavenly  career.  You  will  then  have  less  time  to 
do  good  in  the  world.  In  that  case  your  death-bed  will  be  more 
gloomy.  You  will  have  less  time  to  give  evidence  of  your  piety. 
You  will  have  less  time  to  conquer  your  sins.  There  never  will 
be  a  day  so  favorable  for  beginning  your  work  as  today. 

Do  you  think  it  would  be  painful  to  be  a  Christian  any  longer  than 
is  absolutely  necessary  ?  And  do  you,  then,  suppose  the  Christian 
miserable  1  Is  it  painful  to  be  the  friend  of  God  !  To  be  a  joint- 
heir  with  Christ !  To  have  free  access  to  a  throne  of  grace  !  To 
have  your  name  enrolled  in  the  book  of  life  !  To  have  your  sins 
forgiven  !  To  have  a  Savior's  smiles  !  Did  Enoch,  or  Elijah,  or 
Samuel,  or  David,  find  it  unpleasant  to  walk  with  God  !  My  Chris- 
tian friends,  do  you  find  it  unpleasant !  I  am  certain  that  every 
Christian  in  Europe,  and  Asia,  and  Africa,  and  America,  would 
unite  their  testimony  in  saying,  that  they  never  felt  joy  till  they 
became  the  friends  of  God. 

Do  any  of  you  suppose  that  you  have  more  time  than  you  need,  in 
order  to  prepare  for  heaven  1  This  will  appear  not  to  be  the  fact 
if  you  realize  what  must  be  done.  Old  habits  are  to  be  uprooted, 
and  new  habits  formed  ;  the  unruly  passions  subdued  ;  a  know- 
ledge of  truth  acquired,  and  all  the  Christian  graces  implanted. 
We  are  naturally  very  ignorant  of  heavenly  things,  and  are  chosen 
to  salvation  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the 
truth.  "  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth."  Now  all  who  calcu- 
late to  reach  heaven,  will  need  time  to  do  all  this.  The  oldest  be- 
liever will  tell  you,  that  he  shall  hardly  be  ready  when  his  Master 
comes.  The  youngest  child,  then,  should  not  put  ofFthe  work  of 
repentance  a  moment. 

Will  God  excuse  you  from  begi?ining  the  work  today  ?     He  will  not 
36 


282  THE    LOITERER    AT    THE    VINEVARD. 

He  is  angry  with  the  youngest  sinner  for  having  hated  him  so  lor.g. 
His  uniform  language  is  "  today  if  you  will  hear  his  voice,"  "  Now 
is  the  accepted  time."  His  demand  of  your  heart  is  founded  on 
his  right  to  you,  and  the  glories  that  are  in  himself  to  charm  you. 
He  will  not  excuse  any  creature  from  loving  infinite  beauty  and 
glory.  He  will  not  excuse  you  an  hour,  for  this  would  be  to 
license  sin  for  that  hour,  and  giving  up  his  rights  for  that  hour.  He 
views  himself  as  deserving  not  merely  the  service  you  can  render 
him  after  tomorrow,  but  the  additional  glory  you  can  do  him  to- 
day. 

And  if  any  hope  that  God  will  not  destroy  them  if  they  put  off 
his  service  till  tomorrow,  that  hope  has  not  the  truth  of  God  for 
its  foundation.  There  is  no  promise  of  God  that  secures  life  to 
the  sinner  for  an  hour.  And  if  he  lives,  he  cannot  be  sure  then 
of  an  offer  of  mercy.  This  very  day  God  may  give  you  over  to 
hardness  of  heart  and  blindness  of  mind,  the  man  who  is  intend- 
ing to  be  his  servant  tomorrow.  Many  a  sinner  has  dropped  into 
the  grave  in  the  very  act  of  postponing  the  concerns  of  his  soul. 
Oh !  say  not,  there  is  yet  time  sufficient. 

While  there  is  the  spirit  of  postponement  there  is  no  advance 
made  even  in  conviction,  or  if  there  should  be  some  conviction, 
this  spirit  would  destroy  it  all  in  an  hour.  To  say  the  least,  the 
mind  is  not  deeply  impressed  while  any  future  day  can  be  set  to 
turn  to  the  Lord,  or  even  a  future  hour.  The  heart  in  this  case  is 
still  wedded  to  its  idols.  He  that  would  follow  Christ  when  he 
had  bid  forewell  to  those  that  were  at  home,  and  he  that  would 
first  bury  his  father,  were  both  in  the  gall  of  bitterness.  "We 
must  be  brought  up  to  that  tone  of  feeling  that  spurns  postpone- 
ment, else  it  is  certain  that  there  is  no  very  deep  impression  of 
any  sacred  truth.  We  exhibit  awful  proof,  if  this  is  the  state  of 
our  minds,  that  we  are  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  under  the 
bonds  of  iniquity. 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  sinner  who  has  long  been  accustomed  to  hear  and  repel 
these  sacred  truths  of  God,  and  who  is  still  unmoved  and  unawak- 
ened,  has  reason  to  fear  that  God  may  be  about  to  take  the  offer  back. 
I  cannot  have  a  doubt  but  he  does  thus  treat  hardened  sinners. 
And  in  all  this  he  does  just  as  men  do  when  occasion  requires. 
For  example,  one  merchant  makes  an  offer  to  another,  which  he 
teaves  with  him  an  hour;  in  that  time  the  article  that  he  proposed 
o  sell  or  buy  falls  or  rises  in  the   market,  and  the  offer  is  imme- 


THE    LOITERER    AT    THE    VINEYARD.  283 

diately  withdrawn.  At  any  moment  till  the  proposal  is  accepted, 
it  may  be  withdrawn.  So  God,  at  any  moment  till  the  instant  of 
the  sinner's  acceptance  of  his  mercy,  may  quit  making  the  offer, 
and  then  the  sinner's  doom  is  sealed  for  ever.  Then  is  fulfilled 
that  awful  text,  "  He  flattereth  himself  in  his  own  eyes  till  his  in- 
iquities are  found  to  be  hateful."  Oh  !  it  would  be  a  thousand 
times  better  for  him  now,  if  he  could  die  a  heathen,  and  lay  his 
bones  in  some  dark,  idolatrous  land,  than  to  go  down  to  hell  from 
a  Christian  territory,  where  he  had  the  word  of  the  Lord,  line  upon 
line,  and  precept  upon  precept. 

2.  How  horrid  will  be  those  regrets  with  which  the  sinner  will 
review  all  this  on  the  bed  of  death,  and  onward  through  a  tardy 
and  thinking  eternity.  He  cannot  but  remember  how  often  he  was 
invited  to  enter  and  labor  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  and  how 
tender,  and  how  tearful,  and  pressing  were  many  of  these  invitings 
I  have  supposed  that  the  sinner  must  be  for  ever  thinking  all  this 
over,  and  recounting  every  new  moon,  and  every  Sabbath  day, 
the  years  and  the  ages  of  misery  that  still  remain  till  he  has  paid 
the  debt. 

And  not  merely  will  he  regret  that  he  lost  so  much  time,  but  that 
he  has  lost  the  best  time.  He  has  lost  the  morning  of  life.  How 
promptly  might  his  great  work  have  been  done,  and  all  done,  and 
time  to  spare,  if  he  had  gone  into  the  vineyard  at  the  rising  of  the 
sun.  He  might  have  been  now  a  tall  and  shining  spirit  in  the 
fields  of  light,  and  might  have  vied  with  angels  in  every  song  they 
sing,  and  in  every  excursion  of  love  with  which  they  fill  up  the 
lustrums  of  their  blissful  eternity.  Their  youth  will  be  renewed  in 
heaven,  but  not  so  in  the  dark  world ;  their  age  will  grow  older, 
and  their  very  youth  be  haggard.  Oh,  could  you  see  a  spirit  that 
has  writhed  one  thousand  years  under  the  regrets  of  the  pit,  and 
sighed,  and  wept,  and  groaned,  under  the  withering  blasts  that 
have  been  spending  their  fury  upon  his  soul,  you  would  see  the 
most  blighted  and  pitiable  wretch  in  all  the  creation  of  God. 

This  sight  may  you  never  see, 
This  wretch  may  you  never  be. 

Even  should  you  hereafter  see  the  kingdom  of  God,  you  must 
be  the  subject  of  deep  chagrin  that  you  did  not  enter  earlier. 
Then  you  might  have  had  more  time  to  labor,  and  your  Master 
might  have  reaped  through  you  a  larger  revenue  of  praise.  One 
would  regret,  if  regrets  may  be  in  heaven,  that  he  should  have 
been  called  home  before  he  had  time  to  shine  bright,  and  rise  high 


284"  THE    LOITERER    AT    THE    VINEYARD. 

in  the  school  of  Christ  below.  If  in  such  circumstances  one  might 
reach  heaven,  he  would  wish  an  opportunity  to  weep  before  he 
begun  his  everlasting  song. 

3.  The  invitation  is  not  one  to  pain,  or  danger,  or  misery.  One 
would  think  that  the  invitation  to  labor  in  the  vineyard  must  be 
an  invitation  to  misery,  in  one  shape  or  another,  and  not  to  bless- 
edness ;  but  the  fact  is,  that  the  work  is  that  which  blesses  the 
soul  beyond  any  other.  If  you  find  one  with  nothing  to  do,  just 
set  him  at  the  service  of  the  Lord,  in  his  vineyard,  and  you  make 
him  happy.  Let  him  do  whatsoever  his  hands  find  to  do  with  his 
might,  and  you  remove  whatever  was  the  cause  of  his  miseries. 
In  the  work  of  God  the  body  is  kept  in  health,  and  the  mind  is 
put  into  its  healthiest  and  happiest  condition.  It  is  a  work  in 
which  life  would  be  prolonged  beyond  any  other  condition  under 
the  heavens.  "  Wisdom's  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all 
her  paths  are  peace."  "  Godliness  is  profitable  to  all  things,  hav- 
ing the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to 
come." 

But  there  are  a  thousand  reasons,  a  thousand  times  told,  why 
men  should  not  permit  the  invitation  of  the  text  to  fall  but  once  upon 
their  ear.  Their  dutiful  reply  should  be,  forthwith,  "  I  go,  sir." 
May  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God  set  home  all  this  upon  the  con- 
science and  the  heart  of  all  my  readers,  and  thus  conduct  us  all 
safely  on  to  the  time  when  the  Master  shall  come,  and  the  reapers 
shall  be  reckoned  with,  and  shall  receive,  through  grace,  their 
penny  a  day. 

God  does  not  call  you  to  a  painful  and  laborious  work.  Even  in 
the  work  of  repentance,  that  must  begin  the  service,  there  is 
nothing  painful.  God  does  not  require  you  to  unsay  any  thing 
that  you  have  said  that  was  right,  any  thing  that  you  can  think  on 
with  pleasure  in  the  slow-moving  ages  of  your  eternity.  Nor  does 
he  ask  you  to  undo  anything  but  that  which  you  never  should  have 
done.  You  had  but  one  Master  to  serve,  but  one  grand  service  to 
do,  to  bless  your  Maker,  and  honor  your  kind  and  generous  Ben- 
efactor, and  wait  to  know  his  will,  and  do  whatsoever  lie  requires. 
And  when  you  had  been  a  little  time  thus  faithful,  he  would  have 
taken  you  to  himself,  and  made  you  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of 
himself  for  ever,  in  his  high  and  holy  kingdom.  There  was  nothing 
that  we  can  see  in  the  long  vista  of  your  eternity  that  would  have 
revolved  around  a  painful  hour,  or  brought  over  your  bright  and 
glorious  prospect  a  cloud  as  large  as  a  man's  hand,  as  long  as  God 
shall  live.     Thus  there  would   have  opened  before  you  a  field  of 


THE    LOITERER    AT    THE    VINEYARD.  285 

day,  and  a  scene  of  pleasure  broad  as  the  whole  period  of  your 
being.  Then  how  sweet  your  immortal  song  would  have  bet;n 
while  you  vied  with  angels  in  your  ascriptions  of  honor,  and  glory, 
and  power  to  him  that  loved  you,  and  washed  you  from  your  sins 
in  his  blood. 

5.  And  there  had  been  no  dangers  lurking  about  your  path.  God 
would  have  given  you  one  promise  that  would  have  spread  over 
you  a  safe  and  broad  pavilion  that  would  have  covered  the  whole 
field  of  the  vineyard.  "  I  will  never  leave  thee,  I  will  never  for- 
sake thee."  Then  you  might  have  labored  on,  and  won  as  many 
souls  to  Christ  as  Brainerd  did,  and  Schwartz  did,  and  Pau.  did, 
and  then  might  have  gone  in  with  them,  and  sat  down  with  them 
at  the  banquet  of  your  Master.  There  had  not  been  a  serpent  in 
all  the  field  to  bite,  nor  a  storm  had  gathered  to  beat  you  off  from 
your  work,  and  you  would  have  sung  many  a  song  to  while  away 
the  hours  of  toil,  and  finally  sung  the  harvest  home  in  accents  sweet 
as  angels  use,  and  the  hunlred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  would 
have  gladly  joined  you  in  shouting  a  loud  and  lon<i;  amen. 

6.  And  there  is  no  need  that  I  say,  the  labor  to  which  you  are 
called  by  the  Master  of  the  vineyard  is  not  a  service  that  would 
tire  you  as  in  the  natural  harvest.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the 
body  may  not  tire  and  need  rest.  The  spirit  may  be  willing  while 
the  flesh  is  weak.  But  the  work  is  not  of  that  servile  character 
that  wears  out  the  soul.  And  there  is  a  timely  rest  provided.  And 
in  the  very  field  there  are  put  the  needed  and  the  timely  refresh- 
ments. "  He  shall  drink  of  the  brook  in  the  way,  so  shall  he  lift 
up  his  head."  Those  who  have  labored  long  in  the  vineyard,  and 
have  encountered  many  a  tedious  storm,  many  a  scorching  sun, 
and  many  a  withering  blast,  will  come  home  at  the  last  all  fresh 
for  the  rest  of  heaven,  and  will  sit  down  and  drink  the  wine  new 
with  their  Lord  at  his  upper  table  in  the  skies. 

There  all  the  laborers  will  meet  and  bask  in  everlasting  sunshine 
by  the  ranges  of  the  trees  of  life  ;  and  their  song  will  be,  "  Bless- 
ed be  the  Lord  God,  the  God  of  Israel,  and  blessed  be  his  glorious 
name  for  ever,  and  It  t  the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  his  glory. 
Amei  and  amen." 


SERMON    XXIV. 
CHRIST  MUST  HAVE  HIS  OWN  PLACE  IN  HIS  GOSPFI. 

LUKE  IX.  '20. 
Whom  say  ye  that  I  am  ? 

Admitting  the  fact,  that  men  may  speculate  correctly,  while 
their  hearts  are  unsanctified  ;  or  to  some  extent  mcorrectly,  after 
they  are  born  of  God ;  still  it  is  a  general  truth,  that  men  will  be, 
in  their  moral,  and  in  their  religious  character,  corrupt  or  correct, 
in  the  same  proportion  with  their  creed.  If  on  any  important  sub- 
ject they  believe  a  lie,  their  false  faith  will  present  to  their  hearts 
wrong  motives  of  action,  and  lead  to  those  affections,  and  that 
course  of  conduct,  that  is  in  opposition  to  the  law  of  God,  and  the 
precepts  of  the  gospel.  But  if  men  believe  the  truth,  though  it  be 
not  with  the  heart  unto  righteousness,  still  that  truth  may  exert, 
at  some  future  day,  a  sanctifying  effect  upon  them,  and  the  creed 
adopted,  through  the  Spirit's  influence,  mould  them  into  the  image 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  if  there  is  one  subject,  rather  than 
any  other,  on  which  a  serious  man  would  guard  the  correctness  of 
his  faith,  it  must  be  relative  to  the  character  of  the  Savior  he  trusts 
in  for  eternal  life.  It  must  be  essential,  that  we  put  our  trust  in 
the  very  Redeemer  that  God  has  revealed ;  else  how  can  we  hope 
that  he  will  acknowledge  us,  when  he  shall  come  in  the  glory  of 
his  Father,  with  the  holy  angels. 

Can  it  be  otherwise,  than  a  very  important  thing,  to  the  human 
family,  to  understand  distinctly,  his  nature  and  character,  in  whom 
they  are  invited  to  take  sanctuary  from  the  wrath  to  come  1  Hence, 
to  know  that  the  gospel  proclaimed  to  us,  presents  the  very  Lord 
Jesus,  through  whose  stripes  we  must  be  healed,  will  be  a  question 
of  minor  importance  to  none,  who  calculate  first  or  last,  to  turn 
their  eye  toward  heaven. 

In  Christ's  little  family,  this  subject  was  early  and  earnestly  agi- 
tated. Our  Lord  would  not  suffer  his  disciples  to  be  io-norant  on 
this  point.  "He  a4ied  them  saying,  Whom  say  the  people  that  I 
ami     They   answering,    said,    John    the    Baptis  ;  but   some   say 


CHRIST    MUST    HAVE    HIS    OWN    PLACE    IN    HIS    GOSPEL.  287 

Elias  ;  and  others  say,  that  one  of  the  old  prophets  is  risen  again." 
He  then  brought  the  question  home  to  their  own  bosom,  "  Whom 
say  ye  that  I  am  V  Said  the  prompt  and  affectionate  Peter,  "  The 
Christ  of  God." 

This  subject  is  of  high  and  increasing  importance,  at  a  period, 
when  it  is  becoming  so  fashionable,  to  consider  it  of  no  conse- 
quence what  we  think  of  Christ.  It  will  not  be  so  much  my  ob- 
ject to  exhibit  proofs  of  his  divinity,  as  to  show,  that  whatever  his 
character  may  be,  it  is  important  that  we  have  correct  views  of 
him.  I  shall  arrange  my  thoughts  under  three  general  remarks  : 
The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  a  fixed  and  definite  character:  This 
character  is  plainly  revealed :  If  we  trust  in  a  Savior,  having  any 
other  character  than  that  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  will  not  consider  this  trust  as  reposed  in  him,  and  we  shall 
be  in  danger  of  perishing  in  unbelief. 

1.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  a  fixed  and  definite  character.  It 
would  hardly  seem  necessary  to  state  a  proposition  like  this,  much 
less  to  attempt  to  establish  it  by  argument,  as  it  contains  in  itself 
its  own  confirmation.  The  scriptures  have  given  this  name  to  the 
promised  Messiah,  who,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  must  have  a 
character  so  definite,  that  he  can  be  known  by  his  name.  But  if 
the  name  may  apply,  with  equal  propriety,  to  one  who  is  divine, 
angelic,  or  human,  here  it  seems  to  me  is  the  end  of  all  knowledge 
on  this  subject.  Place  other  subjects  of  revelation  on  the  same 
footing,  and  we  can  only  guess  at  any  thing. 

The  very  idea  of  a  revelation  implies,  that  there  are  truths  re- 
vealed, but  nothing  is  revealed,  if  revealed  so  indefinitely  that  we 
cannot  arrive  at  knowledge  on  the  subject.  As  well  might  the 
Bible  have  merely  named  the  Savior,  if  after  all  it  has  said  of  him, 
we  can  know  only  his  name ;  especially  if  it  be  an  equal  chance, 
whether  we  shall  conceive  of  him  as  one  of  the  Three  that  bear 
record  in  heaven,  or  a  worm  of  the  dust  like  ourselves.  If  God 
has  told  me  only  the  name  of  the  Redeemer,  and  this  is  all  .he 
definite  knowledge  I  can  have  of  him,  I  may  be  so  infatuated  as  to 
apply  this  name  to  a  comet  or  a  star,  and  affirm  that  God  intended 
I  should  trust  in  this  for  salvation.  If  he  has  left  it  to  my  discre- 
tion to  adorn  the  name  with  attributes  such  as  I  would  choose  my 
Savior  should  possess,  then  it  is  manifest  that  no  two  might  trust 
in  the  same  Redeemer. 

But  there  is  an  absurdity  in  the  very  s'ip  osition.  Every  thing 
that  has  being,  has  properties  that  are  essential  to  its  being,  of 
which,  if  you  disrobe  it,  you  take  away  its  very  essence.     Thus  it 


288  CHRIST    MUST    HAVE    HIS    OWN    PLACE. 

must  be  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  You  may  call  by  that  name 
a  being,  so  divested  of  the  attributes  that  belong  to  the  Savior, 
that  he  shall  cease  to  be  the  Savior  God  has  revealed,  and  be  as 
entirely  another  as  if  he  had  had  another  name.  The  identity  of 
being  is  not  in  the  name  but  in  the  nature  or  attributes  that  belong 
to  it.     I  remark, 

II.  The  character  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  plainly  revealed  in 
the  word  of  God.  We  might  infer  from  this  fact,  that  the  Bible  is 
a  revelation  from  God;  and  that  the  principal  subject  of  develop- 
ment in  that  Book  is  the  Savior.  The  Bible  was  given  to  us  to 
make  Christ  known,  that  we  might  take  sanctuary  in  him  from  the 
wrath  to  come.  Hence,  to  suppose  that  his  character  is  left  so 
indefinitely  developed  that  we  can  know  nothing  with  certainty 
respecting  him,  is  to  suppose  God  to  trifle.  There  is  an  impu- 
dence and  a  daring  in  the  very  supposition  that  causes  the  mind 
to  shrink  from  naming  it. 

Moreover  on  opening  the  Bible  I  do  see  the  character  of  the 
Savior,  as  definitely  developed  as  any  others  of  the  subjects  of 
revelation.  I  see  distinctly  his  humanity,  in  that  he  had  a  body 
and  a  soul  as  men  have.  He  hungered,  thirsted,  slept,  was  weary  5 
could  suffer,  could  rejoice;  he  spoke,  and  walked,  and  rode,  and 
bled,  and  died.  And  I  see  as  distinctly  his  divinity.  He  created 
all  things,  could  make  the  bread  and  the  wine  that  sustained  him, 
could  know  the  hearts  of  men,  could  heal  the  sick,  and  raise  the 
dead,  and  givp  sight  to  the  blind,  and  still  the  waves  of  the  sea. 
And  I  will  name  one  text,  among  many,  in  which  he  is  predicted 
with  all  these  characteristics :  "  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a 
son  is  given :  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder :  and 
his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  mighty  God, 
the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace."  Here  the  same  per- 
sonage, who  was  a  child  and  a  son,  is  also  the  Wonderful,  Coun- 
sellor, the  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

But  on  this  point  I  will  only  stop  to  say,  that  on  no  particular  is 
the  Bible  more  full  and  plain  than  on  this.  On  none  of  the  doc- 
trines or  duties  of  religion  have  we  instruction  more  definite.  I 
may  as  well  doubt  what  repentance  is,  and  what  faith  is,  and  what 
love  is,  and  what  prayer  is,  as  who  Christ  is.  I  can  explain  away 
the  truth  on  any  point  as  readily  as  relative  to  the  character  of  the 
Savior.  And  moreover  on  every  point  the  truth  has  been  doubted, 
and  mistakes  as  essential  made,  as  on  this  point.     Men  who  aro 


IN    HIS    GOSPEL.  289 

not  willing  that  the  Bible  should  govern  their  faith,  have   missed 
the  mark  infinitely  on  every  doctrine  of  revelation. 

III.  If  ice  trust  in  a  Savior  having  any  other  character  than  that 
given  in  the  Bible  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  he  will  not  accept  this 
trust,  as  reposed  in  himself ;  and  we  shall  be  in  danger  of  perishing. 
If  Christ  has  a  definite  character,  and  he  must  have,  or  he  can 
neither  be  known  or  trusted  in ;  and  if  his  character  is  revealed 
plainly,  and  this  must  be,  or  it  is  no  harm  not  to  know  him,  or  to 
have  erroneous  views  of  him ;  then  it  must  be  essential  that  we 
trust  in  the  very  Christ  revealed.  If  in  these  circumstances  we  be- 
lieve him  to  be  possessed  of  a  character  that  he  has  not,  if  we 
invest  him  with  attributes  that  he  will  not  own,  or  detract  from 
him  the  essential  and  eternal  properties  of  his  nature  ;  will  he  pity 
our  weakness,  and  own,  as  confidence  in  him,  the  trust  we  place  in 
a  Savior  created  by  our  imaginations]  This,  it  seems  to  me,  is 
the  fatal  error  which  multitudes  in  the  present  day  are  persuaded 
to  adopt.  It  has  in  its  favor  the  plea  of  Catholicism.  We  can 
thus  fellowship  the  whole  mass  of  nominal  Christianity ;  and  on 
the  same  principles  can  even  go  farther,  and  place  the  image  of 
the  Savior  in  the  temples  of  the  gods,  and  embrace  in  one  univer- 
sal brotherhood,  the  whole  multitude  of  idolaters  that  have  ever 
bowed  the  knee  at  the  shrine  of  devils. 

On  the  same  principle,  that  no  harm  comes  to  our  piety  from 
erroneous  views  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  can  prove  that  God 
has  been  pleased  with,  and  has  accepted,  every  act  of  worship  that 
has  ever  been  paid  to  an  idol.  What  is  an  idol,  but  the  Supreme 
so  degraded  that  he  ceases  to  be  Divine'?  and  still  not  more  degrad- 
ed than  is  the  character  of  the  Savior  in  many  a  modern  creed. 
What  was  Jupiter,  but  Jehovah  disrobed  of  his  essential  attributes. 
His  worshippers  did  not  reduce  him  down  to  a  mere  man.  They 
gave  him  supremacy  over  the  whole  family  of  gods — allowed  him 
to  wield  the  thunders  of  heaven,  and  decree  the  destiny  of  nations. 
True,  they  did  not  give  him  a  very  pure  moral  character,  but  the 
best  they  knew  how  to  give  him.  They  invested  him  with  some 
of  the  very  worst  of  the  human  passions,  and  made  him  commit 
the  foulest  deeds  of  wrong  and  of  outrage.  But  still,  who  can  say, 
on  the  principle  that  it  matters  not  what  we  think  of  Christ,  that 
the  worshippers  of  Jupiter  were  not  accepted  of  the  Lord  as  his 
own  worshippers,  [f  they  called  their  great  spirit  by  names  that 
God  has  never  appropriated  to  himself,  this  it  will  be  acknov 
ed  is  a  verbal  mistake,  a  small  matter,  that  God  will  not  regard,  in 
37 


290  CHRIST    MUST    HAVE    HIS    OWN    TLACB 

those  who  had  not  the  means  of  knowing  the  names,  by  which  lie 
could  choose  to  be  invoked.  But  shall  we  go  on  and  say,  that  as 
they  gave  their  supreme  deity  the  highest  character  they  knew 
how  to  give  him,  although  they  did  not  invest  him  with  the  attri- 
butes essential  to  the  true  God,  and  made  him  finally  a  creature,  in 
moral  character  base  and  deformed  : — Shall  we  still  say,  that  Jeho- 
vah was  pleased  with  the  spirit  of  their  worship,  approved  their 
rites,  and  accepted  their  homage  1  I  see  not  why,  on  fhe  princi- 
ples of  modern  Catholicism,  this  reasoning  is  not  correct,  and  why 
the  whole  herd  of  idolaters,  in  all  ages,  have  not  been  accepted  of 
the  Lord,  as  having  intended  to  pay  their  supreme  homage  to  him. 
If  what  an  apostle  says  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  true,  and 
"By  him  were  all  things  created  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are 
in  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or  do- 
minions, or  principalities,  or  powers;  all  things  were  created  by 
him  and  for  him  ;  and  he  is  before  all  things,  and  by  him  all  things 
consist  :" — if  all  this  be  true,  I  see  not  but  those  who  give  him  a 
derived  and  dependant  existence,  alter  the  character  as  essentially, 
from  that  which  the  apostle  gives  him,  as  was  the  character  of  Ju- 
piter distinct  from  that  of  Jehovah.  What  two  things  can  be 
more  unlike,  than  a  Savior  who  had  no  beginning  of  days,  is  self- 
existent,  and  almighty,  could  create  men  and  build  worlds;  and 
one  who  himself  began  to  be,  is  dependant,  and  has  none  but  bor- 
rowed attributes.  I  do  not  see  that  the  heathen  Jove,  and  the  God 
of  heaven,  differ  any  more. 

If  then  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  possesses  one  of  these  characters, 
and  we  trust  in  a  Savior  who  possesses  the  other,  and  the  Bible 
has  plainly  revealed  him  in  whom  we  are  to  trust,  it  hardly  ad- 
mits of  a  question  whether  we  do  not  trust  in  another  than  the 
Christ  of  the  gospel.  It  is  not  merely  in  the  name  of  the  Savior 
that  we  trust,  but  in  his  attributes,  in  his  qualifications  to  atone  for 
us,  in  his  power  to  sanctify  us,  in  the  credit  he  has  in  heaven  to 
intercede  for  us,  in  his  ability  to  subdue  our  enemies,  and  cover 
us  with  his  righteousness  in  the  day  of  retribution  ;  but  if  he  be 
not  God  as  well  as  man,  he  has  no  such  qualifications  to  atone,  no 
such  power  to  sanctify,  no  such  influence  to  intercede,  no  such 
ability  to  defend,  or  righteousness  to  cover  us  ;  hence  there  is  no 
such  Savior  as  him  in  whom  we  trust. 

Agreed,  if  you  please,  that  the  error  will  be  equally  fatal  on 
either  side.  Be  it  it  so  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  a  mere  attri- 
bute, an  emanation,  an  angel,  or  a  man  ;  then  do  those  who  give 
him    a  divine   nature  make   a    mistake   as  great,   as    is   made   by 


IN    HIS    GOSPEL.  291 

their  opponents,  if  he  be  as  the  prophet  asserts,  the  mighty  God. 
the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace.  If  he  be  a  mere  crea- 
ture, in  whom  God  has  directed  us  to  put  our  trust  for  everlasting 
life;  and  that  creature  has  power  delegated  to  him,  to  pay  the 
price  of  our  redemption,  and  purify  us  unto  himself  a  peculiar  peo- 
ple, zealous  of  good  works  ;  and  we  resolve  to  trust  in  a  Savior, 
who  possesses  divine  attributes  ;  we  then  rely  upon  one  who  is  not 
revealed  as  the  Savior,  and  may  have  no  more  hope  of  acceptance, 
than  those  have  if  the  opposite  creed  be  true,  who  in  their  faith 
depress  his  character,  as  much  as  in  this  case  we  elevate  it. 

If  the  Lord  Jesus  has  a  fixed  and  definite  character,  has 
properties  or  attributes,  of  which  if  we  disrobe  him,  we  alter  es- 
sentially his  nature,  and  make  him  another  Savior  ;  then  the  ques- 
tion is,  whether  those  who  trust  in  him,  under  these  essentially 
altered  characters,  may  all  be  said  to  trust  in  the  same  Redeemer  ? 
May  a  mistake  like  this  be  considered  venial  \  If,  too,  God  has 
given  us  in  his  word  a  plain  and  intelligible  record  of  his  will,  and 
may  not,  as  it  seems  to  me,  be  considered  as  having  described  the 
character  of  the  Savior  so  indefinitely,  as  to  render  it  about  an 
equal  chance,  whether  we  shall  conceive  of  him  as  human  or  di- 
vine ;  then  must  it  admit  of  a  serious  doubt,  whether  any  radical 
mistake  can  be  made,  without  placing  the  soul  at  hazard. 

God  must  have  intended  that  we  should  have  definite  views  of 
Christ;  and  if  he  has  given  us  opportunity  to  be  correct,  it  argues 
positive  wickedness,  not  to  receive  the  truth  of  God  in  all  its  na- 
ked simplicity.  If  he  has  revealed  a  divine  Savior,  we  perish  if  we 
trust  in  one  that  is  a  creature  ;  or  if,  contrary  to  the  light,  we  be- 
lieve him  divine,  then  do  we  rely  on  some  other,  than  that  only 
name  given  under  heaven  among  men,  whereby  we  can  be  saved. 
No  trust  can  possibly  avail  us,  but  that  which  is  placed  in  the  very 
Savior  whom  God  has  revealed.  Let  me  place  the  two  Saviors  in 
opposite  columns,  and  see  if  an  honest  mind  can  make  them  one. 

The  one   Savior,    was   before   all  The  other  savior,  had  a  beginning 

things,  and  all  things  were  created  by  of  days,  and  either  emanated  from 

him  and  for  him.     He  has  the  titles,  God  or  was  created  by  him.      He  has 

possesses    the     attributes,    does    the  divine  titles  only  as   men   have,  who 

works,  and  accepts  the  worship,  that  are  called  gotls ;  lias  only  borrowed 

belongonlyto  the  true  frod.     He  in-  attributes,  and   a  delegated    power, 

rites  sinners  to  him.  as  having  in  his  and  is  worshipped  only  as  kings  and 

own  arm  the  power  to  save  them,  and  emperors  are.      We  may  not  pray  to 

promises  ihem   blessings,  as  having  him,  lest  we  be  guilty  of  idolatry;  be 

them  of  his  own  to  give.     "He  thai  promises  nothing  but  as  the  Lord's 

believcth  in  me  shall  never  die."   fie  prophet,  and  has  no  blessings  of  his 

"  hare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  own  to  give.     We  are  noi  required  to 


292  CHRIST    MUST    HAVE    HIS    OWN    PLACE 

tree."     "  With    his    stripes   we    are  believe  in  him,  but  as  we  believe  in 

healed.'     "The  Lord   haih  laid   on  Moses  and  John.    He  makes  no  atone- 

him  tin-  iniquity  of  us  all."     The  re-  ment,  but  merely  teaches  truth,  and  is 

deemed  Lnheaven  will  tor  ever  ascribe  a  pattern  of  virtue.     lie  dies,  not  that 

to  him,  under  the  appellation  of  the  we  might  live,  and  meets  us  again  in 

Lain!),  kingdom, and  power,  and  glo-  the  last  day,  not  to  judge  the  world, 

ry.     The  dying  believers   may  with  unless  as  a  subaltern,  but  to  be  judged- 

Stephen  commend   to   him  their  de-  He  will  wear  no  crown,  and  fill  no 

parting  spirit.     In  the  last  day    he  throne  in  heaven,  other  than  such  as 

will  come  in   the  clouds  of  heaven,  are  promised  the  apostles;  and  will 

with  his  holy  angels,  and  will  judge  receive   no  worship  but  the  respect 

the  world,  and  lix  the  destinies  of  all  due   to   an   eminent  servant  of  God. 

men;  and  be  forever  afterward  adored,  And  if  the  dying  commend  their  spi- 

by  the  myriads  of  the  redeemed,  as  rit  to  him  they  assuredly  perish, 
the  Lamb  that  was  slain. 

Now  the  mighty  question  is,  are  these  two  the  same  1  Are  they 
so  the  same  that  the  trust  reposed  in  the  one,  will  be  accepted  and 
answered  to,  if  needs  be,  by  the  other.  If  but  one  of  these  Saviors 
is  revealed,  and  but  one  exists,  and  we  have  put  our  trust  in  that 
other,  are  we  still  safe  1  Say  we  have  cast  our  souls  upon  a  cre- 
ated Savior,  shall  we  find  at  last,  that  we  have  an  interest  in  that 
self-existent  Redeemer,  who  comes  traveling  in  the  greatness  of 
his  strength,  and  is,  independently  on  any  extraneous  help,  mighty 
to  save  1  If  of  the  one  it  may  be  said,  this  is  the  only  name  giv- 
en under  heaven  among  men  whereby  we  can  be  saved,  will  this 
be  equally  true  of  the  other  1  I  repeat  the  question,  for  it  is  to 
me  a  mighty  one,  Can  it  be  of  no  consequence,  to  which  of  the 
two  I  look,  and  in  which  I  trust  for  eternal  life  1  Will  the  blood 
of  either  cleanse  me  from  all  sin  1  If  the  Savior  appointed  me  and 
distinctly  revealed  in  the  Bible,  has  life  in  himself,  and  the  power 
of  conferring  eternal  life  on  as  many  as  the  Father  has  given  him ; 
and  I  have  trusted  in  man,  and  made  flesh  my  arm,  I  fear  it  will 
not  answer  me  the  same  purpose  in  the  day  of  retribution,  as  if  I 
had  made  application  to  the  true,  the  appointed,  the  eternal  Re- 
deemer. 

It  is  agreed,  that  if  there  be  no  Trinity  of  persons  in  the  God- 
head, and  the  Savior  proffered  is  a  mere  creature,  and  we  refuse  to 
lean  upon  the  appointed  arm  of  flesh,  and  obstinately  insist  on 
having  an  almighty  Savior  or  none,  our  condition  is  deplorable. 
We  shall  then  be  without  a  hiding  place  in  the  day  of  our  distress. 
If  the  Savior  be  God,  those  perish  who  esteem  him  a  creature  ;  and 
if  a  creature,  those  perish  who  believe  him  God.  One  of  the  par- 
ties in  this  controversy  is  to  lie  down  in  everlasting  sorrow,  one 
only  will  be  in  heaven.  Else  two  beings,  the  one  finite,  and  the 
other  infinite,  are  the  same,  and  Jupiter  and  Moloch,  and  Baal,  and 


IN    HIS    GOSPEL.  293 

Jehovah  are  the  same,  and  the  worshippers  of  idols,  in  every  dark 
place  of  the  earth,  may  claim  at  last  a  seat  in  heaven,  with  Abra 
ham,  and  Moses,  and  the  prophets  and  apostles. 

Can  this  be  true  1  I  see  no  radical  error  in  the  reasoning  that 
has  brought  me  to  this  result,  and  am  led  to  ask,  with  all  the  seri- 
ousness with  which  a  question  ever  dropped  from  my  lips,  am  I 
safe  in  either  easel  Has  the  gracious  Jehovah  given  me  a  reve- 
lation, in  which  he  has  so  indefinitely  described  my  Redeemer, 
that  with  all  my  anxiety  to  know,  I  cannot,  whether  he  built  the 
worlds,  or  was  himself  a  part  of  the  creation!  whether  the  go- 
vernment is  upon  his  shoulder,  or  he  himself  subjected  to  the  au- 
thority of  his  superior  1  whether  he  can  bestow  eternal  life,  or 
need  to  have  his  own  life  sustained  by  the  power  that  breathed  it  1 
whether  he  will  judge  the  world,  or  will  stand  to  be  judged,  by  a 
greater  than  himself,  who  shall  then  fill  the  throne  1  I  shall  be 
anxious  for  my  soul  till  I  know  the  truth. 

0,  will  the  blessed  God  give  to  a  world  like  ours,  already  des- 
perately ruined,  a  revelation  of  his  will,  and  mock  our  helpless- 
ness, by  asserting  it  to  be  so  plain,  that  the  wayfaring  man  though 
a  fool  shall  not  err,  and  still  when  I  labor  to  know  the  truth  with 
all  my  soul,  I  cannot  find  it ! !  But  I  must  either  take  this  ground, 
or  believe  myself  \ost,  or  believe  those  lost,  who  I  perceive  trust  in 
quite  another  savior,  than  him  on  whom  I  rely.  There  is  one 
thought  that  gives  me  relief,  "  Let  God  be  true,  though  every 
man  a  liar."  The  Bible  is  a  plain  and  intelligible  volume  ;  the 
Savior's  character  is  there  definitely  revealed;  and  we  can  learn 
who  he  is,  and  what  he  is,  unless  we  choose  to  be  deceived.  May 
the  exalted  Jesus  smile  on  this  weak  attempt  to  vindicate  his 
character,  and  may  he  sanctify  the  men  who  would  tear  the  crown 
from  his  head,  and  worlds  from  his  rule  ;  and  make  his  way  known 
upon  the  earth,  and  his  saving  health  among  all  nations.  May  a 
great  multitude,  that  no  man  can  number,  be  redeemed  to  God  by 
his  blood,  out  of  every  kindred  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation 

If  asked  the  reasons  why  I  consider  the  subject  so  important  ] 
and  press  it  so  vehemently  1  I  answer, 

1.  With  the  views  I  have  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  I  consider  him 
shamefully  traduced  by  the  error  I  have  meant  to  expose.  It  cannot 
seem  to  me  a  light  thing,  if  the  safety  of  souls  were  not  affected, 
what  men  think  of  Christ;  whether  they  give  him  the  honor  he 
had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was,  or  make  him  a  weak  and 
dependant  mortal ;  whether  they  esteem  him  such  that  he  thought 
it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  or  the   mere  wandering  Gal- 


294  CHRIST    MUST    HAVE    HIS    OWN    PLACE 

lilean,  who  gathered  his  honors  from  the  success  he  had  in  teach 
ing  truth  and  in  making  disciples.  If  we  have  given  him  our 
hearts,  we  shall  not  he  willing  to  see  him  degraded.  We  shall 
wish  him  to  retain  all  the  titles  that  belong  to  him,  and  be  owned 
in  all  the  high  and  holy  offices  he  fills,  and  wear  in  the  view  of 
men,  all  the  glories  that  cluster  round  him  in  the  view  of  angels. 
We  shall  feel  ourselves  so  honored,  in  being  permitted  to  call  him 
Lord,  as  to  be  greatly  grieved  when  the  tongue  of  slander,  or  the 
pen,  dipped  in  the  gall  of  depravity,  shall  attempt  to  degrade  his 
nature  or  mar  his  honors.  A  Christian  needs  offer  no  other  rea- 
son for  vindicating  his  Lord,  but  that  he  loves  him.     But, 

2.  I  offer  another :  I  consider  souls  endajigered  by  a  denial  of  the 
Deity  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  cannot  believe  that  when  the 
Savior  has  become  a  man  or  an  angel,  he  will  attract  sinners  to 
him,  as  when  he  has  the  glories  on,  that  I  suppose  the  angels  see 
about  him.  Let  him  have  the  same  character  that  he  has  in  heaven, 
and  he  will  attract  men  to  him,  as  there  he  attracts  angels  to  him 
If  he  be  God,  they  will  hope  that  he  can  save  them  ;  if  he  built 
the  worlds,  they  will  be  the  more  willing  to  believe,  that  he  built 
some  happy  world  for  them  ;  and  if  he  is  at  last  to  be  their  judge? 
they  will  feel  it  to  be  the  more  important,  that  they  be  washed 
from  sin  in  his  blood.  I  should  not  hope  to  win  a  single  soul  to 
him  in  a  century,  in  the  low,  and  mean,  and  dependant  attitude,  in 
which  some  professed  ministers  of  the  gospel,  in  consistence  with 
their  faith,  must  present  him.  I  should  expect  them  to  sneer  at 
the  Nazarene,  more  than  did  Voltaire,  or  Hume,  or  Bolingbroke. 
And  I  do  not  believe,  that  under  such  a  ministry,  Christ  is  often 
embraced,  or  loved,  or  believed  in.  He  may  have  some  place  in 
their  creed,  and  may  become  a  topic  of  speculation,  and  contro- 
versy, hut  in  their  religion,  and  in  their  hearts,  I  fear  they  learn 
to  do  without  him  :  surely  he  is  not  formed  in  them  the  hope  of 
glory. 

3.  /  would  take  a  dying  hold  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  divinity,  be- 
cause on  the  same  principles  by  which  the  faith  of  so  many  have  been 
unsettled  en  this  point,  every  truth  of  God's  word  can  be  cast  away. 
Only  suffer  the  enemy  to  have  the  ground,  and  hold  in  peace, 
which  he  would  take  to  drive  you  from  this  doctrine,  and  he  will 
leave  you  nothing  to  credit,  in  the  whole  of  divine  revelation.  He 
will  tear  you  from  the  very  horns  of  the  altar,  and  sacrifice 
you,  along  with  your  Redeemer,  on  the  threshold  of  the  sanctuary 
of  God. 

When  I  must  believe  nothing  that  is  above  my  reason,  and  that 


IN    HIS    GOSPEL.  295 

I  cannot  fully  comprehend,  I  may  not  believe  the  simplest  testimo- 
ny of  revelation.  When,  from  the  urgency  of  this  principle,  I  can 
know  nothing  definite  respecting  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  I  despair 
of  gaining  from  the  Book  of  God  any  definite  knowledge  on  any 
subject.  Not  the  being  of  a  God,  or  his  government  over  the 
world,  or  the  fact  of  a  future  judgment,  or  an  eternal  state  of  retri- 
bution, is  revealed  with  any  more  definiteness,  than  the  underived 
Deity  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  could  reason  them  all  away,  and  every 
doctrine  and  precept  along  with  them,  by  the  same  sophistry,  by 
which  men  would  forbid  me  to  offer  my  prayers  to  the  risen  and 
exalted  Redeemer.  I  would  then  hold  to  the  doctrine,  because  if 
I  oive  it  up,  I  must  give  all  up,  and  throw  my  whole  creed  afloat, 
and  myself  afloat,  to  be  drifted,  1  know  not  where,  and  shipwreck- 
ed, I  know  not  upon  what  inhospitable  shore,  where  await  me, 
death,  or  life,  I  know  not. 

4.  If  you  still  ask  me,  Why  my  zeal  in  defence  of  the  higher  na- 
ture of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  I  I  answer  yet  again,  "If  it  be  pos- 
sible," and  "  the  very  elect"  should  be  cajoled  into  a  doubt  on  this  sub- 
ject, it  would  do  them  incalculable  injury. 

That  doubt  would  mar  their  creed  ;  for  they  must  yield  other  doc- 
trines, when  their  Redeemer  has  become  a  creature.  That  atone- 
ment which  he  only  could  make  ;  that  ruin  of  our  nature,  which 
he  only  can  repair  ;  that  ever-enduring  hell  from  which  he  only 
can  rescue  us  ;  that  Sabbath  which  his  rising  made  ;  that  Comfort- 
er, which  he  kindly  sent  ;  and  that  plenary  inspiration  of  the 
scriptures,  which  establishes  his  divinity;  must  be  all  plucked 
from  their  creed,  and  it  would  stand  then,  like  a  pine,  lightning- 
smitten,  scorched  in  its  every  leaf,  and  rived  to  its  deepest  roots, 
to  be  the  haunt  of  the  owl,  and  the  curse  of  the  forest.  When 
you  shall  blast  my  creed  like  this,  you  may  have,  for  a  farthing, 
the  residue  of  my  poor  mutilated  Bible,  and  I  will  sit  down  and 
weep  life  away,  over  this  benighted  world,  to  which  is  reserved  the 
blackness  of  darkness  for  ever. 

It  would  diminish  their  comforts  ;  for  the  same  truth  that  has 
sanctified  them,  has  made  them  happy  ;  and  not  truth  more  than 
the  high  character  of  their  Redeemer.  Take  away  this  founda- 
tion, and  what  will  the  righteous  do  1  Their  hopes  have  been 
high,  and  their  joy  elevated,  and  their  songs  heard  in  the  night, 
because  they  had,  or  thought  they  had,  a  mighty  Redeemer.  From 
this  fact,  they  calculated  to  live  out  the  assaults  of  temptation,  and 
conquer  their  lusts,  and  hold  on  by  some  pin  of  the  covenant,  till 
they  should  plant  their  feet  on  the   golden  pavement  of  the  New 


296  CHRIST    MUST    HAVE    HIS    OWN    PLACE 

Jerusalem.  Tell  the  Church,  that  she  has  no  such  almighty  i?e- 
deemer  as  she  has  dreamed  of,  and  there  will  be  tears  in  all  her 
tabernacles,  and  I  fear  if  there  will  be  silence  through  half  the 
choir  of  heaven,  and  the  angels  of  God  be  afraid  any  longer  to 
worship  him. 

It  would  hurt  their  usefulness.  They  have  had  high  hopes,  be- 
cause they  had  a  mighty  Redeemer,  and  were  active  in  duty, 
because  they  had  elevated  hopes.  Sap  these  hopes,  and  you  sunder 
the  very  sinew  of  action.  Will  they  care  to  be  sanctified,  when 
they  shall  have  learned  that  their  Lord  was  peccable!  Will  they 
press  on,  to  see  him  as  he  is,  and  be  like  him,  when  they  shall 
doubt  whether  he  will  be  known  in  heaven  but  by  the  nail-prints] 
will  they  care  to  invite  others  to  him,  when  he  is  robbed  of  all  the 
charms  that  attracted  them  in  the  days  of  their  espousals  ]  Will 
they  pray  with  the  fervency  they  have  done,  that  the  heathen  may 
be  given  him  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  a  possession,  when  they  shall  know  that  he  is  to  rule  by 
delegation,  and  does  not  come  into  the  government  but  by  heir- 
ship ]  Will  they  spend  their  perishable  wealth  to  honor  him, 
when  they  shall  feel  assured,  that  he  has  no  incorruptible  treasures 
with  which  to  repay  them  1 

How  is  it  with  those  who  have  made  the  experiment,  and  have 
delivered  over  their  creed  to  be  blotted  and  interlined,  till  the 
Deity  of  their  master  is  gone,  and  every  other  truth  that  hung  on 
it.  Are  they  active  for  God  ]  do  they  bless  the  heathen  with  the 
gospel]  do  they  disseminate  the  Bible  1  do  they  press  the  con- 
sciences of  sinners,  in  their  daily  walk,  and  in  their  evening  visits, 
and  give  an  ungodly  world  no  rest,  till  they  love  their  eclipsed, 
and  darkened,  and  degraded  Redeemer  ] 

Oh,  hide  then  this  error  from  God's  elect,  and  let  them  have  the 
Savior  they  are  disposed  to  serve,  till  he  take  them  up,  and  show 
himself  to  them  in  all  the  glory  that  he  had  with  the  Father  before 
the  world  was. 

I  naturally  close  with  the  question,  "What  think  ye  of  Christ]" 
This  question,  faithfully  answered  by  the  minister  of  the  gospel, 
will  give  you  very  much  the  character  of  his  ministry;  as  it  will 
define  the  Savior  he  proclaims,  and  of  course  the  success  he  has ; 
and  answered  by  the  private  Christian  will  give  the  character  of 
his  religion.  I  do  not  now  mean  to  say  that  orthodoxy  is  piety, 
but  simply,  that  the  heart  that  has  been  sanctified  through  the 
the  truth,  will  apprehend  and  love  the  truth.  In  other  words, 
faith  will  credit  the  Divine  testimony.     Does  the  Lord  Jesus  hold 


IN    HIS    GOSPEL  291 

in  our  ministry,  and  our  creed,  the  high  place  that  God  has  given 
him  in  the  gospel  \  If  we  make  him  merely  a  teacher  and  a  pat- 
tern, so  was  Moses  and  Paul.  And  if  we  feel  that  we  need  no 
higher  Savior,  then  is  it  doubtful,  whether  we  have  discovered 
more  than  half  our  ruin  If  we  have  sunk  no  lower  than  that  a 
finite  arm  can  reach  us,  we  have  yet,  I  fear,  to  learn  that  we  are 
sinking  still,  and  that  the  pit  is  bottomless.  A  gospel  that  is  the 
contrivance  of  men,  will  suit  only  those  who  have  never  felt  the 
plague  of  their  own  hearts.  When  we  shall  have  felt  the  full 
pressure  of  the  curse  that  rests  upon  us,  we  shall  feel  the  need  of 
one  to  save,  strong  as  him  that  created  us  The  horrors  of  our 
condition  will  scare  from  us  every  deliverer,  but  him  who  can 
quench  with  his  own  blood,  the  fires  that  have  been  kindled  to 
consume  us.  When  we  have  looked  once  upon  the  incensed 
throne,  we  shall  hail  one  as  our  high  priest,  who  can  go  in  and 
sprinkle  the  mercy  seat  ;  who  can  neutralize  that  consuming  ire 
which  issues  from  the  countenance  of  a  provoked  Jehovah  ;  one 
who  has  that  influence  in  the  court  of  heaven,  that  he  can  procure 
our  acquittal,  and  can  place  himself  in  the  van  of  the  redeemed 
multitude,  and  conduct  us  up  to  heaven,  and  there  plead  his  own 
merits  as  the  ground  °f  our  acceptance,  and  the  foundation  of  our 
everlasting  blessedness  "  Amen,  even  so  come,  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly  ' 

38 


SERMON  XXV. 

THE  LAW  AND  THE  GOSPEL  CONJOINTLY  SUSTAINED. 

MATTHEW    V.    17. 

Tliink  riot  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets:  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to 

fulfil. 

It  is  then  only  that  the  gospel  appears  in  all  its  glory  ;  when  it 
infringes  not  upon  the  sacred  rights  of  the  law.  One  of  God's 
institutions  must  not  eclipse  the  glory  of  another.  God  did  not 
make  provision  for  the  salvation  of  men,  because  he  had  become 
convinced  that  he  had  issued  a  bad  law,  and  would  thwart  its  de- 
sign. The  law  stood  in  his  eye  as  glorious,  after  men  had  drawn 
its  curse  upon  them,  as  when  it  dropt  fresh  from  his  lips,  amid  the 
smoke  of  Sinai.  When  he  instituted  the  law,  he  knew  that  men 
would  break  it ;  and  he  affixed  his  sanctions,  sure  that  all  our  race 
would  incur  them,  and  many  endure  them.  It  was  not  an  experi- 
ment, made  without  a  knowledge  of  the  result,  but  with  the  result 
provided  for. 

Hence  the  legal  and  the  gospel  dispensations,  are  but  different 
parts  of  the  same  benevolent  system  ;  by  which  a  good  Jehovah 
would  bind  to  himself,  and  when  the  bond  should  be  broken, 
would  recover  and  restore  to  his  love  and  favor,  beings  he  had 
eternally  designed  should  be  happy.  And  hence  our  Lord  thus 
early  announced  it  a>  his  design,  not  to  abrogate,  but  to  establish 
the  law.  Fixed  and  stable  as  were  the  ordinances  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  and  firm  the  earth  he  had  come  to  plant  his  feet  upon,  these 
should  all  pass  away,  while  not  a  jot  or  tittle  of  the  law  should  fail. 

Accordingly,  as  the  Lord  Jesus  gathered  disciples,  and  freed 
them,  of  course,  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  he  still  subjected  them 
to  it,  as  a  rule  of  duty.  He  transferred,  from  the  Jewish  Church 
to  his  own  family,  the  very  commandments  which  JMoses  wrote 
on  the  tables  of  stone.  Not  an  item  did  he  repeal,  not  a  precept 
alter,  not  a  sanction  soften.  And  the  whole  gospel  is  a  broad  and 
lucid  exposition  of  the  law.  Hence  it  is  now  as  much  the  fact  as 
ever,  that  "  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  the  things 
written  in  the  book   of  the   law,  to  do  them."     I   shall  state,  in  a 


THE    LAW   AND    THE    GOSPEL    CONJOINTLY    SUSTAINED.  299 

few  words,  the  error  I  would  oppose,  and  which,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  is  in  direct  opposition  to  sound  reason,  and  the  whole  Bible  ; 
and  then  proceed  to  illustrate  the  doctrine  of  the  text,  that  The 
gospel  was  not  intended  to  supplant,  but  does  sustain  the  law. 

I.  State  the  error.  The  scheme  is,  that  men  by  the  fall,  if  not 
disabled,  have  become  so  averse  to  the  law,  that  a  perfect  obedience 
is  impossible  ;  and  that  God  will  now  accept  of  an  obedience  that 
is  sincere.  If  men  will  obey  the  law,  as  well  as  they  are  able 
with  their  carnal  mind,  the  temper  which,  without  their  fault,  they 
inherited  from  their  first  parents,  God  will  accept  them  ;  and 
wherein  their  obedience  fails,  the  merits  of  Christ  will  be  substi 
tuted.  By  this  scheme,  the  death  of  Christ  removes  the  curse  of 
the  law,  from  all  men,  soon  as  it  lights  upon  them  :  for  all  do  ren 
der  to  the  law,  the  best  obedience  they  are  disposed  to,  and  of 
course  are  safe,  if  they  should  live  and  die  without  repentance 
It  must  be  seen  in  a  moment,  that,  if  to  whatever  extent  men  are 
unwilling  to  obey,  they  are  unable,  then  all  obedience,  but  that 
which  is  rendered,  is  dispensed  with.  And  none  is  rendered  ;  for 
a  kind  of  sincerity,  consistent  with  the  most  confirmed  hatred  of 
God,  and  his  law,  and  which,  for  aught  I  see,  devils  may  have  as 
well  as  men,  becomes  a  substitute  for  right  affections,  and  has  all 
the  merit  of  a  perfect  obedience.  The  whole  amounts  to  this  ; 
God  relinquishes  his  right  to  any  farther  obedience  than  men, 
totally  depraved,  are  disposed  to  pay  him.  In  this  scheme  an 
atonement  is  made  necessary,  in  order  to  finish  out  and  render 
accepted  the  obedience  of  the  sinner. 

This  scheme,  as  altered  to  accommodate  it  to  modern  taste, 
relinquishes  the  atonement,  and  substitutes  repentance.  At  what- 
ever time  in  this  life,  (and  why  not  in  the  life  to  cornel)  the  sin- 
ner shall  be  sorry  that  he  has  broken  the  law,  and  shall  practise 
some  reform,  God  will  promptly  forgive  him,  without  any  refer- 
ence at  all  to  the  scenes  of  Calvary.  He  has  in  his  heart  so  much 
compassion,  and  cares  so  little, — it  amounts  to  this, — whether  the 
law  is  respected  or  reprobated,  that  the  very  first  tear  of  the 
offender  washes  away  all  his  sins. 

These  schemes  are  substantially  the  same,  and  are  alike  sub- 
versive of  the  law  of  God.  They  agree  in  casting  off  this  poor 
world  from  all  allegiance  to  its  Maker,  and  virtually  render  him  a 
God,  not  worthy  either  of  the  fear  of  devils,  or  the  esteem  and 
confidence  of  angels. 

I   have  thus  stated  the  error,  and  have  meant  to  do  it  candidly, 


300  THE  LAW  AND  THE  GOSPEL 

which  seems  to  me  to  pour  its  contaminating  influence  through  ah 
the  false  systems  of  theology  which  are  at  present  employed  to 
injure  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  destroy  the  souls  of  men.  I 
proceed, 

II.  To  illustrate  Ike  doctrine  of  the  text.  I  shall  arrange  my 
thoughts  under  six  general  remarks:  The  first  great  commandment 
of  the  law,  from  its  very  nature,  cannot  be  repealed  ;  Nor  can  the 
second ;  The  spirit  of  the  law  and  the  gospel  is  the  same  ;  The 
gospel  is  a  useless  device,  but  on  the  supposition  that  the  law  is 
good,  and  must  be  supported  ;  The  gospel,  that  shall  set  aside  the 
law,  will  defeat  its  own  design  5  The  gospel  is  most  glorious  when 
the  law  is  fully  sustained. 

1.  The  first  great  commandment  of  the  law  cannot  be  repealed. 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart."  The  very 
nature  of  this  law  decides,  that  a  gospel  which  would  neutralize 
it,  would  be  a  curse  and  not  a  blessing.  The  Creator  must  require 
his  creatures  to  consider  him  the  object  of  their  supreme  regard  ; 
he  can  ask  no  less  of  devils.  This  precept  is  founded  on  the 
Divine  excellence,  and  must  abide  in  force  while  God  shall  con- 
tinue to  be  good.  And  as  God  is  unchangeably  good,  this  precept 
must  abide  for  ever.  He  would  sanction  injustice,  if  he  should 
repeal  a  law  which  requires  that  men  render  unto  God  the  things 
that  are  God's.  An  act  like  this  would  create  alarm  in  heaven, 
and  send  a  premonition  of  ruin  into  every  world  that  has  continued 
loyal. 

Moreover,  an  act  that  should  release  intelligent  creatures  from 
loving  supremely  their  Creator,  would  ruin  the  very  beings  thus 
released.     Hence  sang  the  Christian  Poet : 

"  From  thee  departing,  they  are  lost,  and  rove 
At  random,  without  honor,  hope,  or  peace." 

This  has  ever  been,  and  must  continue  to  be,  the  law  of  hell,  of 
earth,  of  heaven,  and  of  all  other  worlds.  Nothing  that  God  has 
made  has  sufficient  greatness  and  grandeur,  to  become  our  supreme 
object  of  regard 

"  Give  what  thou  canst,  without  thee  we  ate  poor; 
And  with  thee  rich,  take  what  thou  wilt  away." 

The  capacity  that  (iod  has  given  us,  must  be  gratified,  or  we  are 
miserable  ;  and  if  it  be  gratified,  God  is  loved  according  to  the 
commandment. 

Now  a  gosnel  that  should  set  aside  a  law  like  this,  would  prove 


CONJOINTLY    SUSTAINED.  301 

a  miserable  expedient  for  a  revolted  world,  as  it  would  rob  God 
of  his  deserved  honors,  and  man  of  his  highest  happiness.  How 
impossible  that  God  should  have  given  us  such  a  gospel !  He 
never  has,  and  never  will,  unless  he  could  wish  to  see  us  all  mis- 
erable. To  be  restored,  from  inordinate  attachment  to  the  crea- 
ture, to  supreme  love  to  God,  is  salvation  itself;  and  how  can  this 
be  effected  by  annulling  the  precept  that  enjoins  this  very  change  1 
And  we  assert, 

2.  Thai  the  second  great  commandment  of  the  law  cannot  be  repealed. 
"  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  This,  like  the  other, 
carries  on  the  very  face  of  it  its  claim  to  perpetuity.  The  first 
commandment  was  intended  to  bind  the  creation  to  its  Maker,  the 
second  to  bind  creatures  to  each  other.  Neither  of  these  ligatures 
can  be  sundered,  and  creatures  be  happy.  To  love  our  fellow 
men,  is  to  make  them  subservient  to  our  enjoyment:  for  to  love  is 
usually  a  delightful  exercise.  If  God  had  commanded  us  to  hate 
our  neighbor,  he  had  subjected  us  to  the  necessity  of  disobeying 
him,  or  of  being  lastingly  unhappy.  In  proof  of  this  position,  I 
have  only  to  refer  you  to  facts.  Ask  the  man  of  passion,  who 
daily  goes  home  enraged  at  some  one  of  his  fellow  men,  there  to 
study  revenge,  whether  to  hate  makes  him  happy.  Or  let  my 
readers  call  to  mind  some  of  those  seasons,  when  they  were  en- 
listed in  some  obstinate  quarrel,  and  when  for  whole  days,  and 
perhaps  for  weeks,  passion  rested  in  their  bosom,  and  tell  me  if 
you  were  not  unhappy  1  Then,  in  commanding  men  to  love  one 
another,  God  has  simply  forbidden  them  to  be  unhappy — has  given 
them  leave  to  be  happy. 

And  the  measure  of  our  love,  as  here  given,  what  could  be  more 
equitable.  My  neighbor  is  a  sensitive  being  like  myself;  is  capa- 
ble of  equal  happiness;  and  that  happiness  worth  as  much  to  him, 
as  mine  to  me.  Hence  God  must  value  his  blessedness,  as  much 
as  mine  :  and  it  is  my  duty  to  feel  as  God  does.  Hence,  if  God 
should  repeal  this  law,  it  would  be  consenting  that  men  should  do 
wrong,  have  feelings  at  variance  with  his,  and  love  happiness 
simply  because  it  is  theirs. 

To  repeal  this  law  would  be  to  license  selfishness  ;  the  very  pas- 
sion which  has  filled  this  unhappy  world,  and  kept  it  full  of  mise- 
ry. If  men  are  not  obligated  to  love  each  other  as  themselves,  then 
is  there  no  standard  by  which  their  affection  can  be  measured,  and 
they  are  at  liberty  to  hate  and  devour  one  another.  If  the  gospel 
has  set  aside  this  law,  then  all  the  outrages  which  men  have  com- 
mitted, one   upon   another,  have  been  licensed  depredations  :  for 


302  THE  LAW  AND  THE  GOSPEL 

God  has  disapproved  only  of  what  was  a  violation  of  his  law.  If 
he  has  anulled  the  precept  that  required  men  to  love,  he  has  virtu 
ally  given  them  liberty  to  hate,  and  has  sanctioned  a  total  disre- 
gard of  the  second  great  commandment  of  the  law.  But  nothing 
like  this  is  true.  The  law  still  makes  on  fallen  creatures  a  de- 
mand as  large  as  upon  the  first  pair  in  their  innocence,  and  con- 
tinues to  press  its  obligations  after  they  are  lost.  The  miseries  of 
hell  would  be  mitigated,  if  this  law  could  cease  to  be  binding.  Tl  e 
lost  might  then  hate  and  torment  each  other,  without  increasing 
their  guilt. 

3.  The  spirit  of  the  law  and  the  gospel  is  the  same.  The  spirit  of 
the  law,  as  we  have  seen,  is  love ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  gos- 
pel. In  the  inventory  given  us  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  the  first 
named  is  love.  This  is  the  bond  of  union  in  heaven,  and  all  who 
are  verging  toward  heaven,  cultivate  love,  as  the  fundamental 
principle  of  their  piety.  When  we  read,  "If  any  man  love  the 
world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him,"  we  have  in  other 
language,  the  whole  spirit  of  the  first  commandment,  "  Thou  shalt 
have  no  other  gods  before  me."  And  when  we  read,  "  Whatso- 
ever ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  :" 
do  we  not  also  read,  "  For  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets."  Here 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself  identifies  the  two,  as  if  to  settle  the 
point  for  ever,  that  he  came  to  expound  and  enforce  the  very  pre- 
cepts of  the  law  of  Sinai.  And  the  man  must  be  grossly  ig- 
norant of  the  New  Testament,  who  does  not  recognize  it,  as  the 
very  law  of  the  ten  commandments,  broken  down  to  the  relation- 
ships, and  the  exigencies  of  human  life.  In  both  Testaments  we 
have  the  same  divine  character,  the  same  code  of  doctrines,  the 
same  Christian  graces,  the  same  social  duties,  and  the  same  pure 
and   holy  religion. 

When  the  gospel  offers  a  pardon,  to  those  who  have  violated  the 
law,  care  is  taken  that  the  law  be  fulfilled  and  honored.  The  law 
is  not  censured,  nor  the  sinner  violently  wrested  from  its  curse.  A 
substitute  is  furnished,  on  which  the  curse  may  light  ;  a  substitute 
who  had  himself  perfectly  obeyed  the  law,  who  loved  it,  held  it  in 
high  and  holy  respect,  and  died  because  he  would  not  see  it  dis- 
honored. Had  it  been  a  bad  law,  hastily  conceived,  and  impru- 
dently promulgated,  Christ  would  not  have  borne  its  curse.  If  too 
severe,  lie  would  have  recalled  its  edicts,  and  would  have  mitigated 
its  sanctions,  if  cruel.  It  was  his  first  concern  to  secure  the 
honors  of  the  Godhead,  and  to  do  this  he  must  sustain  the  law; 
his  second  to  redeem  the  wretch  who  had  broken  it,  and  was  con- 
demned. 


CONJOINTLY    SUSTAINED.  303 

The  Savior  had  no  more  compassion  than  the  Father ;  loved 
justice,  truth,  and  holiness  no  less ;  hated  sin  as  much,  and  hated 
the  sinner  as  much,  and  was  as  unwilling  as  the  Father,  that  a  jot 
or  a  tittle  of  the  law  should  fail.  He  did  not  engross  in  himself 
all  the  benevolence  of  the  Godhead  ;  and  was  not  a  partisan  with 
the  sinner  against  the  law.  He  did  not  come  to  make  war  with 
the  Law-giver,  but  with  sin  ;  not  to  vindicate  the  rights  of  the 
condemned,  and  wrest  them  from  the  punishment  to  which  some 
ancient  and  cruel  decree  had  exposed  them;  but  to  cover  them 
with  his  body  and  his  life,  from  the  miseries  they  deserved  to  en- 
dure. Thus  the  law  and  the  gospel  have  both  the  same  spirit,  and 
press  the  same  design  ;  to  honor  God,  and  make  his  creatures 
happy. 

4.  The  gospel  was  a  useless  device,  but  on  the  supposition  that  the 
law  is  good,  and  must  be  supported.  Nothing  can  be  more  absurd 
than  a  gospel  designed  to  free  men  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
while  that  law  is  already  repealed,  and  has  ceased  to  be  binding. 
Hence  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  lest  men  should  make  a  mistake  on 
this  subject,  declared  very  early  in  his  ministry,  that  he  came  not 
to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfil  it.  Indeed  the  very  hypothesis  on 
which  the  gospel  is  built,  is,  that  the  law  is  good,  its  precepts  right, 
and  its  penalties  binding.  If  otherwise,  the  law  should  have  been 
repealed  without  a  Savior.  As  soon  as  it  was  discovered  that  the 
law  was  not  adapted  to  our  circumstances,  was  too  strict  or  too 
severe,  instead  of  subjecting  Christ  to  the  pains  of  the  cross,  to 
relieve  the  culprit,  he  should  have  been  pardoned  without  an  atone- 
ment. Probably  those  who  deny  an  atonement,  are  brought  to 
this  erroneous  result,  by  some  indefinite  conception,  that  the  law 
is  repealed,  to  provide  the  way  for  man'?  vecovery. 

Our  reason  tells  us  that  there  should  have  been  no  substitution, 
for  those  who  had  broken  a  bad  law,  or  a  law  which  for  any  rea- 
sons whatever  it  was  not  wise  to  sustain.  If  not  wise  to  execute 
it,  in  the  last  extremity,  upon  the  offender  himself,  then  assuredly, 
not  merely  unwise,  but  monstrous,  to  punish  the  substitute.  There 
should  have  been  proclaimed  immediately  a  free  and  full  pardon 
There  was  the  greatest  possible  cruelty  in  the  transactions  of  the 
cross,  but  on  the  supposition  that  the  law  is  too  good  to  be  set 
aside,  even  if  the  population  of  a  world  must  perish  to  do  it  honor. 

5.  Jl  gospel  that  shall  set  aside  the  law  will  defeat  its  oion  design. 
Tell  the  sinner,  in  the  same  message  in  which  you  offer  him  a 
Savior,  that  the  law  he  has  broken,  is  repealed  ;  or  has  come  into 
disrepute,  and  its  cirse  less  to  be  feared  than  formerly,  and  he  will 


304<  THE    LAW    AND    THE    GOSPEL 

answer,  Then  I  have  no  need  of  a  Savior.  If  my  Sovereign  is 
convinced,  as  I  long  have  been,  that  the  law  is  too  rigid,  he  will 
not  punish  its  violations;  if  its  penalties  are  unjust,  he  will  not  ex- 
ecute them.  I  reject  your  offered  Redeemer,  and  approach  boldly 
to  the  throne,  to  demand  my  acquittal.  It  is  mocking  me  to  talk 
of  an  atonement,  while  I  have  done  only  right,  in  opposing  a  cruel 
and  oppressive  legislation. 

Thus  the  advocates  of  a  gospel,  built  on  the  ruins  of  the  law 
soon  as  they  make  the  secret  known,  that  the  law  has  perished, 
furnish  the  sinner  a  motive  for  rejecting  the  gospel  they  offer. 
Thus  they  labor  in  vain  and  spend  their  strength  for  naught.  They 
may  urge  the  overtures  of  their  gospel,  till  they  have  become  gray  in 
the  service,  and  their  hearers  will  remain  unchanged  and  unreformed. 
The  only  consistent  course  is,  to  justify  wholly  the  law,  or  offer  no 
Redeemer.  We  must  make  man  the  diseased,  and  suffering,  and  dy- 
ing creature,  that  the  Book  of  God  describes  him  to  be,  or  we 
need  offer  him  no  physician;  must  make  him  blind,  or  offer  him 
no  eye-salve  ;  make  him  guilty  and  condemned,  or  offer  him  no 
pardon  ;  make  him  polluted,  or  offer  him  no  cleansing  ;  make  him 
an  exile,  a  captive,  and  a  slave,  or  offer  him  no  redemption.  The 
estimation  in  which  we  hold  the  law,  will  decide,  whether  we  have 
any  success  in  offering  sinners  the  gospel. 

6.  The  gospel  is  most  glorious  when  the  laiv  is  fully  sustained.  The 
glory  and  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  must,  in  the  very  nature  of  the 
case,  be  exactly  commensurate,  to  the  claims  and  the  curses  of  the 
law.  The  one  must  contain  a  wo  as  broad  as  the  blessedness  im- 
plied in  the  other ;  must  present  a  ruin  as  wide  and  desperate,  as 
the  cure  presented  in  the  other;  must  frown  as  implacably,  as  the 
other  smiles  complacently.  When  we  can  thus  honor  the  law,  and 
justify  the  Law-giver,  and  defend,  without  misgiving,  the  most 
punctilious  execution  of  every  threatening  that  has  issued  from  the 
lips  of  the  Eternal ;  then  it  is  that  we  can  equally  elevate  the  glo- 
rious gospel  of  the  blessed  God  :  which  else  becomes  as  worthless 
as  the  Shaster  or  the  Koran.  The  deeper  and  the  darker  the  pit 
into  which  I  had  sunk,  the  mightier  that  arm  that  could  lift  me  out. 
The  full  glories  of  Calvary,  have  never  been  seen,  but  by  the  same 
eye,  that  has  descried  ineffable  beauty  in  the  divine  legislation. 
The  gospel  will  be  shorn  of  its  last  beam,  when  it  shall  be  made  to 
eclipse  the  splendor  of  the  law.  It  is  only  the  dead  in  sin  that 
need  the  offer  of  life,  the  condemned  that  need  a  pardon.  Christ, 
is  the  Repairer  of  the  breach  ;  make  the  breach  wide,  and  you 
make  the  Repairer  illustrious      Carry  not  the  fertilizing  influence 


CONJOINTLY    SUSTAINED.  305 

of  the  gospel,  but  into  the  very  territory;  where  the  curse  of  a 
good  law  violatud  has  spread  a  boundless  desolation.  There  its 
healing  waters  will  be  welcome,  an  Eden  will  blossom  under  your 
feet,  and  the  harvest  of  many  years,  repay  your  toil  and  make  glad 
your  heart.  May  the  blessed  God  put  honor  upon  his  own  insti- 
tutions. 

In  bringing  my  remarks  to  a  close,  let  me  say,  that  the  law  can- 
not go  into  disuse.  It  expresses  exactly  the  mind  of  God,  and 
must  be  the  rule  of  duty  to  his  obedient  subjects  for  ever.  And 
when  broken,  as  it  has  been  in  this  unhappy  world,  its  curse  must 
fall,  and  remain  upon  the  head  of  the  transgressor,  till  he  flies  for 
refuge  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before  him  in  the  gospel.  Till 
then  he  lies  condemned,  just  as  if  a  Savior  had  not  died  ;  with  this 
difference,  that  his  condemnation  if  he  perish  will  be  aggravated 
by  his  having  been  offered  redemption.  He  might  have  had  life 
but  would  not,  unless  on  such  condition,  that  his  transgressions 
might  be  justified.     I  close  with 

REMARKS. 

1.  How  tremendous  the  ruin  of  sinners,  who  after  all  this,  shall 
fall  under  the  condemning  sentence  of  the  divine  law.  God  we 
see  will  not  set  his  law  aside.  He  would  give  his  own  well-belov- 
ed Son,  to  expire  on  the  ragged  nails,  to  save  those  who  had  brok- 
en the  law,  and  incurred  its  penalty,  rather  than  give  his  foes  oc- 
casion to  say,  that  he  had  repealed  it.  "If  these  things  were 
done  in  the  green  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry  1"  If  God 
appeared  so  inflexibly  holy,  on  Calvary,  where  he  drew  his  sword 
upon  the  sinner's  substitute,  how  terrible  the  indignation  that  he 
will  display  in  hell.  0,  is  there  a  man,  so  hardened  and  so  daring, 
that  he  would  venture  to  pass  through  life,  and  go  on  to  the  judg- 
ment, with  the  curse  of  the  violated  law  resting  on  him !  When 
he  shall  see  that  Redeemer,  who  saved  others,  but  in  whose  blood 
he  would  not  take  sanctuary,  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with 
power  and  great  glory,  will  he  not  regret,  that  he  had  not  been  in- 
terested in  his  atonement  \  And  when  his  destiny  shall  issue  from 
that  Savior's  lips,  and  he  goes  to  make  his  bed  in  hell,  will  he  not 
learn,  what  now  he  is  so  unwilling  to  know,  that  "  The  law  is  holy, 
and  the  commandment  holy,  and  just,  and  good  V 

The  torments  of  the  lost,  will  be  an  abiding  testimony  of  God's 

regard  to  his  law.     And  those  who  shall  have  escaped  to  heaven, 

ivhen  they  shall    "  look   upon  the  carcases  of  the   men   that  have 

transgressed,"  will   be   feeling   more  and  more  strongly  for  ever, 

39 


306  THE    LAW    A.\D    THE    GOSPEL 

how  great  are  their  obligations  to  the  Savior,  for  redeeming  them 
from  the  curse  of  a  law,  so  fearfully  holy.  And  who,  that  places 
any  value  upon  his  soul,  and  believes  that  God  will  thus  jealously 
guard  the  honor  of  his  law,  and  has  not  already  made  him  incorri- 
gibly angry,  will  delay  an  hour  in  securing  an  interest  in  that 
Savior,  who  bore  the  curse  for  us.  O,  my  friend,  haste  your  es- 
cape, as  you  would  at  midnight  from  your  burning  house,  as  you 
would  from  the  jaws  of  a  ravening  lion,  as  you  would  from  the  ter- 
rors of  a  volcanic  eruption,  as  you  would  from  the  fire  that  can 
never  be  quenched,  and  the  worm  that  shall  not  die. 

2.  The  subject  will,  I  hope,  prepare  us  to  contemplate  with  hor- 
ror, the  condition  of  those  congregations,  who  have  selected  for 
themselves  a  ministry,  that  builds  its  instructions  on  the  ruins  of 
the  divine  law.  Would  to  God  that  I  were  mistaken,  in  supposing 
such  a  case  to  exist.  But  when  I  hear,  from  lips  that  profess  to 
have  been  touched  with  a  coal  from  off  the  altar,  that  man  is  quite 
an  upright  being,  has  committed  a  few  errors  only,  and  these  all 
venial,  not  sufficient  to  condemn  him  ;  that  he  needs  no  atonement, 
nor  Savior  but  to  teach  him.  and  be  his  pattern,  and  this  Savior 
not  divine  : — When  I  hear  of  sentiments  like  these  from  the  pulpit, 
I  fear  there  is  a  controversy  with  the  law  of  God,  and  that  it  is 
meant  to  be  understood,  that  he  has  relinquished  his  demand  upon 
the  sinner,  of  a  stricter  obedience,  than  he  is  disposed  to  yield. 

Thus  by  putting  aside  the  law,  as  we  suppose  is  done  in  the  out- 
set, and  hewing  down  the  whole  system  to  accommodate  it  to  this 
fatal  error,  the  whole,  though  somewhat  consistent  with  itself,  is 
rotten  and  deceptive.  Thus  the  sinner  is  lulled,  and  soothed,  and 
when  asleep,  is  kept  slumbering  till  he  is  lost.  He  never  has  any 
proper  sense  of  his  sins,  nor  respect  for  the  violated  law,  nor  re- 
gard for  the  holiness,  and  justice,  and  truth  of  God.  He  never  be- 
comes humble,  nor  fears  God,  nor  embraces  the  Savior,  nor  quits 
his  sins.  The  gospel  he  hears  is  like  the  Siren's  song,  that  lures 
but  to  destroy.  It  keeps  men  stupid  till  it  is  too  late  to  be  anxious 
to  any  profit. 

O,  ye  lost  and  ruined  congregations  !  if  my  voice  might  reach 
you,  I  would  tell  you  to  look  well  to  the  ministry  you  attend. 
While  it  pretends  to  offer  you  life,  it  may  destroy  you.  If  you 
find  it  aiming  to  lessen  the  number,  and  diminish  the  aggravations 
of  your  sins,  you  ought  to  suspect  it.  You  never  will  betake  your- 
self to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  your  precious  and  only  Savior,  till 
the  commandment  come  home  to  your  bosom,  hip-h  and  imperious 
in  its  claims;  holy,  and  just,  and  good,  in  all  it  requires,  and  in  all 


CONJOINTLY    SUSTAINED.  307 

it  threatens.  In  the  sense  of  the  apostle,  sin  must  revive  and  we 
die,  else  there  can  be  no  hope  that  we  shall  be  made  alive  in 
Christ  Jesus.  The  multitudes  who  have  gone  to  heaven,  and  the 
whole  army  of  believers  who  are  bound  thither,  know  the  period 
when  they  felt  themselves  justly  exposed  to  eternal  death.  The 
gospel  that  pretends  to  find  you  quite  whole  and  happy,  needino- 
only  a  little  instruction,  and  perhaps  some  reformation,  and  aims 
not  to  alarm  and  distress  you,  you  may  rest  assured  is  a  lie,  and 
not  the  truth ;  it  comes  from  hell,  and  not  from  heaven  ;  and  if  em- 
braced, will  conduct  you  back  with  it  to  the  recesses  of  perdition. 


SERMON   XXVI. 

IMPENITENT  MEN  DESTITUTE  OF  HOLINESS. 

ROMANS    III.    18. 

There  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes. 

The  text  gives  us  man's  native  character.  Such  he  is  till  the 
Spirit  of  God  has  sanctified  him.  The  criticism  that  would  apply 
this  whole  passage  to  the  people  only  who  lived  before  the  flood, 
or  to  a  very  few  of  the  baser  sort  of  sinners,  is  a  contrivance  of 
infidelity,  and  is  extensively  employed,  in  the  present  day,  to  be- 
tray and  ruin  souls.  The  man  who  is  willing  to  shape  his  creed 
by  the  Divine  record,  is  entirely  satisfied,  when  he  reads  the  pas- 
sages in  the  Old  Testament  which  are  here  quoted  ;  but  when  he 
finds  them  referred  to  by  an  inspired  apostle,  and  by  him  applied 
to  the  whole  human  family,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  no  shado  v  of  doubt 
remains.  He  is  now  content  to  lie  down  under  the  humiliating 
charge  they  bring,  and  is  ashamed  and  confounded  before  the 
Sfreat  Searcher  of  hearts.  He  who  has  become  a  new  creature 
will  consent  that  "  God  be  true,  though  every  man  a  liar." 

The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  a  gracious  affection,  belonging  not  to 
the  slave  but  to  the  son,  and  is  the  genuine  fruit  of  a  new  heart, 
the  beo-innino-  of  wisdom.  Hence  where  this  affection  is  not,  there 
are  no  gracious  affections.  And  if  this  be  true,  and  the  text  ap- 
plies to  all  men  in  their  unsanctified  state,  then  it  plainly  teaches 
us,  that  in  unregenerate  men  there  is  no  moral  excellence. 

My  object  at  this  time  will  be,  not  so  much  to  prove  the  doc- 
trine, as  to  account  for  its  having  been  controverted,  and  offer 
some  reasons  for  esteeming  it  a  highly  important  doctrine. 

I.  Many  have  mistaken  the  native  character  of  man,  from  having 
seen  him  capable  of  affections  and  deeds  that  are  praiseworthy.  It  is 
not  man's  prerogative  to  judge  the  heart ;  hence,  if  the  tendency 
of  an  action  is  to  that  which  is  good,  it  is  imputed  to  the  very 
motive  that  ought  to  have  produced  it.  If  the  deed  has  a  fair  ex~ 
terior,  it  is  considered  ungenerous  not  to  impute  it  to  correct  prin- 
ciple.    Men  judge,  however,  on  the   maxim,  that  what  is  highly 


IMPENITENT   MEN    DESTITUTE    OF    HOLINESS.  309 

esteemed  among-  men,  cannot  be  abomination  in  the  sight  of  God 
Hence  they  dress  up  human  nature  in  garbs  of  innocence  :  and 
conceive  it  impossible  that  there  should  be,  under  so  much  that  is 
fair  and  good  in  conduct,  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief. 

They  find  men  capable  of  kind,  and  generous,  and  honorable 
sentiments.  They  can  be  true,  and  trusty,  and  faithful,  and  affec- 
tionate ;  and  they  triumphantly  ask,  How  can  all  this  be,  when 
there  is  no  love  of  God  in  the  heart  !  They  see  discharged,  and 
sometimes  quite  honorably,  the  offices  of  parent,  husband,  brother 
and  child,  and  all  the  other  domestic  and  social  relations,  and 
impute  it  all,  though  to  be  accounted  for  on  other  principles,  to 
native  moral  excellence.  Hence  they  are  precipitated  into  a  con- 
troversy with  that  plain  and  humbling  testimony  of  heaven,  that 
"  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God,  is  not  subject  to  his 
law,  nor  indeed  can  be." 

Why  will  not  men  believe,  what  the  scriptures  so  plainly  teach, 
that  the  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked  ; 
and  from  this  truth  infer,  that  very  different  motives  may  lead  to 
the  same  deeds  \  We  often  see  that  an  amiable  disposition,  a 
lameness  and  mildness,  such  as  distinguish  the  lamb  from  the 
wolf,  and  the  vulture  from  the  dove — and  that  results  in  the  exer- 
cise of  many  an  amiable  affection,  and  the  doing  of  many  a  kind 
action — may  consist  with  the  practice  of  sin,  the  habit  of  a  daily 
violation  of  the  divine  law,  a  prompt  rejection  of  all  the  overtures 
of  the  gospel,  and  an  inveterate  disgust  for  the  duties  of  a  cordial 
and  secret  piety.  We  have  recognized,  where  there  was  all  the 
instinctive  amiableness  that  is  ever  claimed,  the  existence  of  a 
polished  and  fashionable  infidelity  ;  have  marked  offence  taken,  at 
the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  revelation,  at  the  scruples  of  a  well 
disciplined  conscience,  at  the  frequency  and  fervency  of  devotional 
exercises,  and  the  elevated  views  and  affections  of  the  revived  and 
happy  believers.  Still  there  were  high  pretensions  to  kindness, 
rectitude,  generosity,  and  even  piety.  There  was  not  a  conscious- 
ness of  the  deep-rooted  enmity  of  the  heart  to  whatever  is  holy 
and  heavenly.  Men  have  wept  under  the  sound  of  the  gospel,  and 
seemed  the  veriest  converts  to  the  truths  under  discussion,  the 
affections  enforced,  and  the  duties  urged,  and  ere  they  have  passed 
the  threshold  of  the  sanctuary,  have  vented  their  spleen  against 
the  man,  who  reached  their  sensibilities,  and  drew  from  them,  in 
an  unguarded  hour,  their  reluctant  testimony  to  the  gospel  he 
announced. 

We  do  not  deny,  that  there  has  been  seen  in  men  not  sanctified, 


310  IMPENITENT    MEN    DESTITUTE    OF    HOLINESS. 

much  that  it  would  be  disgraceful  not  to  admire,  and  envious  not 
to  praise,  and  evil  not  to  imitate  ;  and  still  we  may  have  had  in- 
dubitable evidence,  that  in  the  very  same  bosom  there  beat  a 
heart  hostile  to  God,  and  holiness,  and  heaven.  Not  certainly 
will  God,  who  compares  the  temper  of  the  heart  with  his  law, 
approve  always  the  very  deeds  that  men  have  praised,  or  the  men 
who  may  have  stood  immeasurably  high  in  human  estimation. 

On  this  point  the  truth  must  not  be  concealed.  We  cannot  say 
to  sinners,  that  if  they  please  man,  God  will  assuredly  be  pleased ; 
that  if  they  speak  kindly  to  man,  and  do  deeds  of  mercy  to  him, 
the  Eternal  will  say,  "  Ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  There  is  no 
such  assurance  given  in  the  record.  And  the  time,  or  rather  the 
eternity,  will  be  here  so  soon,  when  their  whole  character  must  be 
known,  when  they  must  stand  before  the  omniscient  God,  and  all 
their  heart  be  opened,  and  their  whole  life  be  read  ;  that  to  deceive 
tl  em,  and  cry  peace,  peace,  when  there  is  no  peace,  would  be  as 
cruel  as  death. 

There  is  neither  the  necessity  nor  the  wish  to  deny,  that  unsanc- 
tified  men  have  exhibited  many  natural  excellences  of  character. 
On  this  point  I  know  not  that  there  will  be  at  last  any  controversy 
between  God  and  them.  Our  Savior  looked  at  the  young  man  in 
the  gospel,  and  loved  him,  while  yet  he  was  unquestionably  in  the 
gall  of  bitterness  and  under  the  bonds  of  iniquity.  We  yield  to 
men  traits  of  character  that  are  amiable,  and  useful,  and  endearing, 
and  wish  most  sincerely  that  there  need  be  no  reserve  in  our 
praise.  But  while  they  have  been  kind,  and  neighborly,  and  piti- 
ful, and  even  generous  to  their  fellows,  they  have  robbed  God. 
They  have  wept  at  the  tale  of  distress,  and  hastened  to  succor  the 
perishing,  and  bled  in  sympathy  over  the  diseased  and  the  dying, 
but  have  never  shed  a  tear  at  the  cross.  They  have  believed  man, 
and  confided  in  him,  and  spoken  truth  to  him,  and  have  well 
earned  his  confidence  and  affection,  but  they  have  practically  made 
God  a  liar.  They  have  never  fully  credited  either  his  threaten- 
ings  or  his  promises,  nor  thought  it  necessary  to  take  sanctuary 
in  his  Son.  There  has  not  been  a  moment  in  their  whole  life, 
take  the  time  when  their  conscience  was  the  most  tender,  and 
their  sensibilities  the  most  nwakened,  and  their  deportment  the 
most  religious,  and  their  hopes  of  heaven  the  most  profound  ; 
when  some  other  object  beside  God,  had  not  the  high  and  distinct 
ascendency  in  their  affections.  VVhile  they  could  treat  men 
mildly,  and  be  rebuked  without  wrath,  and  even  endure  Divine 
tudgmetrt8  without  the  appearance  of  rebellion  ;  they  could  sti.l 


IMPENITENT    MEN    DESTITUTE    OF    HOLINESS.  311 

brow-beat  all  the  anathemas  of  the  law,  and  parry  every  thrust  of 
the  gospel,  and  live  on,  without  reflection,  and  without  prayer, 
and  without  repentance,  and  without  God  in  the  world.  They 
still  cared  not  for  all  the  melting  entreaties  of  divine  mercy.  God 
was  not  in  all  their  thoughts,  nor  his  religion  in  their  lips,  nor  his 
throne  in  their  hearts,  nor  his  will  controlled  them;  while,  as  the 
friends  of  the  poor,  the  patrons  of  moral  virtue,  and  the  benefac- 
tors of  the  world,  they  were  illustrious,  and  were  promised  in 
human  eulogy  a  luminous  and  happy  immortality. 

Thus  has  the  human  character,  all  deformity  as  God  views  it, 
been  exhibited  as  sound  and  good.  Distinctions  have  not  always 
been  made,  between  what  is  nature,  and  what  is  grace ;  what  is 
mere  instinct,  and  what  [^.holiness.  The  multitudes  of  the  ungodly 
have  been  blessed  and  dismissed,  doubting  whether  their  charac- 
ter was  at  all  deficient,  or  they  needed  to  be  born  again  ;  and  high 
in  the  hope  that  a  slight  reform,  and  a  little  care,  would  soon  pre- 
pare them  to  stand  accepted  of  God.  Even  men  who  have  worn 
noted  marks  of  the  apostacy,  the  covetous,  the  proud,  the  vain,  and 
the  worldly,  have  retired  with  a  smile,  to  enjoy  their  good  opinion 
of  themselves  and  feed  quietly,  and  sleep  sweetly,  while  the  wrath 
of  God  abode  upon  them.  They  have  gone  to  their  farms  and 
their  merchandize,  to  love  and  pursue  supremely  the  cares  of  the 
life  that  now  is,  or  bury  themselves  in  scenes  of  dissipation  and 
folly,  not  suspecting  but  that  all  was  well,  and  all  safe,  till  either 
the  Spirit  of  God  awakened  them,  or  they  sunk  to  a  hopeless  per- 
dition:  or  they  live  still,  and  are  filling  up  the  measure  of  their 
iniquity,  and  are  preparing  for  a  deeper  despair,  than  if  they  had 
perished  far  sooner.  And  they  must  thus  perish,  it  seems,  because 
they  are  amiable,  while  publicans  and  harlots,  who  have  no  such 
virtues  to  screen  them  from  conviction,  believe  in  the  Savior,  and 
live  for  ever ! 

II.  Men  have  been  led  to  controvert  this  doctrine  because  tin  y 
are  not  conscious  of  the  wrong  motives  by  which  they  are  actuated. 
Through  the  workings  of  a  deceitful  heart,  ignorance  of  the  scrip- 
tures, and  sometimes  by  the  aid  of  a  heterodox  ministry,  men 
have  totally  mistaken  their  whole  moral  character.  They  are  rich 
and  increased  in  goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing  ;  and  know  not 
that  they  are  wretched,  and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  ami 
naked.  What  the  prophet  says  of  the  idol-maker,  is  more  or  less 
true  of  all  unregenerate  men  in  all  ages,  "A  deceived  heart  hath 
turned  him  aside,  that  he  cannot  deliver  his  soul,  nor  say,  Is  there 


312  IMPENITENT    MEN    DESTITUTE    OF    HOLINESS. 

not  a  lie  in  my  right  hand  1"  Hazael  could  not  believe  that  he  de- 
served the  character  which  the  prophet  gave  him,  "  Is  thy  servant 
a  dog  that  he  should  do  this  great  thing  I"  And  Jehu,  when  he 
cut  off  the  house  of  Ahab,  and  destroyed  the  worshippers  of  Baal, 
would  have  felt  himself  abused,  to  be  told  that  he  was  actuated  by 
the  love  of  praise.  When  the  rulers  of  the  Jews  were  charged 
with  murdering  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory,  though  they  had  done 
this  very  deed,  thought  Peter  a  slanderer,  in  his  attempt  to  bring 
this  blood  upon  them.  So  Saul  of  Tarsus  supposed  he  was  doing 
God  service,  while  persecuting  to  death  the  disciples  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  Thus  may  men  act  from  the  very  worst  of  motives,  and 
yet  suppose  them  the  very  best.  They  do  not  consider  it  impor- 
tant to  know  what  their  designs  are,  and  have  not  that  familiarity 
with  their  hearts  that  would  render  it  easy  to  discover.  And  thus 
they  are  led  to  controvert  the  truth,  and  quarrel  with  God,  his 
word,  and  his  ministers,  who  all  give  them  the  very  character  they 
have. 

III.  The  doctrine  of  the  text  is  often  converted  to  support  schemes 
with  which  this  sentiment  would  not  compare.  The  sinner's  entire 
depravity,  is  a  fundamental  doctrine,  on  which  there  can  be  built 
only  one,  and  that  the  gospel  system.  Make  this  doctrine  true,  and 
it  sweeps  away,  as  with  the  besom  of  destruction,  every  creed  but 
one  from  the  face  of  the  world.  It  settles  the  question,  that  God 
may  righteously  execute  his  law  upon  all  unregenerate  men  ;  that 
"by  the  deeds  of  the  law  there  shall  no  flesh  be  justified;"  that 
the  doings  of  unregenerate  men  are  unholy ;  that  even  repentance 
will  not  take  away  the  curse  that  has  lit,  and  must  rest,  upon  the 
man  who  has  not  continued  in  all  the  things  written  in  the  book  of 
the  law  to  do  them  ;  that  an  atonement,  such  as  God  has  provided, 
through  the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  all,  is  the 
only  medium  through  which  we  can  purge  our  consciences  from 
dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God.  It  farther  decides  the  ques- 
tion, that  men  will  not  seek  after  God  ;  that  he  must  be  found  of 
them  that  sought  him  not,  must  give  repentance  unto  life,  must 
lake  away  the  heart  of  stone  and  give  a  heart  of  flesh  ;  that  in  the 
reo-enerate  he  must  work,  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure  ; 
and  finally,  that  he  must  be  an  Almighty  Savior,  who  could  redeem 
beino-s  so  lost,  and  put  them  back  again  into  the  favor  of  a  justly 
offended   God. 

Thus  it  is  only  one  scheme  of  truths  that  this  doctrine  will  sup- 
port j  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.     If  men  depart  from 


IMPENITENT    MEM    DESTITUTE    OF    HOLINESS.  313 

the  truth,  as  we  are  told  they  shall  in  these  last  days,  giving  heed 
to  seducing  spirits  and  doctrines  of  devils,  they  must  thus  come 
into  close  and  comfortless  contact  with  a  doctrine,  which,  if  true, 
gives  the  lie  to  all  their  false  and  delusive  schemes.  Hence  we 
wonder  not  that  "the  foe  of  God  and  man,  issuing  from  his  dark 
den,"  has  here  displayed,  in  every  age  of  Zion's  conflict,  his  migh- 
tiest chieftainship.  Here  must  be  the  edge  of  battle,  in  every 
conflict  between  the  gospel  and  the  systems  invented  by  men  ; 
between  the  friends  and  the  foes  of  truth.  This  is  the  fortress 
that  has  been  taken  and  retaken  ten  thousand  times,  where  has 
been  tried  the  prowess  of  God's  people,  and  his  enemies  ;  where 
has  been  displayed  the  power  of  God,  and  been  put  to  the  test  the 
endurance  of  his  elect,  in  all  the  ages  that  have  gone  by. 

IV.  This  doctrine  has  been  controverted  through  the  pride  of  the 
human  heart.  Depravity  is  a  most  degrading  doctrine,  and  entire  de- 
pravity intolerable,  till  the  heart  has  been  humbled  by  the  grace 
of  God.  There  is  in  apostate  men  great  pride  of  character.  We 
would  all  be  considered  friendly  to  what  is  good  and  great,  and 
such  is  God,  even  in  the  profession  of  the  most  depraved ;  such  is 
his  law,  and  such  his  government.  With  the  promptness  with 
which  we  fly  the  touch  of  fire,  does  pride  resist  imputation.  Hence 
inquires  the  unregenerate  man,  Would  you  deny  me  the  credit  of 
loving  my  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Benefactor!  Do  I  never  obey 
his  law,  or  do  a  deed  from  motives  that  please  him  1  And  is  there, 
among  my  noblest  actions  of  kindness  to  men,  nothing  that 
amounts  to  love  1  In  my  gladness  for  the  good  things  that  God 
bestows,  is  there  not  a  shred  of  gratitude  1  in  my  admiration  of 
his  perfections  and  his  works,  no  love  !  in  my  belief  of  his  word, 
no  faith  !  in  my  expectation  of  heaven,  no  hope  \  in  my  sorrow 
for  sin,  no  repentance !  in  my  endurance  of  adverse  events,  no 
submission!  and  in  my  gentleness  and  condescension,  no  humili- 
ty 1  are  my  prayers  sin  and  my  sacrifices  abomination  1  do  I 
thus,  on  all  occasions,  break  the  fist  and  great  commandment  of 
the  law?  and  on  all  occasions  the  secon  d  also  1  in  all  my  noble 
generosity,  is  there  no  benevolence  1  in  my  soft  deportment,  no 
meekness  1  and  in  my  tears  for  the  miserable,  no  pious  sympathy  1 
most  every  deed  I  do  have  the  same  moral  deformity  ]  and  God 
hate  me,  and  his  law  condemn  me,  when  I  follow  the  kindest  dic- 
tates of  that  nature  he  has  given  me  1 

Thus  men  feel,  that  if  this  doctrine  be  true,  it  goes  to   defame 
und  ruin  their  character.     It  makes  them  go  astray  soon  as  they 
40 


314  IMPENITENT    MEN    DESTITUTE    OF    HOLINESS. 

are  born,  speaking  lies.  It  makes  their  righteousness  as  filthy 
rags.  When  they  have  washed  themselves  in  snow-water,  and 
made  their  hands  never  so  clean,  this  doctrine,  with  ruthless  hand, 
plunges  them  into  the  ditch,  and  their  own  clothes  abhor  them. 
When  they  industriously  provide  for  their  household,  they  are  ac- 
cused of  loving  the  world,  while  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not 
in  them.  When  they  would  go  to  the  sanctuary,  and  pay  their 
vows,  there  they  hear  from  heaven,  "  What  hast  thou  to  do  to  de- 
clare my  statutes,  or  that  thou  shouldest  take  my  covenant  in  thy 
mouth  1" 

Thus,  at  every  point,  this  doctrine  comes  to  mar  their  reputa- 
tion, and  make  them  hypocrites,  and  cover  them  with  shame  and 
blushing.  Hence  the  Jehovah,  who  will  give  men  this  character, 
may  reign  in  other  hearts  ;  and  the  Bible,  that  will  teach  this  doc- 
trine, may  lie  neglected  ;  and  the  ministry  that  will  publish  it,  may 
starve :  and  the  cringing  multitude,  who  will  believe  it,  may  herd 
tooether,  and  together  sink  into  the  contempt  they  covet.  Thus 
God  is  treated,  and  thus  his  word,  and  thus  his  ministers,  and  thus 
his  people,  because  they  maintain  a  doctrine,  the  sinner's  disgust 
at  which,  establishes  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  or  the  dan- 
ger of  mistake.  It  so  degrades  the  character  of  men,  that  they 
will  not  believe  it,  if  they  perish  contradicting  it. 

I  could  offer  other  reasons,  why  this  doctrine  has  been  so  fre- 
quently assailed,  but  shall  proceed  to  offer  some  reasons  for  esteem- 
i?ig  it  a  very  important  doctrine. 

1.  The  fact,  that  it  is  plainly  revealed,  testifies  to  its  importance. 
God  would  not  have  cumbered  his  word  with  a  doctrine  of  no  va- 
lue. If  we  find  it  there  who  will  venture  to  deny  its  importance  % 
and  if  not  there,  how  docs  it  happen,  that  those  are  its  warmest  ad- 
vocates, who  are  most  familiar  with  the  Bible,  and  most  ready  to 
regard  its  dictates  1  The  context  contains  a  very  dark  review  of 
man's  native  character:  and  it  would  be  infidelity  to  suppose  it  too 
highly  colored.  "There  is  none  righteous,  no  not  one :  There  is 
none  that  understandeth,  there  is  none  that  seeketh  after  God. 
They  are  all  gone  out  of  the  way,  they  are  together  become  un- 
profitable ;  there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no,  not  one.  Their 
throat  is  an  open  sepulchre;  with  their  tongues  they  have  used 
deceit;  the  poison  of  asps  is  under  their  lips:  Whose  mouth  is 
full  of  cursing  and  bitterness.  Their  feet  are  swift  to  shed  blood. 
Destruction  and  misery  are  in  their  ways:  And  the  way  of  peace 
nave  they  not  known.  There  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes." 
Now  we  fearlessly  assert,  that  this  is  given  as  the  native  character 


IMPENITENT    MEN    DESTITUTE    OF    HOLINESS.  315 

of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  by  one  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  inspired,  and 
who  could  not  mistake  the  truth.  Believe  the  last  clause  only, 
and  tell  me  if  in  men,  who  have  "  no  fear  of  God  before  their 
eyes,"  there  is  any  holiness  1  "  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against 
God,  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can 
be."  Here  again  Christian  honesty  will  read  the  same  doctrine. 
And  the  same  in  this  text,  "  The  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  full 
of  evil."  And  in  this,  "  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things, 
and  desperately  wicked."  And  that  none  may  escape,  it  reads ; 
"  As  in  water  face  answereth  to  face,  so  the  heart  of  man  to  man :" 
And  thus  the  uniform  testimony  of  Scripture.  There  would  be  no 
end  in  quoting  the  Scriptures  on  this  important  point,  till  I  had  re- 
ferred you  to  almost  the  whole  Bible.  And  a  doctrine  about  which 
God  will  say  so  much,  must  be,  in  his  estimation,  and  should  be  in 
ours,  of  high  importance. 

2.  The  doctrine  of  the  text  is  esteemed  important,  as  it  is  one  of 
the  first  truths,  used  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  awakening  and  sanctify- 
ing  sinners.  Till  men  see  their  depravity,  they  will  not  approve 
of  the  law  that  condemns  them.  They  will  be  wondering,  if,  in- 
deed, they  think  at  all,  why  God  threatens  them,  and  be  blaming 
the  law  as  too  rigid  in  its  requirements,  and  cruel  in  its  penalties. 
Now  there  is  no  hope  of  a  sinner,  while  he  stands  in  this  posture  ; 
and  nothing  will  move  him  from  it,  but  a  conviction  of  his  lost  and 
ruined  state.  Hide  from  him  the  character  of  his  heart,  and  you 
seal  him  up  to  everlasting  stupidity.  You  can  arouse  him  to  no 
apprehensions  of  danger,  for  under  the  government  of  a  good  God 
none  are  in  danger  but  sinners.  And  there  will  of  course  be  no  re- 
pentance. A  thoughtless  sinner  sees  nothing  to  repent  of,  nor  any 
reason  why  he  should  repent,  and  the  man  who  knows  nothing  of 
his  heart  will  not  be  thoughtful.  The  commandment  never  comes 
home  to  his  conscience.  If  he  has  hopes  of  heaven,  it  will  be  on 
the  ground  of  his  own  self-righteousness.  Thus  the  Savior  will  be 
to  him  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground,  without  form  or  comeliness, 
and  the  work  of  grace  can  never  be  begun.  Thus  is  the  sinner, 
who  is  kept  ignorant  of  his  heart,  sealed  up  to  the  judgment,  and 
goes  on  as  the  ox  to  the  slaughter,  and  the  fool  to  the  correction 
of  the  stocks.  The  Spirit  of  God  will  sanctify  only  through  the 
truth,  and  the  entire  depravity  of  the  heart  is  a  first  truth,  without 
a  knowledge  of  which  no  sinner  was  ever  yet  fitted  for  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

A  gospel,  then,  if  we  must  so  call  it,  that  hides  from  men  the  de- 
formity of  their  moral  character,  betrays  and  ruins  them.     It  says 


316  IMPENITENT    MEN    DESTITUTE    OF    HOLINESS. 

to  the  wicked,  that  it  shall  be  well  with  them,  and  thus  cradles 
their  fears  to  sleep,  till  their  period  of  mercy  is  past;  and  proves, 
ultimately,  the  greatest  calamity  that  can  befall  them.  It  closes 
upon  them  the  portals  of  eternal  life,  and  keeps  them  dreaming, 
and  fearless,  till  they  open  their  eyes  in  hell.  But  when  they  at 
last  make  the  discovery,  perhaps  on  the  bed  of  death,  or  it  may  be 
not  till  life  has  gone  out,  how  will  they  execrate  the  recollection 
of  such  a  gospel.  It  will  come  up  to  the  mind  as  does  the  tem- 
pest, that  wrecked  all  their  hopes  upon  the  relentless  reef;  or  the 
fire  that  forced  them  to  make  a  midnight  retreat  from  the  place 
that  had  been  long  their  safe  and  happy  home. 

The  ministers  of  Christ  would  love  to  preach  a  smoother  gospel, 
if  men  could  only  be  safe  under  it.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  have 
to  do  only  with  the  invitations,  and  the  promises,  and  the  hopes  of 
the  gospel.  They  had  far  rather  remind  the  believer  of  the  joys 
to  come,  than  admonish  the  unbeliever  of  the  judgment,  the  outer 
darkness,  and  the  gnawing  worm.  They  could  have  far  more 
pleasure  in  describing  the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  than  in  portraying 
the  deformities  of  the  unsanctified  heart. 

But  the  grand  object  of  the  gospel  ministry  is  to  save  souls,  and 
this  object  is  not  gained,  unless  men  are  taught,  as  the  very  first 
lesson  of  that  ministry,  that  they  are  lost.  Hence  to  suppress  this 
truth,  would  be  to  neutralize  at  once  the  whole  effect  of  this  min- 
istry. Whatever  we  may  wish,  we  can  be  the  ministers  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  a  ruined  world,  but  on  this  one  condition, 
that  the  alienation  of  our  world  from  God  hold  the  place  of  a  first 
truth  in  every  effort  of  our  ministry.  The  gospel  has  absolutely 
no  meaning,  and  can  be  of  no  use,  but  to  the  lost  and  the  condemned . 

3.  The  doctrine  of  the  text  is  esteemed  important,  as  it  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  the  whole  gospel  scheme.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
came  into  our  world,  to  seek  and  to  save  them  that  are  lost,  and 
the  whole  plan  of  salvation  is  so  interwoven  with  this  fact,  as  to 
be  unintelligible  without  it.  What  means  the  covenant  of  redemp- 
tion, but  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  we  are  captives  and 
slaves,  and  need  to  be  redeemed  1  what  is  there  intelligible  in  the 
atonement,  but  that  we  owe  ten  thousand  talents,  and  have  nothing 
to  pay  1  why  urged  to  repent,  but  that  we  are  in  love  with  sin,  and 
must  otherwise  perish  \  why  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but 
that  we  need  a  better  righteousness  than  our  own  to  shelter  us 
from  the  wrath  to  come  \  why  make  to  ourselves  a  new  heart,  but 
that  we  have  by  nature  evil  hearts  of  unbelief  inclining  us  to  de- 
part from  the  living  God  1 


IMPENITENT    MEN    DESTITUTE    OF    HOLINESS.  317 

And  let  me  ask,  why  all  the  threatenings  of  the  gospel,  but  that 
it  was  written  for  the  use  of  a  disobedient  and  gainsaying  people  1 
why  on  every  page  does  there  meet  us  some  anathema,  but  that  it 
was  intended  for  those  who  love  not  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  1  why 
has  death  passed  upon  all  men,  but  that  all  have  sinned  1  why  a 
judgment  and  a  place  of  torment,  but  that  those  who  have  carried 
their  entire  depravity  with  them  into  the  coming  world,  may  be 
distinguished,  and  may  go  to  their  own  place. 

Finally — It  is  matter  of  doubt  whether  an  honest  man,  acquaint- 
ed with  the  Bible,  and  willing  to  collect  his  creed  from  it,  will  find 
ii  possible  to  exclude  the  doctrine  of  the  text  from  a  fundamental 
place  in  its  structure.  What  doctrine  can  he  preach,  if  he  denies 
it  1  what  precept  enforce  1  what  threatening  announce  1  what  pro- 
mise apply  1  We  need  no  gospel  if  this  doctrine  is  not  true,  and 
we  have  none..     "  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  tomorrow  we  die." 

Will  the  great  God  defend  his  own  truth,  and  bless  every  effort 
for  its  vindication,  and  sanctify  his  people  through  its  influence,  and 
speedily  let  it  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  Will 
he  bring  the  multitudes  of  the  ungodly  to  know,  that  they  are  in 
the  gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the  bonds  of  iniquity,  and  persunde 
them  to  fly  for  refuge,  to  lay  hold  of  the  hope  set  before  them  in 
the  gospel 


SERMON   XXVII 

ONLY   ONE  TRUE  GOD. 

JOHN   XVII     3. 
This  is  ife  eternal,  that  they  might  know  thee  the  only  true  God 

In  the  report  of  that  gospel,  which  shall  deal  honestly  with  dy- 
ing men,  it  is  of  the  first  importance  that  there  be  exhibited  the 
true  character  of  God.  As  men  are  to  be  sanctified  through  the 
truth,  it  will  be  confessed,  that  no  truth  can  be  of  higher  import 
ance,  than  that  which  relates  to  the  being  and  attributes  of  Jeho- 
vah. Unless  on  this  point  there  is  made  a  full  and  clear  exposure 
of  the  truth,  our  religion  may  be  so  defective,  as  to  neither  profit 
us  in  this  life,  nor  save  us  in  the  life  to  come.  Under  the  very 
names  that  belong  to  the  true  God,  we  may  worship  an  idol,  and 
thus  give  our  depravity  the  shape  of  the  grossest  insult. 

We  have  sometimes  listened  to  a  loud  and  earnest  address  on 
the  subject  of  religion,  and  it  professed  itself  the  gospel,  in  which 
the  character  of  the  true  God  was  industriously  concealed.  Men 
may  speak  of  God,  and  with  much  engagedness  ;  his  adorable 
names  may  swell  every  clause,  and  round  every  period,  and  the 
whole  be  uttered  with  a  decent  ami  well-bred  softness ;  and  one 
may  suppose  himself  religiously  employed,  in  hearing  the  true  gos- 
pel, and  be  charmed  with  the  changes  rung  upon  the  names  he 
has  been  accustomed  to  adore  ;  and  still  the  God  proclaimed  may 
not  be  the  blessed  Jehovah.  There  may  be  a  view  exhibited  that 
does  not  belong  to  the  Creator,  but  to  some  imaginary  god  created 
for  the  occasion. 

The  text  would  furnish  several  topics  of  remark,  but  I  intend  to 
confine  myself  to  one,  To  expose  some  of  the  false  views  of  God, 
which  are  not  unfrequmtly  presented  to  us  under  the  appellation  of  the 
gospel ;  and  thus  illustrate  the  character  of  that  only  true  God 
whom  to  know  is  eternal  life 

L  There  is  sometimes  an  extolling  of  all  the  more  clement  attri- 
butes of  God,  as  some  have  presumptuously  distinguished,  while 
the  severer  attributes  are  unnoticed.  The  design  of  these  declaim- 
ers  seems  to  be  that  our  attention  be  fixed  exclusively  upon  what, 


ONLY    ONE    TRUE    GOD.  3 19 

in  their  estimation,  is  soft  and  mild  and  lovely  in  God,  while  his  ho- 
liness, his  justice  and  his  truth  ; — all  in  him  that  can  go  to  make  a 
sinner  afraid,  or  beget  conviction  and  repentance,  is  industriously 
concealed.  God's  compassion  for  our  lost  and  miserable  world, 
his  patience,  his  endurance,  his  long-suffering,  his  promptness  to 
pardon,  and  total  aversion  to  destroy  ; — all  those  features  of  the 
Divine  mind,  that  can  soothe  alarm,  are  early  and  industriously 
developed,  as  if  embracing  the  whole  of  God  that  he  himself  loves, 
or  man  is  required  to  worship  and  adore  ;  while  the  other  parts  of 
the  divine  image  are  obscured,  as  one  would  hide  the  scars  and 
excrescences  that  have  fortuitously  covered  more  than  half  his 
visage.  Thus  the  great  luminary  of  the  moral  world  must  be  cast 
into  a  deep  and  dark  eclipse,  that  the  naked  eye  of  sense  may  gaze 
upon  his  few  remaining  glories.  It  is  feared,  we  presume,  that 
were  the  whole  character  of  God  exhibited,  sinners  would  be  filled 
with  disgust,  and  be  driven  from  the  bosom  of  their  Sovereign. 
He  must  not  adhere  to  the  principles  of  that  law  he  has  promul- 
gated, nor  care  to  vindicate  himself  from  the  aspersions  that  sin- 
ners have  cast  upon  his  character  and  his  government.  He  must  not 
resolve  that  mercy  and  truth  meet  together  5  and  that  righteous 
ness  and  peace  kiss  each  other.  He  must  cast  a  smile  upon  the 
prodigal,  ere  he  shall  turn  his  face  or  his  feet  toward  his  father's 
house.  Thus  must  the  holy  and  righteous  God,  before  whom 
devils  tremble,  melt  down  into  the  weak  and  pitiful  parent,  or  not 
one  of  his  apostate  family  shall  come  back  to  his  bosom  and  his 
service.     So  men  would  judge. 

But  God  seems  to  have  had  other  views,  and  has  revealed  his 
whole  character,  fearless  of  the  predicted  consequences.  If  there 
was  any  danger  from  a  full  exposure  of  his  character,  why  did  he 
not  hold  himself  concealed,  or  throw  into  the  shade,  as  men  would 
do  for  him,  those  parts  of  his  character  that  must  give  offence  1  If 
that  be  good  policy  which  I  am  venturing  to  expose,  God  could 
have  directed  that  neither  the  works  of  creation,  nor  the  Bible, 
should  have  told  us  the  whole  truth  respecting  himself.  He  might 
have  suppressed  the  history  of  that  revolt  in  heaven,  and  its  re- 
sults, and  told  us  nothing  of  hell  and  the  judgment,  nor  named  in 
his  Book  those  attributes  that  throw  around  him  such  an  atmos- 
phere of  darkness  and  terror.  He  need  not  have  given  us,  if  he 
had  so  pleased,  the  stories  of  the  deluge,  and  of  Sodom,  and  of 
Korah  and  his  company.  But  God  has  exposed  the  whole  truth, 
and  that  in  the  very  Book  which  he  has  directed  should  be  our 
daily  companion. 


320  ONLY    ONE    TRTE    GOD. 

If  the  scheme  I  oppose  be  true,  I  know  not  how  to  account  for 
such  a  Bible  as  God  has  put  into  our  hands,  just  calculated  to  be- 
tray a  secret  that  should  not  have  been  divulged  for  worlds.  If 
there  belong  to  God  any  attributes  that  were  not  intended  to  be 
made  known  to  sinners  till  they  are  reconciled  to  him;  if  they 
cannot  safely  be  told  that  he  is  angry  with  the  wicked  every  day, 
has  appointed  a  time  and  place  of  judgment,  and  prepared  a  deep 
and  dark  perdition  for  the  condemned;  if  they  are  to  be  urged  to 
come  to  him,  expecting  to  find  him  all  mercy  ;  then  by  what  alarm- 
ing oversight  have  we  resolved  to  put  the  Bible  into  the  hands  of 
sinners  1  Must  the  parental  character  of  God  so  dazzle  and  fill 
the  eye,  as  to  eclipse  the  Sovereign,  and  the  Judge,  the  Abettor 
of  truth,  and  the  Avenger  of  wrong  and  of  outrage  1  And  must  we 
never  know  the  whole  character  of  God,  till  we  have  to  deal  with 
him  in  the  judgment  1  Can  we  be  sure  that  the  prodigal,  after  he  has 
been  thus  decoyed  home  to  his  father's  house,  will  be  pleased  with 
his  father  1  Had  he  not  better  know,  while  away  in  his  land  of 
exile,  exactly,  the  father  he  must  meet,  and  the  father  he  must 
love,  and  stay  there  till  his  character  is  approved  ? 

I  know  not  where  in  the  whole  Bible  we  are  authorized  to  ele- 
vate one  attribute  of  God  above  another,  and  term  the  one  mild 
and  the  other  severe.  I  know  not  where  men  have  learned,  that 
there  are  principles  in  the  Divine  nature  and  government,  that  to 
be  fully  known  would  subvert  the  benevolent  design  of  the  gospel. 
If  God  has  thus  instructed  any  of  his  ministers,  and  they  act  by 
his  authority  in  deciding  what  may  and  what  may  not  be  developed 
to  the  world  of  the  ungodly,  I  have  only  to  say,  "  To  their  own 
master  they  stand  or  fall." 

II.  There  is  perhaps  some  occasion  to  fear,  that  some  have  gone 
into  the  opposite  extreme,  and  have  presented  exclusively  the 
more  forbidding  attributes  of  God,  while  his  grace  and  mercy  have 
been  in  this  case  too  much  concealed.  When  Jehovah  is  exhibited 
as  constituted  of  entire  sovereignty  ;  as  doing  his  pleasure  in  the 
armies  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  without 
the  least  regard  to  the  happiness  and  the  salvation  of  his  creatures  ; 
as  casting  after  the  wayward  and  the  lost,  no  look  of  compassion- 
ate tenderness; — can  this  be  a  faithful  exhibition  of  the  character 
of  God  1  Should  it  be  said,  That  God  is  willing  to  show  his 
wrath,  and  that  he  has  created  intelligent  beings  on  purpose  that 
they  might  be  the  vessels  of  his  wrath  ;  and  has  communicated 
positive  hardness   to  their   hearts,    because   they   did   not  render 


ONLY    ONE    TRUE    GOD.  321 

themselves  depraved  enough  for  his  purpose;  and  pushed  them  on 
to  a  character,  that  would  be  sufficiently  desperate  for  some  deed 
of  darkness,  which  he  had  resolved  they  should  perpetrate ; — 
would  one  gather  from  all  this  the  true  character  of  God  1  I 
know  that  I  have  now  presented  an  extreme  case,  and  sincerely 
hope  that  not  often,  perhaps  never,  is  sovereignty  presented  quite 
so  bare  and  forbidding,  and  the  truth  pushed  to  an  extremity  so 
cold  and  cheerless.  The  objection  to  such  presentations  is,  that 
they  do  not  exhibit  the  whole  character  of  God.  He  is  willing  to 
show  his  wrath,  only  where  his  mercy  in  Jesus  Christ  has  been 
long  and  obstinately  rejected.  He  created  intelligent  beings  for 
his  own  glory,  and  will  honor  himself  in  their  perdition,  if  by 
rejecting  the  Savior,  they  count  themselves  unworthy  of  eternal 
life.  He  has  hardened  their  hearts  by  the  very  dispensations  that 
should  have  won  them  to  duty  and  to  God  ;  has  sent  them  strong 
delusions  that  they  might  believe  a  lie  and  be  damned,  when  they 
did  not  believe  the  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness. 
We  must  pour  into  these  strong  exhibitions  of  truth,  in  order  to 
render  them  the  gospel,  and  make  them  useful,  the  whole  charac- 
ter of  God. 

How  can  you  hope  to  persuade  rebels  to  submit  themselves  to 
this  bare  and  appalling  sovereignty  1  Why  must  they  become 
reconciled  to  their  Creator,  before  they  may  even  know  that  he  is 
a  God  of  mercy,  or  has  it  in  his  heart  to  bestow  pardons  1  An 
apostle  has  said,  "  If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful  and  just  to 
forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness." 
I  am  not  without  my  fears,  that  on  this  side  of  the  line  of  ortho- 
doxy there  has  sometimes  been  presented  a  character  of  God,  as 
imperfect,  not  to  say  as  unsafe,  as  when  only  his  clemency  is  seen. 
And  who  can  say  that  God  would  not  be  as  unwilling  that  one  set 
of  his  attributes  should  be  exclusively  presented,  as  another  1 
Under  neither  have  we  a  full  and  honest  portrait  of  the  only  true 
God,  whom  to  know  is  eternal  life.  While  the  one  error  will  lead 
unregenerate  men  to  presume  that  they  love  their  Maker,  so  under 
the  other  it  is  feared,  that  many  true  believers  may  be  kept  all 
their  life-time  subject  to  bondage  through  fear  of  perdition.  The 
one  will  make  a  multitude  of  happy  hypocrites,  while  the  other 
will  conduct  to  heaven  whole  churches  of  trembling,  doubting  be- 
lievers. The  one  will  widen  the  fold,  till  the  sheep  and  the  goats 
can  herd  together;  the  other  will  contract  it  till  many  of  the 
lambs  must  lie  without,  and  be  exposed  to  storms  and  beasts  of 
prey ;  and  finally  neither  presents  correctly  the  character  of  God. 
41 


322  ONLY    ONE    TRUE    GOD. 

III.  We  have  sometimes  presented  us  a  picture  of  warring  attri- 
butes. Mercy  triumphs  over  justice,  and  grace  is  made  victorious 
over  truth  and  righteousness.  Under  this  system,  God  disapproves 
the  properties  of  his  own  nature,  and  the  principles  of  his  own 
government  ;  and  contrives  to  defeat  and  nullify  his  own  decrees 
He  issued  his  law,  and  pronounced  it  good,  and  made  in  it  no  pro- 
vision for  pardon  ;  none  he  could  make  ;  and  when  the  sinner 
broke  that  law,  he  passed  sentence,  and  threatened  its  execution. 
Hut  he  is  now  made  to  repent  of  the  sternness,  and  integrity,  and 
purity,  that  dictated  that  law,  and  uttered  that  sentence,  and 
threatened  its  execution  :  and  is  ?-e-resolved,  that,  come  what  will 
of  reproach  upon  his  name,  and  injury  to  his  government  and  king- 
dom, the  sinner  shall  not  suffer.  He  built  a  place  of  torment,  and 
separated  it  from  heaven  by  a  bottomless  gulf,  and  made  it  a  dark, 
and  dreary,  and  desolate  abode;  but  he  has  since  had  better  and 
milder  views ;  has  decreed  that  ultimately  the  gulf  shall  become 
passable,  the  fires  shall  go  out,  and  the  worm  shall  die. 

And  all  this  is  contrived  to  save  the  Divine  honor.  To  let  God 
be  what  he  is,  and  do  what  he  has  said,  and  carry  into  execution 
his  own  purpose,  would,  it  is  believed,  so  hurt  his  reputation  with 
the  population  of  the  apostacy,  that  any  thing,  that  can  be,  must 
be  done  to  save  it.  There  must  rather  be  suspicion  cast  over  the 
whole  record  that  would  exhibit  God  as  so  inflexibly  holy,  and 
reproach  poured  in  upon  the  bigoted  multitude  that  would  so 
rigidly  explain  the  word.  The  Book  of  God,  plain  as  it  is,  may 
rather  mean  nothing,  and  John  record  falsely,  and  Paul  reason  in- 
conclusively, than  to  blot  so  foully  and  fatally  the  Divine  reputation. 

To  complete  the  picture,  the  Son  of  God  is  despatched  from 
heaven  to  take  the  part  of  sinners,  and  shield  them  from  the  sword 
of  a  devouring  justice.  He  saw,  it  seems,  that  the  execution  of 
the  law  would  ruin  the  credit  of  the  court,  of  heaven,  which  gave 
sentence,  and  hasted  down  to  counteract  the  decree.  What  was 
stern,  and  unbending,  and  cruel  in  the  Father,  has  been  softened 
down  in  the  Son.  He  covers  the  rebel  with  his  hand,  smiles  on 
him,  wipes  away  his  tears,  and  prays  him  to  forgive  a  father's  un- 
jusl  severity.  His  errand  was  to  stay  the  rod  of  justice.  He 
makes  no  atonement — none  is  necessary — asks  no  change  of  heart 
in  the  culprit,  but  a  mere  reform,  as  the  condition  of  pardon  and 
life. 

Thus  has  the  character  of  God  been  so  exhibited,  as  to  involve 
heaven  in  a  quarrel,  and  place  the  persons  of  the  Godhead  at  issue, 
on  the  quest i<  n,  \vh"ther  the  honors  of  the  broken  law  deserve  to 


ONLY    ONE    TEUE    GOD.  323 

be  repaired,  or  its  Author  shall  sink  into  universal  disrespect  1 
"What  in  the  mean  time  shall  happen  to  the  divine  government  in 
heaven,  and  in  all  the  worlds  that  have  continued  loyal,  and  have 
had  hitherto  the  utmost  confidence  in  the  unchangeably  wise  and 
holy  God  ?  0,  I  feel  that  the  ground  on  which  I  stand  is  holy! 
Will  God  forgive  me,  if  in  attempting  to  vindicate  his  honor  I 
have  drawn  near  to  him  without  being  duly  sanctified  1 

I  know  that  men  who  have  resolved  to  go  on  in  sin,  who  have 
long  been  offended  at  the  purity  and  extent  of  the  law,  and  would 
not  care  if  all  the  rights  of  the  Godhead  were  trampled  upon,  find 
it  very  convenient  to  have  the  character  of  God  thus  brought  down 
to  their  taste  and  their  temper.  They  will  support  and  will  love  a 
gospel  that  will  thus  make  God  altogether  such  an  one  as  them- 
selves.  Give  them  a  gospel  like  this,  and  in  half  a  century  there 
will  not  be  an  avowed  infidel  on  the  whole  face  of  the  earth 
Gladly  would  they  be  rid  of  the  reproach  of  infidelity,  could  they 
have  a  gospel  that  would  promise  them  a  salvation  equally  cheap 
and  convenient. 

If  God  will  give  out  his  word,  and  then  break  it ;  will  make  a 
law  and  when  men  have  fallen  under  its  curse,  repeal  it  ;  will  join 
t'.ie  rebel  in  hating  his  own  attributes  ;  will  issue  an  edict,  and  then 
a  counter  edict  by  which  the  first  is  neutralized;  this  is  all  exactly 
as  they  would  have  it.  God  is  invested  with  all  the  human  weak- 
nesses. So  Ahasuerus  would  make  a  decree,  assigning  to  death 
all  his  Jewish  subjects,  and  then  enact  another,  directing  them  to 
arm  themselves  for  their  own  defence,  and  thus  his  decree  comes 
to  the  ground.  But  how  will  God  be  affected  by  these  inroads 
made  upon  his  name  and  his  glory  1  Will  he  suffer  his  character 
to  be  tampered  with,  and  finally  to  be  thus  frittered  down  to  the 
taste  and  the  convenience  of  a  polished,  and  proud,  and  worldly, 
and  time-serving  generation  1  Will  it  still  be  eternal  life  to  know 
him,  altered  thus,  till  not  an  angel  in  heaven  would  know  him  ! 
altered  till  all  that  devils  disapproved,  and  that  believers  loved,  is 
gone  1 

Let  me  now  ask  the  advocates  of  all  these  schemes,  what  they 
gam  \  Why  not  be  willing,  that  the  blessed  God  be  exhibited  to 
the  minds  of  men,  in  the  very  character  that  he  gives  himself.  Let 
him  be  what  he  declared  himself  to  be,  on  that  occasion  when  it 
was  his  special  object  to  make  himself  known  :  "  The  Lord,  the 
Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering  and  abundant  in 
goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  ini- 
quity, and  transgression,  and  sin,  and  that  will  by   no    means  clear 


324)  ONLY    ONE    TRUE    GOD. 

the  guilty  !  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children, 
and  upon  the  children's  children,  unto  the  third  and  to  the  fourth 
Generations."  Here  we  have,  (if  I  may  still  use  the  terms  which 
it  grieves  me  to  use,)  the  milder  and  the  severer  attributes  of  God. 
In  this  very  character  we  must  deal  with  him  at  last,  the  same  that 
he  was  when  he  spoke  to  Moses  from  the  cloud.  Let  there  be  a 
perfect  balance  among  his  attributes.  Let  him  be  neither  too 
merciful  to  be  just,  nor  too  "just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  cleanse 
us  from  all  unrighteousness  ;"  not  too  compassionate  to  be  holy, 
nor  too  holy  to  smile  again  upon  the  rebel,  who  has  fled  for  refuge 
to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before  him  in  the  gospel ;  and  too  gra- 
cious to  be  true,  nor  so  the  friend  of  truth  as  not  to  reverse  the 
sentence  of  death,  when  the  condemned  have  repented  and  believed. 
God  can  have  no  darling  attribute  that  shall  eclipse  the  other  por- 
tions of  his  character  ;  can  issue  no  clashing  edicts  ;  and  did  not 
send  his  Son  to  soothe,  and  flatter,  and  defend  the  rebel,  whom  his 
justice  condemned,  leaving  him  still  in  all  his  stubbornness  and 
his  pride. 

Why  this  zeal  to  create  confusion  in  the  counsels  of  the  God- 
head, and  sunder  the  attributes  that  cluster  in  Jehovah  1  Simply 
to  srratify  men  who  cannot  be  pleased  with  God  as  he  is.  But 
would  they  be  pleased  with  God  were  his  character  altered  \  They 
could  not  love  an  unjust  God,  unless  indeed  he  would  pledge  himself 
never  to  treat  them  unjustly.  And  on  ceasing  to  be  a  God  of  truth, 
he  could  not  give  that  pledge.  The  sinner  will  reason,  When  God 
shall  cease  to  be  offended  with  me  for  wronging  my  neighbor,  he 
will  not  be  offended  with  my  neighbor  for  injuring  me.  If  /  may 
hurt  another,  and  escape  with  impunity,  my  oppressor  escapes  also. 
If  /  may  prey  upon  the  contents  of  his  purse,  and  trample  upon 
his  rights,  and  sport  with  his  enjoyments  ;  then  is  there  a  world  let 
loose,  to  trifle  with  my  interest,  and  make  inroads  upon  my  rights, 
and  blast  my  comforts. 

Thus  is  there  spread  a  ruin  as  wide  as  the  whole  creation  of 
God.  Angels  lose  their  confidence  in  him,  and  all  heaven  is  made 
unhappy,  while  the  despair  of  the  pit  is  changed  for  the  hope  or 
impunity.  We  assert  then,  that  not  the  grossest  infidelity,  nor 
even  atheism,  holds  out  a  prospect  more  dreary  than  a  gospel,  that 
thus  libels  the  character  of  Jehovah,  and,  by  one  grand  mistake- 
sunders  the  whole  of  this  alienated  world  for  ever,  from  the  au- 
thority, and  the  rule,  and  the  inspection,  of  an  intrusive  and  dis- 
trustful divinity. 

And  when  the  error  is  on  the  opposite  extreme   and  the  mercy 


ONLY    ONE    TRUE    GOD.  325 

of  God  is  obscured,  though  a  different  motive  may  have  led  to  this 
exhibition,  and  a  different  result  may  follow,  still  is  that  motive  a 
mistaken  one,  and  that  result  unhappy.  God  has  not  directed  his 
ministers  to  keep  the  minds  of  his  people  filled  with  one  or  two 
selected  attributes  of  his  nature,  but  would  have  his  whole  charac- 
ter developed.  Some  may  be  deterred  from  embracing  religion, 
from  the  impression  that  they  must  love  a  God  whose  character  is 
cold,  calculating,  severe,  and  vindictive.  And  if  sanctified  under 
such  a  gospel,  it  is  doubtful  whether  their  religion  will  not  be 
either  gloomy  and  desponding,  or  coldly  doctrinal  and  polemic. 

The  character  of  God  will  not  be  found  at  last  to  have  shaped 
itself  to  our  mistaken  views  of  him  ;  but  will  be,  when  we  come 
to  deal  with  him  in  the  judgment,  what  it  always  was.  The  attri 
butes  and  the  glories  that  may  now  be  obscured,  eclipsed  or  neu 
tralized,  will  all  be  there  to  cluster  and  harmonize  in  the  burning 
glories  of  the  Godhead,  on  the  day  of  retribution.  A  God  will 
then  meet  us  as  holy,  and  just,  and  true,  as  the  law,  and  the  light- 
nings of  Sinai  would  make  him  ;  and  still  as  merciful  and  gracious, 
and  long-suffering,  as  Pisgah,  and  Tabor,  and  Calvary  have  de 
clared  him.  He  will  confess  himself  in  that  day  the  Author  of  all 
the  anathemas  and  all  the  promises  of  inspiration.  Time  will 
not  have  altered  his  character,  nor  the  exigencies  of  betrayed  and 
ruined  souls  moved  him  from  a  single  purpose.  There  will  gather 
in  his  brow  all  the  majesty  that  makes  devils  afraid,  and  all  the 
sweetness  that  makes  angels  glad ;  the  one  will  look  the  lost  into 
despair,  and  the  combined  glories  of  the  whole  look  the  saved  into 
ecstasy.  Then  will  be  felt  the  full  import  of  the  text ;  the  only 
true  God  will  be  known,  and  to  know  him  will  be  eternal  life. 


1  have  three  reasons  to  offer  for  thinking  this  subject  of  great 
importance. 

1.  Men  will  have  a  moral  character  according  with  their  views  of 
God.  As  the  truth  sanctifies,  just  so  surely  does  error  contaminate, 
and  no  truths  or  errors  so  assuredly  as  those  that  relate  to  God 
They  invariably  pour  their  influence  through  our  whole  creed,  and 
touch  every  spring  of  action.  Hence  if  men  think  rightly  of  God, 
I  cannot  but  hope  that  the  truth  will  one  day  sanctify  them  ;  but 
if  otherwise  I  have  fearful  apprehensions  of  their  ruin.  The  basest 
of  men  act  from  principle,  though  from  bad  principle.  They  are 
profane,  and  false,  and  lewd,  and  dishonest,  because  some  false 
views  of  Ciod  have  begotten  in  them  the  hope  of  impunity.     From 


326  ONLY   ONE    TRUE   GOD 

a  loose  ministry,  or  vicious  parentage,  or  vile  associate,  they  have 
imbibed  the  principles  that  go  to  mould  their  deeds  and  their  habits 
into  the  image  of  death.  You  may  pass  down,  if  you  please, 
through  all  the  ranks  of  immorality,  from  the  young  man  in  the 
gospel,  who  loved  t\ie  world  more  than  Christ,  to  the  abandoned 
outlaw,  and  you  will  find  as  many  different  shades  in  their  faith,  as 
in  the  turpitude  of  their  deeds.  And  every  unregenerate  man 
stands  prepared  to  have  his  faith  corrupted.  He  loves  darkness 
rather  than  light,  because  his  deeds  are  evil.  He  is  on  the  watch 
to  hear  something  said  of  God,  that  may  assist  him  in  loosening 
t  lie  bonds  of  moral  obligation.  Hence  many  a  youth  has  issued 
from  the  house  of  prayer,  modest,  civil,  and  decent,  fearing  an 
oath,  respecting  the  Sabbath,  doing  homage  to  religion,  and  giving 
high  promise  of  future  worth  and  usefulness ;  but  some  wretch 
corrupted  his  views  of  God,  and  immediately  he  cast  off*  restraint, 
and  went  out  to  scatter  through  society  firebrands,  arrows  and 
death.  Hence,  if  we  regard  the  eternal  life  of  our  children,  and 
the  youth  in  our  streets,  we  shall  furnish  them  a  gospel,  and  a 
library,  and  give  them  that  instruction  which  will  lead  them  to  a 
correct  knowledge  of  God. 

2.  Believers  will  have  a  religious  character  according  with  their 
views  of  God.  Nothing  has  been  more  obvious  in  the  history  of 
man,  than  the  conformity  of  his  religious  character  to  that  of  the 
God  he  believed  in  and  worshipped.  Pass  through  the  territories 
of  paganism,  and,  such  as  you  find  their  gods,  such  are  their  wor- 
shippers. Are  they  fierce,  and  jealous,  and  lewd,  and  bloody,  01 
mild  and  placable,  such  invariably  are  their  devotees.  And  as  you 
come  up  through  the  lower  grades  of  nominal  Christians,  ask  them 
their  views  of  God,  and  their  answer  will  give  you  substantially 
the  purity  of  their  religious  character.  God  is  our  highest  object 
of  respect  and  of  imitation,  and  to  be  like  him,  the  highest  object 
of  holy  aspiration.  Hence,  if  in  our  esteem  his  character  is  more 
or  less  pure  and  lovely,  such  we  shall  wish  our  own  to  be.  He 
who  sees  in  God  no  attribute  but  mercy,  and  never  thinks  of  him 
but  as  a.  father,  will  be  less  likely  to  hate  sin,  and  less  careful  to  be 
holy,  than  the  man  who  thinks  of  God  as  a  sovereign  and  a  judge, 
as  well  as  a  father. 

And  the  case  will  be  similar  as  to  enjoyment.  No  false  views  of 
God  will  render  us  as  happy  as  correct  views.  If  we  see  only  the 
mild  and  merciful  traits  of  the  divine  character,  we  may  have  joy, 
but  it  will  not  be  solid  and  lasting.  And  if  we  look  at  God  merely 
m  the  attitude  of  sovereignty,  and  may  never  call  him  our  Father, 


ONLY    ONE    TRUE    GOD.  327 

or  see  his  mercy  commingled  with  his  terrors,  we  shall  be  for  ever 
in  bondage.  There  are  no  doubt  many  on  their  way  to  heaven, 
who  are  so  injured  by  their  creed,  as  seldom  to  pray  any  other  but 
the  prayer  of  the  condemned  and  the  lost.  They  are  serious  and 
watchful  Christians,  but  never  hopeful,  and  never  happy:  joint 
heirs  with  Christ,  yet  never  venturing  to  say,  Abba  Father  ! 

Nor  will  Christians  who  have  partial  views  of  God  be  useful. 
It  is  when  he  appears  in  all  his  glories,  attracting  sinners  to  him- 
self by  the  full  view  of  his  attributes,  and,  mingling  mercy  with 
judgment,  reigns  to  make  his  creatures  happy,  that  we  feel  our 
souls  inspired  to  be  workers  together  with  him  in  extending  his 
dominions.  It  is  then  that  it  seems  to  us  a  grief  and  a  pity,  that 
there  should  be  any  heart  alienated  from  him,  any  hands  that  do 
not  labor  in  his  service,  or  tongue  that  does  not  speak  his  praise. 
Not  the  sovereignty  of  God  alone,  nor  his  mercy  alone,  can  make  the 
most  useful  man.  The  one  holds  back  the  inspiring  influence  of 
joy  and  hope,  the  other  begets  a  religion  that  will  all  evaporate 
in  songs  and  hosannas.  Angels  are  inspired,  by  seeino-  the  whole 
of  God  ;  and  men  will  be  more  or  less  like  angels,  as  "  The  God 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  glory,  shall  give  unto  them 
the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of  himself." 
Then  it  is  that  we  feel  it  to  be  a  reasonable  service,  that  we  pre- 
sent our  bodies  and  our  souls  to  him,  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and 
acceptable. 

3.  Society  at  large  will  shape  its  moral  aspect  from  the  prevailing 
views  of  God.  As  fraud,  and  falsehood,  and  blood,  invariably  follow 
the  track  of  idolatry,  and  the  dark  places  of  the  earth  are  thus  fill- 
ed with  the  habitations  of  cruelty ;  so  in  the  different  parts  of 
Christendom,  you  may  gather  the  prevailing  notions  of  God  from 
the  morals  of  the  community.  Survey  the  darker  territories  of  the 
Catholic  communion,  and  tell  me  if  in  rapine  and  murder,  their  po- 
pulation is  removed  more  than  a  single  shade  from  the  dreariness 
and  desolations  of  paganism.  Where  in  Christendom  is  life  and 
property  least  secure  ;  where  are  daily  assassinatious,  where  the 
whole  population  prepared  for  any  deed  of  darkness  and  cruelty, 
but  where  there  is  least  prevalent  a  correct  knowledge  of  God. 
And  let  any  one  of  the  better  territories  of  Christendom  become 
apostate  in  their  views  of  God,  and  how  soon  will  vice  spring  up, 
the  public  morals  be  changed,  the  Sabbath  be  lost,  the  theatre 
thronged,  and  dress  and  vanity  fill  the  place  of  sobriety  and  prayer! 
How  soon  will  the  true  followers  of  Christ  be  persecuted,  and  fa- 


328  ONLY   ONE    TRUE   OOD. 

mily  devotion,  and  Christian  watchfulness,  and  all  the  retiring  vir- 
tues of  holier  times  disappear ! 

Thus  you  have  my  reasons  for  thinking  this  subject  important. 
For  these,  and  others  that  could  be  offered,  I  would  watch  the 
public  creed  relative  to  the  character  of  God,  more  tenaciously 
than  at  any  other  point.  It  is  the  fortress  I  would  starve  in  de- 
fending, the  strong-hold  into  which  I  would  fly  with  my  children, 
and  feel  myself,  and  teach  them  to  feel,  that  it  is  the  only  safe 
place  to  die. 

Will  the  blessed  God  make  me  far  better  acquainted  with  his 
character,  and  never  subject  me  to  the  awful  temptation,  of  think- 
ing it  a  light  thing  to  either  overlook,  or  give  paramount  import- 
ance, to  any  one  of  the  glorious  attributes  of  his  nature  !  Will  he 
cause  his  name  to  be  known  in  all  lands,  and  make  his  praise  glo- 
rious, wherever  there  are  beings  capable  of  doing  him  honor ! 


SERMON    XXVIII 

THE  INDEX  SURE. 

GEN.  XLIX.   10. 

The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  law-giver  from  tetween  his  feet,  until  Shilofa 
come:  and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be. 

Jacob  was  now  very  near  to  the  close  of  life,  and  had  strong 
apprehensions  that  his  end  might  be  at  hand.  But  he  had  yet  to 
deliver  to  his  children  his  dying  benediction.  He  accordingly 
called  them  about  him,  and  rehearsed  to  them  the  future  history 
of  their  respective  families,  for  ages  to  come.  Of  Judah  he  pre- 
dicted, that  he  should  stand  high  in  the  esteem  and  respect  of  his 
brethren,  should  overthrow  his  enemies,  and  should  bear  rule  over 
his  father's  children.  He  should  come  upon  his  enemies  with  all 
the  strength  and  the  daring  with  which  a  lion  comes  down  from 
the  mountains,  seizes  and  bears  up  his  prey,  while  no  one  dares  to 
interrupt  his  course,  or  rouse  him  when  he  has  betaken  himself  to 
rest.  His  land  should  be  so  abundant  in  vines,  that  he  might 
fasten  his  beast  to  their  branches,  and  wash  his  vestments  in  the 
blood  of  the  grape.  He  should  have  a  dominion  so  permanent, 
that  nothing  should  interrupt  it  till  the  advent  of  Messiah,  who 
should  gather  the  nations  about  him,  and  hold  the  sceptre  for  ever. 

That  part  of  this  famous  prediction,  on  which  I  purpose  to  en- 
large, has  attracted  the  attention  and  confirmed  the  faith  of  be- 
lievers in  every  age  since.  We  see  here  selected  a  single  family, 
who  for  ages  should  constitute  his  Church,  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
others  ;  with  whom  he  would  deposit  his  law,  and  all  that  was 
divulged  of  his  purpose.  One  branch  of  this  family  should  be 
honored  above  the  others,  should  give  birth  to  the  Messiah,  and 
hold  the  authority  till  he  come.  Thus  the  world  shall  expect  their 
Redeemer,  shall  know  where  and  when  to  look  for  him,  and  if  pre- 
pared to  recr ive  him,  shall  be  in  no  danger  of  imposition.  The 
text  is  one  of  those  scriptures  that  marked  out  the  time  when  the 
Messiah  should  appear. 

By  the  word  sceptre  we  are  no  doubt  to  understand  the  ensign 
or  badge  of  authority.  The  word  signifies  a  rod  or  staff  v>\d 
42 


330  THE    INDEX    SURE 

hence  came  to  mean  a  sceptre  ;  as  kings,  when  they  sat  upon  their 
thrones,  used  to  hold  in  their  hand  a  rod  as  a  token  of  their  author- 
ity. Hence,  when  Esther  presented  herself  to  the  king,  he 
reached  out  to  her  the  golden  sceptre. 

The  text  gives  us  no  intimation  when  Judah  should  rise  to 
dominion,  but  when  he  should  take  the  sceptre  into  his  hand  it 
should  not  depart  till  the  coining  of  Shiloh.  We  know  that  for  a 
long  time  after  the  delivery  of  this  inspired  benediction,  the 
government  of  Israel  was  not  in  the  tribe  of  Judah.  Moses,  their 
first  ruler,  was  of  the  tribe  of  Levi.  The  judges  were  of  several 
different  tribes.  Saul,  the  first  king,  was  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin. 
But  David,  his  successor,  was  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  ;  anddn  him, 
six  hundred  years  after  the  prediction,  the  authority  commenced 
which  is  noticed  in  the  text,  and  which  continued  till  the  coming 
of  the  promised  Shiloh. 

The  Jews,  to  evade  the  force  of  this  prophecy,  would  have  the 
word  translated  sceptre,  to  mean  the  rod  of  correction,  which,  they 
say,  shall  not  depart  from  Judah  till  Shiloh  come  and  liberate 
them.  But  this  exposition  is  contrary,  in  the  first  place,  to  the 
whole  tenor  of  the  context,  which  assigns  to  Judah  power,  glory, 
and  victory.  It  would  be  very  singular  if  one  clause  of  the  bene- 
diction would  give  him  the  pride,  the  strength,  and  the  indepen- 
dence of  a  lion,  and  another  clause  make  him  the  subject  of  per- 
petual oppression.  In  the  second  place,  this  exposition  would  be 
contrary  to  matters  of  historical  fact,  which  the  Jews  themselves 
would  not  have  the  folly  to  contradict.  Judah  was  at  no  one 
period  signalized  as  a  sufferer.  The  rod  of  oppression  came  ear- 
lier, and  fell  heavier,  and  continued  longer  on  the  other  tribes  than 
on  Judah.  And  as  Judah  is  the  only  tribe  that  returned  entire 
after  the  captivity,  it  would  seem  the  only  one  from  which  the  rod 
of  oppression  did  depart.  But  it  is  only  hatred  to  the  light,  that 
has  led  that  unbelieving  people  to  this  interpretation.  The  ancient 
Jews,  and  all  who  have  understood  the  language  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment in  its  original,  and  have  had  no  particular  inducement  to  per- 
vert the  text,  have  rendered  the  word  sceptre. 

And  the  next  clause  still  farther  explains  this,  "  Nor  a  law-giver 
from  between  his  feet."  It  is  natural  that  a  sceptre  be  in  the  hands 
of  a  law-giver.  But  some  have  chosen  to  render  the  word  scribe 
instead  of  law-giver,  and  would  have  us  understand  by  it  one  who 
is  employed  in  writing  laws,  either  civil  or  ecclesiastical.  If  this 
rendering  could  be  justified,  it  would  not  much  vary  the  sense. 
But  it  is  believed  tha     this   rendering   cannot   be  justified,  as  the 


THE    IXDEX    SURE.  331 

Hebrews  use  for  scribe  another  word.  Hence  the  passage  means, 
that  there  shall  be  in  Jutlah,  till  the  coming  of  Shiloh,  a  law-giver 
as  well  as  the  ensign  of  authority.  The  kind  of  government  is 
not  specified,  nor  is  it  important,  as  the  truth  of  the  prophecy  will 
be  evident,  if  it  shall  appear  that  there  was  in  the  tribe  of  Judah 
any  species  of  authority  down  to  the  advent  of  the  Eedeemer. 

That  by  Shiloh  we  are  to  understand  the  Messiah  there  will  be 
little  doubt.  The  word  thus  rendered  is  used  only  in  this  place, 
yet.  is  allowed  bv  all  classes  of  commentators  to  refer  to  the  Re- 
deemer. Some  interpret  it  a  peace-maker,  a  Savior  ;  others  a 
preserver,  a  deliverer  ;  and  others  still,  with  greater  probability, 
the  sent,  or  one  to  be  sent.  This  idea  exactly  comports  with  the 
attitude  in  which  the  Savior  is  presented  to  us  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, as  the  angel  of  the  covenant,  the  angel  Jehovah.  Hence, 
in  the  New  Testament,  he  is  spoken  of  as  him  that  was  to  come. 
The  woman  of  Samaria  said  to  our  Lord,  "  I  know  that  Messiah 
cometh,  which  is  called  Christ :  when  he  is  come  he  will  tell  us 
all  things.  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  I  that  speak  to  thee  am  he." 
The  Jewish  expositors  are  generally  agreed  that  the  text  has 
reference  to  the  Savior. 

Their  quibble  about  the  word  which  we  render  until,  but  dis- 
covers their  weakness  and  their  obstinacy.  It  is  compounded  of 
two  particles  ;  one  they  render  for  ever,  and  the  other  because,  and 
read  the  text  thus  :  "  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor 
a  law-giver  from  between  his  feet  for  ever,  because  Shiloh  shall 
come."  But  beside  that  this  construction  is  forced,  it  would  not 
comport  with  facts,  which  they  must  all  acknowledge.  For  while 
they  generally  deny  that  the  Messiah  has  come,  they  will  not  deny 
that  now  the  sceptre  has  departed  from  Judah.  Some  of  them 
have  been  so  cramped  on  this  subject  as  to  adopt  the  absurdity 
that  the  Messiah  has  come,  but  keeps  himself  hidden  because  of 
their  wickedness.  Thus  men  will  make  the  word  of  God  to  mean 
any  thing  rather  than  not  support  their  favorite  scheme  ;  and  when 
che  text  proves  too  obstinate  to  be  resisted,  will  adopt  the  most 
improbable  conjectures  to  prop  the  fabric  of  falsehood.  But  error 
is  for  ever  thus  changeable  and  uncertain.  Like  the  fabled  isle 
of  Delos,  it  for  ever  fluctuates,  nor  can  men  or  devils  give  it  per 
manent  location.  !f  one  would  be  entirely  certain  that  modern 
Unitarianism  has  no  foundation  in  truth,  he  has  only  to  compare 
the  shifts  of  its  advocates,  with  the  endlessly  varying  conjectures 
of  the  Jews  since  the  death  of  Christ,  to  rid  themselves  of  the  con- 
viction that  he  has  already  come   and   set   up  his  kingdom.     In 


332  THE    INDEX    SURE. 

either  community  they  hold  you  in  suspense  for  ever.  When  they 
should  inform  what  the  text  does  mean,  they  only  bewilder  you 
with  illusions,  and  brow-beat  you  with  assertions  of  what  it  can- 
not mean,  and  must  not  mean,  and  finally,  if  they  would  be  honest, 
what  it  shall  not  mean.  Nothing  but  truth  is  plain  and  consistent : 
error  is  inconsistent,  not  only  with  truth,  but  with  itself. 

I.  Is  it  then  a  fact  that  there  continued  to  be  a  sceptre  and  c 
law-giver  in  the  tribe  of  Judah  down  to  the  time  of  the  Savior  1 
On  this  point  a  little  inquiry  will  give,  it  is  presumed,  entire  satis- 
faction. Down  to  the  captivity  there  will  be  no  doubt.  And  if 
during  that  period  there  should  seem  to  have  been  a  suspension  of 
Judah's  authority,  still  it  is  a  fact  that  there  was  no  transfer  of  au- 
thority  to  any  other  tribe.  And  if  for  that  short  space  we  could 
see  no  remains  of  authority,  it  should  not  be  considered  as  nulli 
fying  the  prediction.  Seventy  years,  in  a  period  so  long  as  that 
which  intervened  between  the  delivery  of  this  prediction  and  the 
coming  of  Christ,  would  be  too  insignificant  to  be  excepted  in  a 
general  prophecy.  But  the  fact  seems  to  be,  that  the  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah did  hold  its  ascendency  even  during  the  period  of  their 
dispersion.  We  are  assured  that  the  king  of  Babylon  took  from 
prison,  and  treated  with  marked  kindness,  Jehoiachin,  king  of  Ju- 
dah, thirty-seven  years  after  his  captivity ;  and  it  is  said  that  he 
set  his  throne  above  the  throne  of  the  kings  that  were  in  Babylon  : 
and  Jehoiachin  we  know  was  of  the  tribe  of  Judah.  Thus  the 
sceptre  did  not  depart,  even  when  that  tribe  had  its  residence  in  a 
strange  land.  Daniel  too,  we  know,  was  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
and  was  made  governor  over  the  whole  province  of  Babylon,  and  of 
course  over  the  children  of  the  captivity.  And  we  have  no  reason 
to  doubt  but  that  the  Jewish  writers  assert  the  truth  when  they 
assure  us  that  the  successive  governors  of  the  exiled  Jews,  con- 
tinued to  be  selected  from  the  tribe  of  Judah  and  the  house  of  Da- 
vid. So  Zorobabel  and  Nehemiah  are  both  said  to  have  been  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah. 

And  when  afterward  the  civil  power  was  vested  principally  in 
the  Sanhedrim,  still  the  sceptre  must  doubtless  be  considered  as  re- 
maining in  the  tribe  of  Judah.  That  the  Sanhedrim  had  very  great 
power  there  will  be  no  question.  That  council  was  instituted  by 
the  Lord  himself,  an  account  of  which  we  have  in  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  Numbers.  And  they  were  not  dispersed  nor  wholly 
disrobed  of  power  up  to  the  time  when  they  sat  in  judgment  on 
the  Son  of  God.     From  the  close  of  the  captivity  to  the  destruc- 


THE    INDEX   SURE.  333 

tion  of  the  temple,  this  body  continued  to  be  the  great  council  of 
the  nation.  At  first  they  were  to  be  chosen  from  all  the  tribes, 
but  after  their  return  from  Babylon,  they  were  principally  of  the 
house  of  Judah,  though  occasionally  of  Levi  and  of  Benjamin. 
But  these  two  tribes  were  amalgamated  with,  and  as  it  were,  lost 
in  the  tribes  of  Judah,  and  whatever  they  might  do  was  done  by 
virtue  of  authority  derived  from  the  tribe  with  which  they  had  be- 
come incorporated.     Hence  the  sceptre  did  not  depart. 

Even  when  the  Romans  appointed  them  a  king,  still  the  Sanhe- 
drim had  large  powers.  Even  Herod  the  Great  was  tried  for  his 
life  before  that  court.  If  it  should  be  said  that  their  authority 
was  in  a  great  measure  neutralized,  when  Judea  became  a  Roman 
province,  and  an  Idumaean  was  constituted  their  Sovereign,  still  it 
was  not  wholly  destroyed.  They  long  contended  with  Herod 
about  the  supreme  authority,  nor  could  they  be  prevailed  upon  to 
take  the  oath  of  loyalty  till  after  the  birth  of  the  Savior.  At  the 
time  of  his  arrest  we  find  them  still  embodied,  and  sitting  to  hear 
evidence  and  pass  judgment  upon  him  who  had  come  to  be  their 
king.  True,  they  had  lost  the  power,  as  we  term  it,  of  life  and 
death,  and  might  not  proceed  to  the  crucifixion  till  they  had  ob- 
tained the  assent  of  Pilate.  But  although  their  power  was  evi- 
dently languishing  it  did  not  expire  till  Titus  demolished  the  sanc- 
tuary. 

II.  Our  next  inquiry  is,  whether  from  that  period  all  authority 
did  cease  from  the  tribe  of  Judah.  If  this  shall  appear,  then  are 
we  certain  that  the  promised  Shiloh  has  come.  And  whether  in 
that  case  he  be  the  Messiah,  or  some  other  personage,  there  can 
be  but  little  doubt.  That  the  tribe  of  Judah  did  actually  lose 
all  authority  at  that  time,  and  has  never  recovered  it,  there 
cannot  be  a  question.  That  tribe  has  never  had  since  then 
any  distinct  existence.  No  descendant  of  Abraham  will  now 
pretend  to  tell  you  to  which  tribe  he  belongs.  He  may  assure 
you  that  when  the  Messiah  comes  he  will  restore  them  to  their  re- 
spective tribes,  but  til  then  they  remain  by  their  own  confession 
an  undistinguished  mass  of  Israelites.  And  there  is  no  sceptre 
or  law-giver  among  them.  This  will  be  acknowledged  by  every 
man  who   has  any  common  acquaintance  with  history. 

Their  condition  is  exactly  the  opposite  of  all  that  can  be  termed 
rule  or  authority.  They  are  scattered  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth  ;  have  scarcely  any  of  them  a  fixed  habitation,  and  none  of 
them  the  least  shade  of  authority.     There  is  hardly  a  kingdom  in 


334  THE    INDEX    SimE. 

the  world,  where  they  have  not  heen  excluded,  not  merely  from 
any  share  in  the  national  government,  but  even  from  the  com- 
mon rights  of  citizenship. 

The  woes  that  Moses  predicted,  have  fallen  upon  them,  and  they 
are  cursed  in  the  city  and  cursed  in  the  field  ;  cursed  in  their  bas- 
ket and  in  their  store  ;  cursed  in  their  children  and  in  the  fruit  of 
their  land  ;  cursed  when  they  go  out  and  when  they  come  in  ;  and 
in  all  that  they  set  their  hand  unto  for  to  do. 

They  have  planted  vineyards,  and  another  has  gathered  the 
grapes.  They  have  become  an  astonishment,  a  proverb,  and  a  by- 
word. They  have  served  their  enemies  in  hunger,  and  thirst,  and 
nakedness,  and  have  worn  upon  their  neck  a  yoke  of  iron.  They 
have  sodden  and  subsisted  upon  their  own  children.  Their  plagues 
and  their  sicknesses  have  been  sore  and  wonderful.  The  Lord 
has  seemed  to  rejoice  over  them  to  destroy  them,  and  bring  them 
to  naught,  and  scatter  them  among  all  nations.  They  have  found 
no  rest  to  the  sole  of  their  foot ;  have  had  a  trembling  heart,  and 
failing  eyes,  and  sorrow  of  mind.  They  have  been  in  fear  day  and 
night,  and  have  been  sold  to  their  enemies  for  bondmen  and  bond- 
women, till  none  would  buy  them.  Precisely  this  has  been  their 
condition  more  than  two  thousand  years.  If  Moses  had  written 
their  history  yesterday,  instead  of  two-and-thirty  hundred  years 
ago,  it  had  hardly  been  possible  to  pen  it  more  correctly.  Hence 
we  .need  offer  no  arguments  to  prove  that  the  law-giver  and  the 
sceptre  departed  from  Judah  at  the  time  predicted. 

Whatever  pretence  that  wretched  people  may  make,  that  some 
where,  no  one  knows  where,  there  is  yet  in  that  tribe  the  badge  of 
power,  and  the  right  of  legislation  ;  no  man  of  common  under- 
standing, and  not  blinded  to  the  last  degree,  will  listen  for  a  mo- 
ment to  such  desperate  arguments  in  support  of  their  obstinacy 
and  their  unbelief. 

III.  It  remains  that  we  inquire  whether  he  who  came,  at  the 
time  when  the  Jews  expected  their  Shiloh,  has  exhibited  the  sign 
given  of  him  in  the  text :  "  Unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  peo- 
ple be."  By  some  this  clause  is  made  to  mean,  him  shall  the  peo 
pie  obey,  or  to  him  shall  the  people  hearken,  and  again,  to  hirr. 
shall  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  be  subject.  Hence  Christ  is 
styled  in  Hagofai,  the  desire  of  all  nations.  Now  you  remem 
ber  that  in  the  original  promise  made  to  Abraham,  it  was  said, 
that  in  his  seed,  by  which  is  meant  the  Redeemer,  shall  all 
the  nations   of  the   earth  be    blessed.      Hence    the    Shiloh    men- 


THE    INDEX    SURE.  335 

tioned  in  the  text,  is  he  whom  the  Gentiles  shall  seek,  whose 
instruction  they  shall  receive,  whose  precepts  they  shall  obey,  to 
whom  they  shall  be  subject,  in  whom  they  shall  be  blessed,  and  to 
whom  they  shall  be  gathered.  All  this  must  appear  in  him  who 
shall  answer  the  description  given  in  the  text  of  Shiloli. 

We  remember  that  very  early  in  the  gospel  history,  while  yet 
salvation  was  scarcely  offered  to  any  but  the  Jews,  the  Gentiles 
seemed  more  ready  than  they  to  become  his  disciples.  It  is  true 
that  a  few  Churches  were  very  early  gathered  among  the  Jews, 
but  the  principal  success  of  the  gospel  was  among  the  Gentiles. 
The  dispersion  that  took  place  on  the  death  of  Stephen,  seconded 
by  the  conversion  of  Cornelius,  soon  showed  the  world  that 
the  Jews  had  ceased  to  be  God's  people  ;  and  that  in  every  nation 
he  that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  of  him. 
Soon  Churches  were  established  in  many  places  among  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  from  that  day  to  this  the  gospel  has  been  making  its 
way  through  the  nations,  and  the  people  have  been  gathered  to  the 
Lord  Jesus. 

Now  here  lies  the  proof  of  his  Messiahship,  that  the  religion  he 
taught,  and  the  means  he  used  to  propagate  it,  should  gather  him 
disciples  so  rapidly  and  so  extensively.  And  had  there  been  no 
other  proof  that  he  was  the  predicted  Shiloh,  this  one  should  have 
been  sufficient  long  since  to  convince  the  Jews  that  he  whom  they 
still  expect,  has  come.  On  the  supposition  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  was  not  the  promised  Messiah,  and  of  course  that  no  Divine 
power  gives  efficacy  to  his  gospel,  nothing  can  be  more  surprising 
than  the  promptness  with  which  he  gathers  disciples.  And  this 
was  the  very  sign  given,  "to  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  peo- 
ple be."  Now  if  any  Jews  or  Gentiles  are  not  prepared  to  reoeivc 
him  in  the  character  of  their  Redeemer,  they  must  account  for  the 
success  of  his  gospel.  It  was  never  propagated  with  the  sword  ; 
it  asks  no  support  from  human  power  and  human  law,  but  has 
made  its  silent  way  in  direct  opposition  to  the  powers  of  earth  and 
hell. 

The  very  nature  of  the  religion  of  Christ  renders  its  propaga- 
tion a  proof  of  his  Messiahship.  It  can  adopt  no  system  of  com- 
promise with  any  other  religion.  It  must  be  either  rejected,  or 
adopted  as  the  only  one  that  can  bring  men  to  happiness  and  God. 
The  Savior  is  not  to  be  worshipped  in  conjunction  with  Jupiter, 
and  Moloch,  and  Diana.  He  must  have  the  supreme  regard,  and 
every  idol  mus!  be  abandoned.  Hence  his  religion,  when  it  began 
its  course,  was  at  war  with  every   other,   in  every   town  or  city 


336  THE    INDEX    StTRE. 

where  it  was  attempted  to  be  propagated,  and  the  smallest  success 
in  these  circumstances  must  have  been  a  demonstration  that  its 
author  was  Divine 

And  what  is  more,  the  religion  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  found 
the  bitterest  enmity  in  every  heart  it  attempted  to  subdue.  It  de- 
manded on  its  first  presentation  at  the  door  of  him  it  would  redeem, 
that  he  be  radically  changed,  that  he  love  what  he  hated  and  hate 
what  he  loved.  Hence  our  Lord  would  not  deceive  his  disciples, 
but  told  them  that  he  came  not  to  send  peace  but  a  sword.  Still 
with  just  such  a  religion  as  this,  the  Lord  Jesus  gathered  disciples, 
and  continues  to  gather  them,  while  every  native  passion  of  the 
soul  is  at  war  with  the  Savior,  and  the  doctrines  it  is  invited  to  em- 
brace. 

The  character  of  the  Savior,  when  presented  to  the  people  that 
were  to  be  gathered  to  him,  was  awfully  forbidding.  Aside  from 
the  consideration  that  he  was  the  enemy  of  all  sin  and  they  totally 
depraved  ;  his  humble  ingress,  the  meanness  of  his  parentage  and 
his  birth,  and  the  ignominy  of  his  crucifixion,  all  tended  to  render 
it  wholly  improbable  that  he  should  ever  gain  adherents,  and  still 
men  of  the  most  towering  views  became  his  disciples,  even  some 
of  the  members  of  the  Sanhedrim. 

And  what  seemed  an  insurmountable  barrier,  he  chose  as  the 
instruments  who  should  propagate  his  gospel,  men  from  the  lowest 
walks  of  life,  fishermen  and  tent-makers.  These  were  to  go  and 
plead  his  name  before  kings  and  emperors.  Still  under  all  these 
embarrassments  the  people  were  gathered  to  him,  and  his  religion 
spread  throughout  the  civilized  world.  How  then  could  the  Jews, 
or  how  can  the  unbelievers  in  the  present  day,  doubt  that  Jesus 
was  the  promised  Shiloh,  and  that  his  own  almighty  power  gave 
efficacy  to  his  gospel  1 

And  when  we  consider  again  the  state  of  the  world,  how  exactly 
the  opposite  of  that  religion,  unbelief  is  put  to  still  deeper  confusion. 
We  can  hardly  read  without  a  blush,  the  account  that  Paul  gives 
us  of  i  1m*  state  of  morals  anterior  to  the  gospel,  among  the  very 
men  to  whom  it  was  published.  I  will  read  you  a  part  of  that  de- 
scription. He  says,  "  ]\Ien  were  filled  with  all  unrighteousness." 
(Rom.  i.  29-32.)  Now  it  was  among  just  such  beings  as  these 
that  the  gospel  had  to  make  its  way.  Such  were  the  people  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  would  gather  to  him,  or  if  he  failed,  did  not 
claim  to  be  owned  as  the  promised  Shiloh.  We  are  all  ready 
to  say  that  the  Jews  had  no  excuse  for  rejecting  their  Mes- 
siah.    But  let  us  not  forget  that  the  :ight  which  thus  poured  upon 


THE    INDEX    SURE.  337 

the  page  of  prophecy,  and  pointed  out  to  the  Jews  their  Shiloh  so 
distinctly  that  we  wonder  at  their  unbelief,  is  still  increasing.  The 
council  that  condemned  him,  and  the  man  who  betrayed  him,  and 
the  multitude  who  exulted  in  his  agonies,  had  less  evidence  that 
he  was  the  Son  of  God  than  we  have,  and  had  a  better  excuse  for 
their  unbelief  than  we.  They  had  sufficient  light  to  condemn 
them,  but  we  have  still  more.  They  saw  his  gospel  have  some 
success,  and  were  under  obligation  to  believe  ;  we  see  it  operating 
on  almost  all  nations,  and  are  under  still  increased  obligation  to 
embrace  and  love  him.  We  all  join  to  condemn  the  Jews  for  their 
unbelief,  but  it  would  not  be  wonderful  if  we  perish  under  a  more 
aggravated  condemnation. 


43 


SERMON    XXIX. 
THE  INDEX  SURE.— No.   II. 

GENESIS    XLIX.     10. 

The  sceptre  afial'   nnt  depart  from  Judab,  nor  a  law-piver  from  between  his  feet,  nntil  Shiloft 

come;  and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be. 

We  can  conceive  of  few  things  in  the  creation  in  which  there 
is  more  of  the  sublime,  than  in  a  prediction  like  this,  given  seve- 
ml  thousand  years  since,  and  recorded  for  the  successive  genera- 
tions to  read,  while  they  witness  its  fulfillment.  There  is  seen  in 
such  an  object,  concentrated  all  that  wisdom  and  power  that  built 
the  universe.  He  who  can  predict  what  shall  be,  must  know,  as 
is  said  of  God,  "  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient 
times  the  things  that  are  not."  And  to  foretell  with  certainty  he 
must  have  power  to  bring  to  pass.  It  involves,  too,  a  Divine  pur- 
pose, by  which  all  the  events  that  are  future  are  made  certain. 
Under  a  government  where  things  were  left  to  the  control  of 
chance,  or  accident,  there  could  be  no  such  certainty,  even  if  we 
suppose  the  existence  of  a  mind  that  can  foresee  the  most  distant 
tracts  of  time.  Hence,  to  contemplate  a  subject  like  this,  gives 
to  the  mind  a  sublimity  of  elevation,  and  tends  to  fill  it  with  ador- 
ing thoughts  of  the  Creator.  And  still  it  feels  its  own  littleness  ; 
for  where  there  is  so  much  of  God,  all  beside  is  insignificant  and 
worthless.  And  there  are  no  contemplations  more  calculated  to 
soothe  and  comfort  the  believing  mind.  He  who  can  know  and 
predict  all  the  events  that  will  happen,  can  provide  for  his  people 
in  all  the  emergencies  into  which  they  may  be  brought. 

In  illustrating  the  text,  in  the  former  discourse,  it  was  my  de- 
sign, first,  to  explain  the  terms;  secondly,  to  show  that  there  did 
continue  a  sceptre  and  a  law-giver  in  the  tribe  of  Judah  down  to 
the  advent  of  the  Redeemer;  thirdly,  to  show  that  from  and  after 
that  time  there  did  cease  all  authority  and  power  in  that  branch 
of  the  house  of  Israel  ;  and,  finally,  that  to  the  Lord  Jesus  the 
people  have  been  gathered,  as  it  was  predicted  they  should  be,  to 
the  promised  Shiloh.  What  remains  now  is,  that  we  make  some 
practical  use  of  the  whole.     I  would  then 


THE    INDEX    SURE.  339 

REMARK, 

1.  The  subject  will  lead  us  to  admire  the  Divine  conduct.  Where 
he  requires  faith,  there  he  accumulates  evidence  in  such  profusion, 
that  every  mind  not  decidedly  hostile  to  truth,  must  yield  its  as- 
sent.  He  had  promised  the  world  that  he  would  send  them  a  Re- 
deemer ;  hence,  when  that  Redeemer  should  come,  he  would  re- 
quire all  to  receive  him,  and  that  their  faith  might  not  want  for 
evidence,  he  poured  in  upon  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  the  concen- 
trated light  of  a  thousand  ages.  And  it  ought  to  cover  the  unbe- 
liever with  shame  to  know  that  such  was  the  precision  with  which 
he  was  designated,  that  even  devils  know  him.  The  first  promise 
was,  that  he  should  be  the  seed  of  the  woman.  And  at  that  time 
it  would  have  been  of  no  use  to  have  made  the  promise  more  defi 
nite.  At  the  time  of  the  deluge  it  was  rendered  certain,  without 
any  specific  promise,  that  the  Savior  must  be  of  the  family  of 
Noah.  But  his  family  soon  became  so  numerous,  that  the  believer 
could  not  know  where  to  look  for  the  promised  seed.  He  might 
be  born  near  the  spot  where  the  ark  rested,  or  in  some  far-distant 
isle  of  the  ocean.  Hence,  God  made  choice  of  Abraham,  and 
gave  him  the  promise  that  in  his  seed  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
should  be  blessed  ;  and  directed  him  to  go  to  that  land,  where  he 
would  still  farther  limit  the  line  of  descent,  and  where  the  Savior 
should  himself  be  born.  When  Ishmael  was  born,  Abraham  doubt- 
less supposed  that  he  was  the  promised  heir,  and  he  and  the  world 
might  have  looked  for  the  Savior  in  his  family,  had  not  God 
given  him  another  son,  and  promised  that  in  Isaac  should  his  seed 
be  called.  In  ids  family  again  the  promise  was  confirmed  to  Ja- 
cob, and  in  his  to  Judah,  and  in  his  to  David.  This  was  the  last 
limitation  as  to  the  line  of  descent,  and  the  time  of  the  promise 
was  now  so  modi  that  no  farther  designation  was  necessary.  Here, 
then,  we  see  pointed  out  very  distinctly  the  family  in  which  the 
Messiah  should  be  born. 

As  to  the  time,  it  was  to  be,  according  to  the  prediction  record- 
ed in  Daniel,  four  hundred  and  ninety  years  from  the  going  forth 
of  the  commandment  to  restore  and  build  Jerusalem.  It  was  to 
be  while  yet  there  was  a  sceptre  and  a  law-giver  in  Judah  * 

•  The  time  of  his  coming  was  still  farther  designated  by  the  appearance  of 
John  the  Baptist:  "Behold,"  said  the  last  bat  one  of  the  prophets,  in  the  very 
last  words  he  uttered,  "  Behold,  I  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  com- 
ing of  the  greal  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord.  And  he  shall  turn  the  heart  of 
the  fathers  to  their  children,  and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their  fathers,  lest  I 
come  and  smite  the  earth  with  a  curse."     And  God  himself  assures  us   that  this 


340  THE    INDEX    SURE. 

As  to  the  land  of  his  nativity,  this  was  marked  out  and  conse- 
crated to  the  Lord  ages  beforehand,  in  the  communications 
made  to  Abraham.  But  lest  the  extent  of  Canaan  should 
still  cast  a  cloud  upon  the  promise,  the  very  town  was  named  in 
which  he  should  be  born  :  "  Thou  Bethlehem,  Ephratah,  though 
thou  be  little  among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall 
he  come  forth  unto  us  that  is  to  rule  in  Israel  ;  whose  goings  forth 
have  been  from  of  old,  from  everlasting." 

That  still  there  might  bo  no  room  for  mistake,  the  angels  came 
from  heaven  to  tell  the  shepherds  that  he  was  born,  and  to  guide 
them  to  his  humble  lodgement.  To  the  wise  men  of  the  east  there 
appeared  a  star  that  moved  before  them,  and  came  and  stood  over 
the  place  where  the  young  child  lay.  Even  the  Roman  emperor  must 
be  induced  at  that  juncture  to  make  a  decree  that  all  the  world  should 
be  taxed,  that  that  decree  might  operate  to  bring  the  blessed  Mary 
from  Nazareth  to  Bethlehem,  previously  to  the  birth  of  the  Savior. 
Thus  wonderfully  minute  were  the  pointings  of  Heaven  to  the 
infant  Redeemer. 

And  those  who  had  not  opportunity  to  visit  his  manger,  might 
open  the  pages  of  prophecy  and  read  there  his  character  and  his 
history,  and  rest  assured  that  he  who  was  reported  to  have  been 
born  in  Bethlehem  was  indeed  the  promised  Shiloh.  He  was  to 
be  peculiarly  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief:  des- 
pised and  rejected  of  men.  He  was  to  bear  our  griefs,  and  carry 
our  sorrows  ;  was  to  be  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  and  bruis- 
ed for  our  iniquities.  When  oppressed  and  afflicted  he  was  not  to 
open  his  mouth.  Men  were  to  cast  lots  for  his  vesture.  He  was 
to  hang  on  a  tree,  but  not  a  bone  of  him  was  to  be  broken.  He 
was  to  make  his  grave  with  the  wicked  and  with  the  rich  in  his 
death.  It  was  even  predicted,  that  men  should  buy  the  potter's 
field  with  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  the  price  at  which  he  was 
valued.  After  all  this  minuteness  of  prediction,  how  impossible 
does  it  seem  that  any  one  should  doubt  whether  he  was  the 
promised  Messiah.  And  how  must  we  admire  the  Divine  conduct 
and  goodness  in  thus  giving  us  many  signs,  when,  if  he  had  given 
us  but  one,  he  mighl  have  condemned  us  if  we  had  not  believed. 
It  would  seem  that  it  must  have  been  the  purpose  of  God,  that  no 

promise  ofElias  mel  its  fulfilment  in  John."  Thus,  lest  the  precise  time  should 
not  be  recollected,  one  was  sent  before  him,  crying  in  the  wilderness,  "Prepare 
way  of  the  Lord ;  make  his  paths  Straight."  From  the  multitudes  that 
came  to  hear  him,  it  becomes  certain  that  John  must  have  given  a  very  extend- 
ed notice  that  the  Messiah  was  at  hand. 


THE    INDEX    SURE.  341 

nation  or  individual  then  or  since,  should  be  able  to  resist  the 
flood  of  light  that  then  poured  in  upon  the  Savior  of  the  world,  in 
every  inch  of  his  way  from  the  manger  to  the  tomb.  Had  his 
name  been  written  the  instant  he  appeared,  on  the  disk  of  every 
star  ;  had  the  finger  of  a  man's  hand  appeared  instantly  in  every 
quarter  of  the  heavens,  pointing  to  the  immortalized  manger  ;  or 
had  a  voice  said  in  every  ear  all  that  was  told  the  watchful  shep- 
herds, the  evidence  of  the  ingress  of  the  son  of  God  would  hardly 
hav*e  been  more  complete. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  all  these  intimations  respecting  the 
coming  Redeemer,  had  been  written  in  a  book,  and  lodged  in 
the  temple  of  God,  and  read  in  the  synagogues  throughout  all 
the  holy  land,  every  Sabbath  day  for  many  hundred  years  ;  and  we 
can  hardly  believe  that  the  report  had  not  penetrated  into  every 
section  of  the  globe,  where  there  was  a  sinner  to  need  an  interest 
in  the  Redeemer's  blood. 

2.  How  provoking  must  it  be  to  God,  when,  after  all  this,  men 
reject  his  Son.  To  all  who  lived  in  Palestine,  all  will  agree  that 
the  sin  of  unbelief  was  enormous.  They  were  in  the  very  spot 
where  all  this  light  concentrated.  They  had  read  the  prophecies — 
had  seen  the  signs  — had  beheld  the  events  of  Providence  shaping 
themselves  to  his  approach,  and  probably  found  it  impossible  not 
to  know  that  the  set  time  was  come.  Hence  on  them  we  should 
expect  that  there  would  fall  a  peculiar  condemnation.  And  on 
them  it  did  fall,  and  has  rested  on  their  children's  children  down 
to  this  very  hour.  The  land  itself  has  been  given  to  desolation, 
and  has  withered  under  the  curse  ever  since.  It  has  become  a 
hissing,  a  by-word,  and  a  proverb.  Its  hills  have  lost  their  fertility, 
its  fountains  have  been  polluted,  and  its  vines  have  withered. 

But  if  we  suppose  that  none  are  guilty  for  rejecting  the  Savior 
but  the  Jews,  we  are  as  blind  as  they.  There  did  shine,  it  is  true, 
upon  that  generation  who  rejected  him,  a  peculiar  light,  but  the 
present  generation  of  that  people  have  far  less  light  than  the  im- 
penitent of  this  age,  and  are  less  guilty.  When  they  contemptu- 
ously spit  upon  the  ground  at  the  mention  of  the  name  of  Jesus, 
they  despise  an  unknown  Redeemer,  in  imitation  of  the  impiety 
of  their  ancestors.  They  are  virtually  heathen,  and  many  of  them 
have  no  more  idea  of  God,  or  a  futurity,  than  the  idolators  of  inte- 
rior India.  But  the  Bible  and  a  preached  gospel  have  poured 
upon  every  Christian  land  all  the  light  that  shone  upon  Judea,  and 
more  still.  We  have  more  convincing  light  than  Herod  had,  that 
the  Savior  was  born  in  Bethlehem  during  his  rei^n  ;  and  more  than 


34-2  THE    INDEX    SURE. 

Jiulas  had  that  he  whom  Judas  betrayed  was  the  Son  of  God  ;  ana 
more  than  Pilate  had,  that  he  whom  Pilate  condemned  will  one  day  be 
Pilate's  judge.  In  addition  to  the  light  they  had,  we  have  seen  the 
gospel  conquering  the  world  in  his  name.  We  have  seen  the  sturdi- 
est ruffians  bowed  and  tamed  at  his  feet.  We  have  seen  accomplish- 
ed many  a  prediction  that  he  uttered,  many  a  wo  that  he  issued,  many 
r  curse  that  he  threatened,  and  many  a  promise  that  dropped  from  his 
lips.  Luminous  as  was  the  light  that  gathered  about  the  Babe  of  Bet h- 
lehem,  there  have  been  pouring  in  ten  thousand  other  streams  ever 
since.  Hence  let  no  sinner  conceive,  that  although  it  be  nineteec 
centuries  since  the  Savior  died,  there  can  be  for  him  any  escape 
from  death  unless  he  be  washed  in  a  Savior's  blood.  If  he  who  drove 
the  nails  was  cursed  if  he  did  not  believe,  he  who  now  crucifies 
him  afresh,  and  puts  him  to  open  shame,  will  meet  a  curse  no 
lighter.  No,  it  remains  still  a  crime  black  as  perdition  to  bar  the 
avenues  of  the  heart  against  the  faith  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  There 
is  not  a  man  to-day  in  Christendom,  nor  a  lad,  nor  a  child,  that  has 
learned  who  the  Redeemer  is,  if  he  reject  him  to-day,  who  will  not 
carry  home  with  him  guilt  enough,  if  he  dies  unpardoned,  to  make 
him  gnash  his  teeth  for  ever.  Had  no  Savior  been  offered,  you 
would  only  h  ive  had  to  answer  for  a  broken  law,  but  as  many  of 
you  as  are  unsanctified  have  upon  you  the  guilt  and  the  curse  of 
having  slighted  ten  thousand  overtures  of  forgiveness.  And  if 
you  dare  to  die  in  this  condition,  you  can  make'the  sad  experiment, 
hut  your  grave  will  prove  an  avenue  to  the  bottomless  pit. 

3.  In  view  of  this  subject  it  seems  no  light  matter  to  deny  the 
Deity  of  the  Son  of  God.  How  fearfully  were  the  Jews  destroyed 
because  they  would  not  recognize  him  as  the  promised  Shiloh. 
When  once  the  edict  had  gone  out,  "Let  all  the  angels  of  God 
worship  him,"  and  God  will  not  give  his  glory  to  another,  the  be- 
ing  that  will  not  obey  must  perish.  He  is  either  God  or  a  crea- 
ture. But  have  we  credulity  enough  to  believe  that  there  would 
have  been  all  this  display  of  prophecy  and  miracle,  pointing  to  the 
birth  of  a  worm  1  Must  he  be  promised  and  proclaimed  many 
thousand  years;  must  there  be  a  record  made  of  his  character 
while  yet  he  has  none  1  Must  he  make  his  ingress  in  the  centre 
of  the  world,  and  in  the  most  luminous  spot  among  the  nations? 
Must  a  long  train  of  prophets  vie  with  each  other  in  doing  honor 
to  the  mysterious  personage  ;  and  when  he  is  born,  be  but  the  be- 
ing  of  a  day  1     We  have  heard  of 

"Ocean  into  tempest  wroucht, 
To  waft  a  feather — or  to  drown  a  fly," 


THE    INDEX    SURE.  343 

but  there  are  few  who  will  impute  to  God  such  folly.  But  how 
like  this  must  appear,  to  him  who  believes  the  Messiah  was  a  mere 
creature — all  that  train  of  prophecies,  that  hyperbole  of  lan<niao-e 
and  that  pomp  of  figure  that  centred  in  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem  1 
Judas,  it  seems,  had  he  been  appointed  to  the  work,  would  have 
been  as  good  and  as  glorious  a  Redeemer  as  Jesus  ;  and  still  his  ad- 
vent must  be  predicted  it  seems  four  thousand  years  before  his  birth, 
and  heaven  must  tell  all  the  generations  between  that  he  is  coming, 
and  they  must  think  of  him  in  their  loftiest  thoughts,  and  speak 
of  him  as  heaven  does  in  their  sublimest  language  ;  must  calcu- 
late to  owe  to  him  their  whole  redemption,  and  still  he  has  not 
power  when  he  has  laid  down  his  life  to  take  it  up  again.  He  in- 
debted to  another  for  his  own  existence,  but  we  must  trust  in  him 
for  eternal  life  ;  he  our  shield,  and  still  he  has  no  power  of  his  own 
to  protect;  he  our  guide,  but  another  must  enlighten  and  guide 
him  ;  he  our  intercessor,  and  still  he  cannot  know  when  we  pray; 
he  our  king,  and  still  he  himself  the  subject  of  a  higher  and  a 
mightier  power  ;  he  pledged  to  be  with  his  people  always,  even 
unto  the  ends  of  the  world,  while  yet  he  could  not  know  that  he 
should  be  permitted  to  see  them  when  they  suffer,  or  be  present  to 
save. 

If  there  is  a  scheme,  which,  rather  than  any  other,  charges  God 
foolishly,  makes  the  plainest  truth  a  mystery,  and  the  whole  Bible 
a  bundle  of  absurdities,  and  proudly  conducts  all  its  votaries  to 
death,  it  is  that  which  thus  quenches  the  light  of  Israel.  Must  I 
choose  between  it  and  open  infidelity,  I  would  be  an  infidel.  By 
the  same  dash  with  which  I  blot  the  name  of  the  Redeemer,  1 
would  obliterate  the  Father,  and  believe  the  grave  the  end  of  me. 
I  would  not  waste  my  time  and  strength,  and  torture  my  con- 
science, to  mutilate  the  Book  of  God,  but  would  believe  the  whole 
a  lie,  and  warm  myself  in  its  blaze,  and  wish  I  were  a  brute.  Then 
I  would  calmly  expect  one  day  to  be  a  supper  for  the  worms,  free 
from  the  dread  of  the  worm  that  shall  never  die.  Men  must  be 
desperately  the  foes  of  truth,  and  inveterately  hostile  to  the  Lord 
Jesus,  before  they  can  thus  rudely  confront  the  plainest  truths  of 
God;  and  the  crime,  where  there  is  not.  gross  ignorance,  must 
come  very  near  to  that  which  cannot  be  forgiven.  To  avoid  one 
mystery  which  they  cannot  comprehend,  they  would  throw  afloat 
the  faith  of  the  gospel,  make  us  doubt  whether  any  part  of  it  has 
come  to  us  uncorrupted,  and  finally  must  adopt  mysteries  greater 
than  the  one  they  discard,  must  believe  that  God  has  indited  un  a 
revelation  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  understand,  and  that  he 


344  THE    INDEX    SURE. 

has  suffered  almost  his  whole  Church  to  live  in  the  belief  of  a  lie 
these  eighteen  hundred  years. 

4.  This  subject  should  lead  us  to  pray  earnestly  for  the  unhappy 
descendants  of  Abraham.  We  are  indebted  to  them,  under  God, 
for  the  privileges  we  enjoy,  but  which  they  have  forfeited.  The 
Lord  Jesus,  in  his  human  nature,  belonged  to  that  family.  The 
apostles,  through  whom  we  have  the  Scriptures,  and  the  know- 
ledge of  eternal  life,  were  Jewish  converts.  But  how  distressing 
to  us,  that  that  whole  community  should  still  reject  their  promised 
Shiloh,  and  be  seen  writhing  these  two  thousand  years  under  the 
lashes  of  a  vindictive  Providence  !  It  should  excite  our  pity  to 
know  that  they  are  a  standing  testimony  of  the  truth  of  prophecy. 
They  are  placed  as  a  beacon  on  the  shore  of  death  to  warn  us  not 
to  approach  the  strand  where  they  were  so  awfully  shipwrecked. 
Their  unbelief  has  confirmed  us  in  the  faith,  and  it  should  be  our 
grief  that  they  should  perish.  When  the  time  has  come,  and  it 
seems  now  at  hand,  when  they  shall  own  him  that  has  come,  their 
conversion  shall  be  as  life  from  the  dead  to  the  Gentiles. 

Hence  gratitude  for  the  blessings  we  have  received  through 
their  hands,  and  love  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  which  will  be 
greatly  advanced  by  their  in-gathering,  and  pity  for  the  suffering 
posterity  of  him  who  was  the  father  of  the  faithful,  should  all  join 
their  influence  to  induce  us  to  pray  for  a  people  so  interesting  and 
so  undone.  Every  endearing  view  we  have  of  Christ  should  lead 
us  to  pray  for  his  brethren  and  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh  ; 
and  whenever  we  see  by  faith  the  scenes  of  Calvary,  there  should 
go  up  some  petition  for  the  descendants  of  those  who  were  active 
in  the  crucifixion,  and  coveted  that  the  blood  of  the  Savior  should 
be  on  them  and  their  children.  On  that  propitiatory  sacrifice 
we  hang  our  hopes  of  heaven,  and  should  rejoice  can  we  be  the 
means  of  bringing  down  upon  the  descendants  of  his  betrayers  and 
murderers,  any  heavenly  blessings,  or  of  removing  the  curse  under 
which  they  have  so  long  pined  and  perished. 

And  if  their  case  should  demand  something  more  than   prayers 

-should  require  sacrifices — -can  we  better  expend  the  talents  that 
God  has  loaned  us  than  in  the  purchase  of  their  redemption  1  It 
is  high  time  that  we  placed  in  their  hands  the  Hebrew  Testament, 
that  they  may  know  the  character  of  the  Savior  they  have  re- 
jected,  and  may  see  and  lament  the  cause  of  their  long-continued 
dispersion.  (Jratitude  for  the  gift  of  a  Savior  through  the  line  of 
Abraham,  and  for  the  Holy  Scriptures  through  Jewish  Apostles, 
should   urjje  us  to  make  exertions  for  their  rescue  from  the  thral- 


THE    INDEX    SUTiE.  34fl 

dom  of  unbelief.  They  would  join  us  in  adoring  the  Savior,  and 
rejoice  with  us  in  the  covenants  of  promise,  and  we  could  feel 
pleasure  for  ever,  in  having  contributed  to  rescue  them  from  the 
dominions  of  death. 

Happily  the  time  has  come,  when  they  begin  to  doubt  whether 
they  may  not  look  for  their  Shiloh  till  their  eyes  consume  away 
in  their  holes,  unless  they  build  their  hopes  of  eternal  life  on 
him  who  has  come.  Numbers  of  them  have  made  their  escape 
from  death,  and  others  are  inquiring  with  a  candor  and  a  docility, 
as  new  as  it  is  interesting,  "  Where  is  the  angel  of  the  covenant  V 

Finally,  may  we  not  fear,  that  if  we  reject  the  Savior,  there 
may  be  found  in  our  families  a  race  of  unbelievers,  that  may  go, 
generation  after  generation,  clown  to  the  blackness  of  darkness 
for  ever  1  How  can  we  know  that  some  families  that  we  can  name, 
in  whom  we  see  not  a  believer  from  age  to  age,  have  inherited 
from  some  ungodly  ancestor,  a  ruin  like  that  which  fell  upon  the 
family  of  Israel  1  Poverty,  and  crime,  and  degradation,  are  the 
prominent  features  of  their  condition.  Ah,  let  us  beware,  lest  our 
children's  children  shall  be  telling  the  world,  some  hundred  years 
hence,  the  tale  of  our  unbelief  and  impenitence. 


44 


SERMON    XXX. 
THE  WISE  MAN  WISE  FOR  FUTURITY. 

DEUTERONOMY,  XXXII.  29. 
O  that  they  were  wise,  that  they  understood  this,  that  they  would  consider  their  latter  end. 

Moses  had  been  speaking  of  the  kindness  of  God  to  his  people. 
He  found  them  in  a  desert  land,  and  in  a  waste  howling  wilder- 
ness. He  led  them  ahout,  he  instructed  them,  he  kept  them  as 
the  apple  of  his  eye.  By  a  spirit  of  prophecy  he  looked  forward, 
and  saw  them  enter  in  triumph  the  land  of  promise,  there  to  eat 
of  the  increase  of  the  field,  to  suck  honey  out  of  the  tocU,  and 
drink  the  pure  blood  of  the  grape.  And  here  he  would  gladly 
have  limited  his  prophetic  view,  and  would  have  died  believing 
that  the  people  he  loved,  would  remain  the  heirs  of  that  goodly 
land  till  the  consummation  of  all  things,  and  be  to  the  latest  ages 
the  chosen  inheritance  of  heaven.  But  the  same  prophetic  Spirit 
which  had  made  him  acquainted  with  one  future  page  of  their  his- 
tory, penetrated  the  tracts  of  time,  that  stretched  still  beyond,  and 
unfolded  to  his  inspired  vision  a  page  still  beyond,  darkened  and 
dismal  with  crimes  and  punishments.  Here  he  paused  to  lament, 
that  they  would  so  sin  against  their  own  souls,  that  they  would 
not  feel  in  time  that  they  had  to  deal  with  a  jealous  God,  who 
would  not  give  his  glory  to  another,  and  in  the  language  of  the 
text  pours  out  the  honest  and  tender  feelings  of  his  heart,  "  0  that 
they  were  wise,  that  they  understood  this,  that  they  would  con- 
sider their  latter  end."  This  would  avert  the  doom  I  foresee,  and 
secure  them  a  perpetual  title  to  the  fields  of  promise. 

But  the  text  will  hear  a  more  extended  application.  It  is  as 
true  of  us  all  as  it  was  of  Israel,  that  we  contemplate  too  little  the 
scenes  of  futurity,  and  fasten  the  eye  too  exclusively  on  the  life 
that  now  is.  This  world  is  too  much,  our  home  ;  its  cares  occupy 
too  exclusively  our  attention  ;  and  its  treasures  claim  too  high 
a  place  among  the  instruments  of  our  joy.  We  are  pilgrims  at 
the  best,  who  have  here  no  abiding  city,  but  seek  one  to  come, 
whose  buihler  and  maker  is  God.  That  man  is  a  beggar  and  a 
wretch,  wh  ■   extends  not  his   views  to   another  life,  and   has  no 


THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    FOR    FUTURITY.  347 

prospects  of  enjoyment  in  a  better  world.  The  concerns  of  this 
life  are  too  small  to  engross  the  energies  of  an  immortal  mind. 
When  I  feel  myself  allured  by  its  charms,  and  when  I  see  so  many 
of  my  poor  dying  neighbors  engrossed  exclusively  in  these  sublu- 
nary scenes,  I  feel  that  we  have  a  mean  and  poor  employment. 
And  1  have  chosen  this  text,  rather  than  many  a  one,  which,  on 
some  accounts,  would  have  been  more  appropriate,  because  I  wish 
to  warn  myself,  and  the  neighborhood  in  which  I  live,  and  the 
people  to  whom  I  minister,  and  every  stranger  who  may  be  pre- 
sent, that  this  world  is  not  our  home,  nor  our  rest  ;  that  there 
awaits  us  a  dying  bed,  and  a  lonely  grave,  and  perhaps  a  sudden 
transit  into  the  presence  of  the  holy  and  heart-searching  God. 
We  are  forming  a  character  for  another  state,  and  have  forgotten 
our  only  errand  into  life,  if  any  other  cares  crowd  us  so  closely, 
or  engross  us  so  exclusively,  as  the  one  care  of  adorning  the  soul 
for  its  speedy  appearance  at  the  banquet  of  the  Lamb.  This  is  the 
concern  that  should  direct  our  dreams,  wake  our  slumbers,  bring 
us  early  to  our  knees,  and  go  with  us  and  keep  its  hold  upon  our 
thoughts,  our  affections,  and  our  lips,  through  all  the  hours  of 
light,  through  the  social  converse  of  our  evenings,  and  the  sacred 
worship  of  our  Sabbaths.  Why  can  we  not  move  about  among 
the  cares  of  this  life,  and  still  keep  firmly  our  hold  upon  a  better  1 
If  we  think  often  of  death  we  shall  die  no  sooner,  and  if  Ave 
often  talk  of  the  life  to  come,  we  shall  be  called  none  the  sooner 
to  part  with  the  life  that  now  is.  If  we  mingle  the  cares  of  another 
world  with  those  of  the  present,  we  need  not  neglect  to  make  all 
necessary  provision  for  the  body.  Nor  need  these  thoughts  and 
cares  embitter  our  present  enjoyments.  Who  has  heaven's  per- 
mission to  be  happy  but  the  believer,  the  man  whose  heavenly 
mind  can  see  a  substance,  and  taste  a  sweetness  in  the  things  un- 
seen, who  can  even  here  inhale  a  fragrance  from  the  flowers  of 
paradise,  and  realize  a  treasure  deposited  where  moth  and  rust 
cannot  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  cannot  break  through  anil  steal ! 
Tell  me  not  of  men  being  happy  whose  all  is  in  the  present  life, 
and  who  are  tormented  if  they  chance  to  think  of  death;  it  is  nil 
false.  They  may  be  stupid,  and  so  is  a  worm,  but  who  ever 
dreamed  that  a  thoughtless  man  was  happy  !  He  may  be  free 
from  sensible  misery,  and  so  is  the  ox  ;  but  one  who  claims  that 
he  is  a  man,  and  glories  in  being  capable  of  thought,  is  not  happy 
when  he  does  not  think.  Cast  forward  the  eye  of  faith  and  read 
the  future  pages  of  your  history,  and  if  you  cannot  read  them  and 
still  be   happy,  then  I  would  bid  joy  adieu  for  ever.     Think  of  a 


348  THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    FOR    FUTURITY. 

death-bed,  of  the  shroud  you  shall  wear,  the  coffin  that  shall  house 
you,  the  grave  you  shall  occupy,  the  procession  that  shall  escort 
you  to  the  bleak  and  cheerless  cemetery,  the  vacuum  that  shall 
be  seen  in  your  dwelling,  the  widow  that  shall  weep  for  you,  and 
the  children  that  shall  bury  their  best  hopes  in  your  sepulchre, 
and  return  to  weep  over  their  untimely  orphanage: — think,  too, 
where  you  shall  then  be,  in  what  world,  in  what  society,  how 
employed — and  if  you  cannot  think  it  all  over  and  be  happy,  your 
condition  is  most  pitiable.  What!  do  you  boast  of  having  the 
powers  of  thought,  and  dare  not  think!  Glad  that  you  are  not  a 
thoughtless  beast,  and  yet  must  become  thoughtless  as  a  beast,  or 
be  miserable  !  Then  your  fancied  distinctions  are  all  a  dream, 
and  can  do  you  no  honor.  My  intention  is  to  turn  your  minds 
upon  the  scene  of  death,  and  by  this  means  to  try  your  religion, 
and  my  own.  If  we  can  converse  with  the  scenes  of  death  and  be 
happy,  it  will  be  one  small  evidence  in  our  favor.  True  wisdom 
will  lead  us  to  consider  our  latter  end.  /  shall  notice  some  circum- 
stances of  our  latter  end  which  it  becomes  us  to  consider,  and  then  show 
that  to  consider  these  things  is  to  act  wisely. 

I  am  to  notice  some  circumstances  of  our  latter  end,  which  it 
becomes  us  to  consider; 

I.  Death  will  part  asunder  the  body  and  the  soul.  They  are 
dear  and  affectionate  companions,  and  are  to  each  other  a  source 
of  pleasure  and  of  pain.  There  is  between  them  an  indescribable 
power  of  endearing  sympathy.  But  in  death  they  part.  The 
body,  cold  and  inanimate,  is  thrown  upon  the  care  of  men,  while 
the  spirit  returns  to  God  who  gave  it.  What  remains  with  us  is 
the  merest  clay,  while  that  which  we  loved  and  caressed  is  gone. 
That  lifeless  body  is  not  the  son,  the  husband,  the  father,  the 
neighbor,  and  the  friend,  we  loved.  But  it  is  all  that  we  could 
ever  see  or  touch,  while  that  essential  and  immortal  part  which 
has  fled,  was  intangible  and  invisible.  This  change  you  and  I 
must  soon  pass.  This  body  must  moulder,  and  this  spirit  be  sum- 
moned away,  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  its  judge. 

To  properly  consider  this  matter  is  to  see  to  it  that  the  body 
and  the  soul,  while  they  continue  associates,  be  mutual  helpmates 
to  each  other.  The  indulgence  of  the  appetites  and  passions 
must  not  be  permitted  to  ruin  the  soul,  nor  the  mind  be  employed 
to  destroy  the  body.  They  are  to  be  reunited  in  the  resurrection, 
and  must  be  for  ever  happy  or  wretched  together.  Hence  let  the 
soul,  while  the  present  union  continues,  be   purified  by  the  blood 


THE    WISE    MAN    AVISE    FOR    FUTURITY.  349 

of  sprinkling,  and  the  body  rendered  a  meet  temple  for  the  Holy 
Ghost,  that  thus  the  kindred  parts  may  exert  upon  each  other  a 
mutually  kind  and  purifying  influence.  Then  after  the  sleep  of 
the  grave,  there  may  be  a  union  more  happy  than  the  first,  more 
indissoluble  and  eternal. 

2.  Death  will  dissolve  all  our  earthly  ties.  The  various  and 
endearing  relationships  of  life  are  all  temporary.  The  husband 
and  the  wife,  whose  union  is  the  most  endearing  of  all  others, 
are  obligated  to  love  and  cherish  each  other  only  till  death.  Then 
the  tie  is  broken,  and  the  obligation  discharged.  The  lifeless 
corpse  is  no  longer  a  husband,  a  father,  a  neighbor,  a  friend. 
That  essential  part,  on  whose  account  the  relationship  was  formed, 
has  fled.  And  "  in  the  resurrection,  they  neither  marry  nor  are 
.given  in  marriage,  but  are"  in  this  respect,  "  as  the  angels  of  God 
in  heaven." 

To  give  this  subject  its  proper  consideration,  requires  that  we 
so  discharge  the  various  obligations  that  result  from  these  relation* 
ships,  as  to  meet  their  grand  and  heavenly  design.  The  husband 
and  the  wife  should  endeavor  to  promote  each  other's  sanctifica- 
tion,  should  exert  all  the  influence  that  the  endearing  relationship 
generates,  to  produce  in  each  other  an  entire  conformity  to  God, 
and  thus  prepare  each  other  to  be  happy  in  the  circle  of  the  blessed. 
The  few  days  that  we  can  do  each  other  good,  urges  to  the  utmost 
despatch  in  every  benevolent  design.  Parents  should  admonish 
and  pray  for  their  poor  dying  children,  from  whom,  in  a  few  days, 
they  must  be  torn  for  ever,  and  children  be  a  blessing  to  their 
parents  while  they  are  within  reach  of  their  kindness.  The  bro- 
ther and  sister  sustain  that  relationship  but  for  a  few  days,  and 
must  do  each  other  all  the  good  they  ever  do,  very  soon.  The 
course,  then,  that  genuine  love  will  pursue  is  very  plain.  While 
my  friends  are  within  my  reach,  I  should  be  their  enemy  did  I 
not  endeavor  to  promote  their  salvation,  and  thus  do  them  ever- 
lasting good. 

Alas,  how  many  pursue  a  course  precisely  the  opposite,  and  are 
doing  all  in  their  power  to  carry  their  friends  with  them  down  to 
perdition!  How  many  husbands  exert  their  influence  to  prevent 
the  piety,  and  hinder  the  prayers,  and  retard  the  spiritual  improve- 
ment of  their  bosom  friend  !  And  how  many  wives,  with  the  same 
treacherous  kindness,  allure  their  husbands  to  the  ways  of  death  ! 
Many  a  parent,  a  son,  a  brother,  deaf  themselves  to  the  voice  of 
mercy,  are  staining  their  hands  and  their  garments  in  the  blo^l  of 
their  kindred.     And  beyond  a  doubt  the  great  day  will  hear  many 


350  THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    FOR    FUTURITY. 

a  curse  proceed  from  the  lips  of  the  lost,  upon  their  now  nearest 
dearest  kindred  ! — On  this  dreadful  subject  I  can  only  say,  do 
good,  and  avoid  doing  evil,  to  those  who  are  now  related  to  you, 
as  all  their  kindred  ties  will  soon  be  dissolved,  and  these  opportu- 
nities pass  away  for  ever.  We  shall  doubtless  witness  against 
each  other  in  the  great  day,  and  it  must  grieve  us,  if  we  feel  ten- 
derly, to  apprehend  that  our  own  lips  may  bear  against  beloved 
friends  that  testimony  on  which  their  condemnation  may  be 
founded. 

3.  Death  will  strip  us  of  all  our  titles,  and  of  that  office,  power, 
and  influence  which  they  imply.  The  magistrate,  the  judge,  the 
general,  ami  the  juror,  will  yield  his  office  with  his  life,  and  with 
it  his  power  and  his  influence.  The  minister  of  the  gospel,  and 
every  officer  in  the  Christian  Church,  or  teacher  in  our  seats  of 
science,  or  the  Sabbath  school,  must  yield  his  place  to  some  sue 
cessor. 

To  properly  consider  this  matter  is  to  (ill  the  office  we  sustain 
with  purity  and  activity.  If  it  gives  us  inlluence,  there  is  nothing 
for  which  we  are  more  accountable  ;  no  talent  which  we  can  use 
now  to  better  advantage.  If  there  is  a  soul  brought  by  such  means 
within  our  reach,  and  we  can  hless  that  soul,  our  duty  is  plain  ; 
and  our  fearful  responsibility  incalculable.  When  by  any  means 
the  providence  of  God  enlarges  our  sphere  of  action,  widens  the 
field  of  our  labor,  or  strengthens  the  anus  of  our  hands,  his  crea- 
tures are  to  receive  the  benefit,  and  his  name  is  to  have  the  praise. 

What  a  fearful  account  will  many  have  to  give,  when  they  shall 
be  put  out  of  their  stewardship!  How  have  they  filled  offices, 
that  they  might  create  misery,  and  exerted  an  influence  in  widen- 
ing  and  vexing  the  horrors  of  the  apostacy  !  You  might  almost 
track  them  by  the  blood  they  spilt,  or,  to  drop  the  figure,  by  the 
vices  to  which  they  gave  an  impulse,  by  the  characters  they  pol- 
luted, by  the  poverty  ami  the  tears  they  generated,  and  by  a  long 
train  of  untold  miseries  that  still  line  their  track.  "Who  then  is 
that  faithful  and  wise  servant,  whom  his  lord  hath  made  ruler  over 
his  household,  to  '/we  them  meat  in  due  season  \  Blessed  is  that 
servant,  whom  his  lord,  when  he  cometb,  shall  find  so  doing. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  he  shall  make  him  ruler  over  all  his 
goods.  But  ami  if  that  evil  servant  shall  say  in  his  heart,  My  lord 
delayeth  his  coming;  ami  shall  b  mite  his  fellow-servants, 

and  to  eat  and  drink  with  the  drunken  ;  the  lord  of  that  servant, 
shall  come  in  a  day  when  he  looketh  not  for  him,  and  in  an  hour 
that  he  is  not    aware  <>l  ;  and  shall    cut   him    asunder,  and  appoint 


THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    TOR    FUTURITY.  351 

him  his  portion  with  the  hypocrites  :  there  shall  be  weeping  and 
gnashing  of  teeth."  Thus  the  office  we  fill  may  be  suddenly 
vacated,  and  the  account  rendered  cover  us  with  everlasting  shame. 

4-.  Death  will  level  all  distinctions.  The  king  and  the  peasant 
will  sleep  together  in  the  grave,  the  master  and  the  servant,  the 
man  of  science  and  distinction  with  the  untaught  and  the  vulgar. 
The  family  who  can  hardly  speak  with  patience  of  their  unpolished 
neighbors,  and  look  with  contempt  upon  their  rude  and  illiterate 
servants,  must  become  a  supper  for  the  worm,  and  must  scent  as 
odiously,  and  rot  as  rapidly,  and  perhaps  be  forgotten  about  as 
soon  as  the  innocent  objects  of  their  affected  disgust.  There  may 
be  a  more  splendid  funeral.  We  may  hear  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tomb  a  more  labored  and  lying  panegyric  ;  and  there  may  be 
erected  a  more  splendid,  and  perhaps  a  more  lasting  monument. 
But  a  few  years  will  dissolve  that  monument,  will  deface  its  pom- 
pous inscription,  and  the  bones  it  covers  will  appear  as  unsightly 
as  any  skeleton  within  the  enclosures  of  the  cemetery. 

To  properly  consider  this  fact,  is  to  remember  that  it  was  God 
who  elevated  us,  and  that  views  us  as  none  the  more  worthy  be- 
cause of  the  distinction  he  has  assigned  us.  It  is  our  wisdom  to 
be  humble  and  mindful  of  death.  Let  us  show  the  world  that  in 
our  own  eyes  we  are  small  ;  that  we  can  enter  the  cottage  of  the 
peasant  familiarly  ;  can  join  him,  if  occasion  require,  in  his  coarse 
and  homely  meal ;  can  cheerfully  bow  with  him  at  the  throne  of 
grace  ;  mingle  our  counsels  and  our  tears,  insensible  of  any  dis- 
tinction for  which  we  deserve  respect,  that  we  are  not  willing  to 
bestow.  We  are  forbidden  to  be  wise  in  our  own  conceits,  and 
are  exhorted  to  condescend  to  men  of  low  estate.  One  distinction 
only  will  outlive  the  ravages  of  death — that  distinction  is  holiness. 
In  the  sight  of  God  all  others  are  temporary  and  worthless  ;  and 
if  not  counteracted  by  the  humility  of  the  gospel,  will  cover  us 
with  a  deeper  contempt,  and  subject  us  to  a  more  degraded  infamy 
in  the  bottomless  pit. 

5.  Death  will  strip  us  of  our  earthly  possessions.  The  lifeless 
corpse  is  not  the  owner  of  a  farm,  or  the  proprietor  of  a  bond. 
He  cannot  even  defend  from  the  attack  of  the  ruffian  the  little  spot 
of  earth  that  contains  his  ashes  and  his  bones.  The  hour  that 
strips  him  of  life  renders  him  as  poor  as  at  the  hour  of  his  birth, 
and  as  dependent  for  the  shroud,  as,  originally,  for  the  swathing 
band. 

To  properly  consider  this  matter,  is  to  use  our  wealth  for  the 
honor  of  God,  and  in  lessening  the  miseries  of  the  apostacy.     We 


35;2  THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    FOR    FUTURITY. 

may  employ  it  to  support  and  spread  his  gospel,  to  disseminate  his 
word,  to  feed  his  poor.  Some  object  of  benevolent  regard  is  for 
ever  at  our  door,  some  good  devised  that  we  may  execute,  some 
cause  laboring  that  we  may  lend  our  aid.  We  may  have  high 
ideas  of  our  own  rights,  but  we  are  all  the  Lord's  stewards.  He 
has  commanded  us  to  occupy  till  he  come.  We  must  very  soon 
go  out  of  office,  and  must  then  give  an  account  of  our  stewardship, 
and  happy  for  us  if  we  have  made  friends  of  the  mammon  of  un- 
righteousness, that  they  may  receive  us  into  everlasting  habita- 
tions. But  how  many,  when  they  shall  be  called  to  yield  their  in- 
terest, will  find  that  their  gold  and  silver  is  corrupted,  and  their 
garments  moth  eaten.  If  they  have  done  any  good  with  their 
wealth,  it  was  by  the  merest  accident :  they  meant  not  so,  neither 
did  their  hearts  think  so,  and  they  are  seen  to  repent  of  all  the 
good  they  have  done,  and  of  nothing  else.  They  have  fixed  a 
dying  hold  upon  their  farms  and  their  merchandizes,  and  the  day 
that  breaks  that  hold  will  be  of  all  other  days  the  most  wretched. 
They  have  forgotten  their  latter  end,  and  can  be  waked  from  the 
charm  only  by  that  stroke  that  sunders  them  from  life. 

6.  As  a  distinct  thought,  I  would  suggest  that  death  must  bring 
all  our  schemes  to  a  close.  There  is  in  some  men  a  proneness 
to  cast  their  thoughts  ahead,  and  so  interweave  their  projects,  that 
it  would  seem  they  can  never  find  leisure  to  lie  down  and  sleep  in 
the  crave.  They  never  calculate  upon  closing  their  concerns. 
There  'is  scarce  a  moment,  from  the  beginning  of  the  year  till  it 
ends,  that  finds  them  sufficiently  at  leisure  to  worship  God  with- 
out distraction.  Some  scheme  is  in  its  embryo,  and  some  other 
unfinished.  And,  finally,  many  a  one  is.  but  partially  executed, 
when  death  throws  in  its  arbitrary  and  fearful  arrest.  Then  there 
must  be  a  pause  :  the  jaded  spirit  must  rest,  and  the  body  retires 
with  it.  Cheerful  or  reluctant  the  world  must  quit  its  hold,  and 
the  stream  of  thought  chill  in  its  channel. 

And  this  event  expected  should  teach  us  to  limit  our  views,  and 
to  moderate  our  hopes  and  wishes.  It  would  be  wise  to  calculate 
that  somewhere  not  very  distant  from  us,  there  is  opened  a  grave 
athwart  our  track,  where  we  must  stop  and  rest,  and  beyond  which, 
if  we  extend  our  schemes,  they  but  die  on  our  hands,  or  remain 
•for  others  to  finish.  "  There  is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor  know- 
ledge, nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave  whither  we  hasten."  And  perhaps 
nothing  would  so  tend  to  make  us  lower  our  hopes,  and  limit  our 
worldly  calculation,  as  to  place  the  solemnities  of  our  own  funeral 
at  but  a  few  months  remove  from  us.     If  we  place  it  too  near  no 


t 


THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    FOR    FUTURITY.  353 

evil  could  follow  ;  while,  if  too  remotely,  a  train  of  disappoint- 
ments and  miseries  follow,  the  weight  of  which  it  will  take  a  whole 
eternity  to  calculate. 

7.  Death  will  finish  our  period  of  risefulness.  "  It  is  that  night 
when  no  man  can  work."  All  the  good  we  ever  do  must  be  soon 
done,  or  is  left  undone  forever.  All  the  good  counsel  we  ever 
give,  all  the  prayers  we  ever  make,  all  the  miseries  we  ever  re- 
lieve, all  the  progress  we  shall  ever  make  in  the  pursuit  of  truth, 
and  all  the  honor  we  shall  ever  do  to  God,  must  be  done  soon. 
And  it  seems  to  me  that  no  thought  is  so  calculated  to  wake  us 
to  industry.  "  Whatsoever  thy  hands  find  to  do,  do  it  with  thy 
might,"  is  the  very  inference  to  be  drawn  from  the  shortness  of 
time.  If  any  man  is  a  knave,  it  is  he  who  is  willing  to  die  before 
he  has  been  useful,  who  is  willing  to  feed  upon  the  bounties  of 
heaven,  to  gather  about  him  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  to  lavish 
them  upon  his  own  indolence,  and  leave  God  to  publish  his  own 
praise  by  other  instruments.  Our  obligation  to  do  good  is  as  un- 
alienable as  the  authority  of  God  is  binding,  or  the  fear  of  misery 
appalling,  or  the  hope  of  glory  inviting.  Have  we  then  done  all 
the  good  we  have  purposed  to  do  \  Have  we  no  dying  friends  to 
whom  we  would  communicate  instruction  or  comfort  before  they 
leave  us  \  Ts  there  no  object  of  charity  to  which  conscience  may 
have  given  some  pledge  not  yet  redeemed  1  By  the  sure  and 
speedy  approach  of  death,  we  are  admonished  to  haste  and  finish 
our  work,  lest  we  should  leave  it  for  others  to  neglect  as  we  have. 

8.  Death  will  finish  our  character,  and  close  our  accounts  for  the 
judgment.  We  are  probationers  for  another  state,  and  our  char- 
acter here  will  decide  our  condition  there.  It  is  believed  that  life 
will  furnish  the  materials  on  which  the  judgment  will  proceed,  the 
varied  tests  of  our  character,  and  the  reasons  of  our  acquittal  or 
our  condemnation.  The  thoughts  and  volitions  of  the  dying  bed 
will  constitute  the  closing  items  of  that  fearful  account  which  we 
must  render  to  the  judge  of  all. 

To  give  this  thought  its  due  importance,  we  should  often  exa- 
mine our  state,  and  inquire  if  we  are  ready  to  be  judged.  Is  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  formed  in  us  the  hope  of  glory  1  Shall  we  ap- 
pear, if  we  quit  the  world  this  evening,  clothed  in  his  righteous- . 
ness  !  Else  no  works  of  ours  will  avail  to  procure  our  acceptance, 
and  ruin  is  as  certain  as  the  judgment. 

Haste,  then,  if  you  would  be  esteemed  wise,  rmd  set  your  house 
in  order,  against  the  hour  of  your  dissolution.     Mortify  the  deeds 
of  the  body,   wake   the   mind  to  industry,  and  rouse  the  heart  and 
13 


354  THE  WISE  MAN  WISE  FOR  FUTURITY. 

the  conscience  to  energy  of  feeling  and  action  in  the  work  of 
grace.  Collect  your  friends  about  you,  and  make  one  more  effort 
to  do  them  good  before  every  tie  tliat  binds  them  to  you  is  sun- 
dered. Fill  the  office  assigned  you  with  fidelity,  and  use  your  in- 
fluence to  promote  the  honor  of  your  Redeemer.  Cultivate  a 
meek  and  lowly  mind ;  be  familiar  with  your  own  worthlessness  ; 
use  your  wealth  for  the  honor  of  God,and  in  doing  good,  to  a  mise- 
rable world.  Limit  your  prospects  by  the  grave;  have  your  work 
done  ;  your  character  formed  for  heaven  ;  your  sins  forgiven  ;  and 
your  pollution  covered  with  a  Savior's  blood.  Then  death  will 
not  surprise  you,  and  the  grave  will  become  your  refuge  and  your 
friend. 

II.  To  properly  consider  the  circumstances  of  our  latter  end  is 
to  act  wisely.  If  while  we  proceed,  worldly  men,  whose  every 
interest  is  in  this  world,  should  draw  the  inference  that  they  are 
acting  unwisely,  and  playing  the  fool  with  their  own  best  good  ; 
this  is  precisely  the  effect  we  always  wish  to  produce,  and  shall 
rejoice  to  find  that  they  can  reason  so  well  on  a  subject  of  such 
amazing  importance.  Under  every  sermon  men  ought  to  be  con- 
vinced that  they  are  acting  a  mad  and  desperate  part,  while  they 
neglect  all  the  hopes  of  the  life  to  come,  and  deposit  all  their  trea- 
sures on  the  surface  of  this  perishing  world.  The  man  who  should 
place  all  his  fortune  in  a  burning  building,  or  embark  with  his 
whole  interest  in  a  sinking  ship,  would  not  act  more  unwisely.  I 
remark, 

1.  That  God  has  pronounced  it  wise  to  consider  our  latter  end, 
and  apt  with  constant  and  careful  reference  to  the  life  to  come. 
This  is  precisely  the  sentiment  of  the  text,  and  of  many  other  scrip- 
tures which  pour  their  light  upon  the  same  truth.  "If  a  man  live 
many  years,  and  rejoice  in  them  all,  yet  let  him  remember  the  days 
of  darkness."  Said  the  Lord  to  Israel,  "  Oh  that  thou  hadst 
hearkened  to  my  commandments!  then  had  thy  peace  been  as  a 
river,  and  thy  righteousness  as  the  waves  of  the  sea."  How  often 
is  it  said  of  the  wicked,  that  although  they  were  warned  they 
would  not  be  wise1.  "  I  have  called,  and  ye  refused  ;  I  have 
stretched  out  my  hand  and  no  man  regarded  ;  but  ye  have  set  at 
naught  all  my  counsel,  and  would  none  of  my  reproof;  I  also  will 
laugh  at  your  calamity  ;  I  will  mock  when  your  fear  cometh. 
When  your  fear  cometh  as  desolation,  am!  your  destruction  com- 
eth as  a  whirlwind  ;  when  distress  and  anguish  cometh  upon  you  : 
then  shall  they  call  upon  me,  but  I  will  not  answer  ;  they  shall  seek 


THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    FOR    FUTURITV.  35?) 

me  early,  but  they  shall  not  find  me  :  For  that  they  hated  know- 
ledge, and  did  not  choose  the  fear  of  the  Lord  :  they  would  none 
of  my  counsel ;  they  despised  all  my  reproof:  therefore  shall  they 
eat  of  the  fruit  of  their  own  way,  and  be  filled  with  their  own  de- 
vices. For  the  turning  away  of  the  simple  shall  slay  them,  and 
the  prosperity  of  fools  shall  destroy  them.  But  whoso  hearkeneth 
unto  me  shall  dwell  safely,  and  shall  be  quiet  from  the  fear  of  evil.'" 

1  know  that  we  are  forbidden  to  be  anxious  for  the  things  of  to- 
morrow, but  this  text,  instead  of  teaching  the  contrary,  teaches 
the  same  doctrine.  We  are  not  to  be  anxious  for  the  things  of 
this  life,  which  we  may  need  for  our  support  tomorrow.  We  are  to 
be  "  anxious,  not  for  the  meat  that  perisheth,  but  for  that  meat  which 
endureth  to  everlasting  life."  We  are  so  to  use  the  mammon  of 
unrighteousness,  that  when  we  are  put  out  of  our  stewardship,  we 
may  have  a  friend  who  will  receive  us  into  everlasting  habitations. 

Thus  God  himself,  who  cannot  be  mistaken,  has  declared  it  wise 
to  look  well  to  our  future  prospects,  and  "  lay  up  in  store  against 
the  time  to  come,  that  we  may  lay  hold  on  eternal  life." 

2.  The  wisdom  of  such  a  course  is  inferred  from  the  fact,  that 
in  all  other  things   we   consider   it   indispensable.     If  we  have  in 
view  any  worldy  enterprise,  we,   as  far  as  possible,  anticipate  the 
concern  in  all  its  bearings,  and  weigh,  before  we  meet  them,  every 
ombarrassment  and   every    obstacle,   that  may  be  at  war  with  our 
purpose.      We   bring  before   us   the  darker  side  of  the  picture,  as 
well  as  the  brighter,  contemplate  every  passion,  and  every  interest 
with  which  we  may  come  in  contact,  and  press  the  eye  of  the  mind 
forward  to   meet   every   feature   of  the   probable   result.     Is  one 
about  to  leave  the  place  of  his  nativity,  he  does  not  move,  if  he  is 
wise,  till  he  has  carefully  surveyed   the  country  toward  which  lie 
bends  his  wishes  and    his   hopes,   counts  the  cost  of  his  intended 
enterprise,  weighs  the  probable  advantages  of  the  removal,  and  is 
prepared  to  meet,  without  surprise,  every  failure  that  can  lie  with- 
in the  reach  of  probability.     Thus  worldly  men  constantly  manage 
the  concerns  of  this  life,  and  the  Scriptures   assure   us,   that   they 
are  wiser  in  their  generation   than  the   children  of  light.     Would 
we  pursue  the  same  measures  relative   to  the   life   to   come,  God 
would  approve.     It  would  be  a  source  of  conduct  becoming  a  wise 
and  thinking  man.      We  should  then  look   forward   and   survey  :>ll 
the  circumstances  of  our  departure    from   this  world,  the  state  of 
our  hearts,  the  probability  of  our  composure,  and  our  acceptance 
in  the  hour  of  death,  the  ties  that   must  then  he  broken,  the  titles 
that  must  then  be  lost,  the  olfice  that  must  he  resigned,  the  d'Stinc- 


356  THE  WISE  MAN'  WISE  FOR  FUTURITY. 

tions  that  must  then  be  levelled,  the  possessions  that  must  be  relin- 
quished, the  exertions  that  must  terminate,  and  the  pause  that 
must  ensue  to  all  our  schemes.  We  should  live  with  the  whole 
scene  before  us,  and  often  summon  the  mind  to  bear,  with  all  its 
native  energies,  upon  that  most  interesting  epoch  of  our  history. 
I  knew  a  man,  who,  for  years,  kept  his  coffin  in  his  chamber,  often 
placed  himself  in  the  narrow  house,  and  often  contemplated  the 
scenes  of  his  interment,  and  thus  kept  himself  familiar  with  the 
hour  of  his  dissolution.  Now  should  we  not,  without  resorting  to 
such  means,  practice  the  same  forethought,  and  thus,  if  possible, 
have  the  terror  of  death  broken,  before  we  are  called  to  the  last 
and  desperate  contest  1  What  argument  can  be  offered  why  this 
concern  should  not  be  the  subject  of  meditation,  rather,  far  rather, 
than  the  erection  of  a  dwelling,  or  a  removal  to  some  distant 
country.  The  wise,  who  go  out  to  meet  the  bridegroom,  will  be 
careful,  not  only  that  their  lamps  are  burning,  but  that  there  is  oil 
in  their  vessels  with  their  lamps. 

3.  To  make  death  a  matter  of  previous  calculation,  is  necessary 
to  the  promotion  of  our  temporal  interest,  and  that  of  our  heirs. 
If  one  may  die  before  his  plans  are  executed,  and  is  strongly  im- 
pressed with  this  truth,  he  will  conceive  none  but  such  as  another 
can  carry  into  operation.  This  would  be  the  dictate  of  wisdom. 
He  will  hold  his  concerns  in  such  a  state  of  order  and  arrange- 
ment, that  he  can,  at  a  moment's  warning,  hand  over  his  records 
and  his  wealth,  to  be  managed  and  enjoyed  with  the  smallest  pos- 
sible embarrassment.  And  such  a  state  of  things  has  always  been 
considered  favorable  to  present  interest.  And  can  any  thought  be 
so  calculated  to  further  this  arrangement  as  the  strong  impression 
of  a  speedy  and  sudden  departure.  Let  a  man  keep  his  concerns 
in  such  a  state  that  if  death  arrest  his  course,  nothing  is  deranged, 
nothing  obscure,  nothing  neglected,  and  he  will  be  the  man  whom 
no  minor  event  can  distract  or  destroy.  If,  then,  we  would  male 
our  calculations  merely  for  the  present  life,  to  often  contemplate 
the  scenes  of  death,  would  further,  unspeakably,  this  one  interest 
But  some  may  feel  that  this  is  an  engagement  too  sordid  to  have 
weight  on  a  point  so  momentous. 

I  observe,  then, 

4.  That  to  well  consider  our  latter  end  will  tend  to  forward  our 
preparation  for  the  scenes  of  death.  We  all,  in  a  sense,  know 
that  we  must  die;  but  this  truth  makes  so  little  impression,  ordi- 
narily, that  we  may  be  said  to  doubt  it.  Young  says,  "  All  men 
think-   all   men   mortal  but   themselves."     Should  a  stranger  from 


THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    FOR    FUTURITY.  35"J 

some  world  where  they  never  die,  glance  his  eye  upon  this,  he 
would  not  have  the  most  distant  conception,  that  we  had  any  fear 
of  such  a  change.  He  would  see  us  so  managing  our  concerns, 
as  if  we  calculated  to  be  the  perpetual  proprietors  of  the  soil 
we  cultivate,  the  merchandize  we  handle,  and  the  dwellings  we  oc- 
cupy. 

In  this  state  of  things  the  thoughts  of  death  are  excluded,  and 
consequently  all  preparation  for  that  hour  is  deferred.  We  have 
too  many  cares  to  give  death,  and  hell,  and  heaven,  and  the  judg- 
ment, any  permanent  lodgement  in  the  mind,  and  too  many  sublu- 
nary affections  to  leave  room  in  the  heart  for  more  sublime  attach- 
ments. The  course,  then,  that  wisdom  would  dictate,  is  plain. 
Let  the  mind  be  emptied  of  its  cares,  and  let  the  heart  dismiss 
some  of  its  beloved  objects  ;  that  they  may  be  better  employed  in 
pondering  the  scenes,  and  fixing  a  grasp  upon  the  objects  of  abet- 
ter life.  Thus  we  should  be  drawn  nearer  to  the  scenes  of  eter- 
nity, should  feel  that  its  interests  demanded  our  care,  and  should 
be  led  to  speed  our  preparation  for  a  dying  hour.  We  are  thus 
urged  to  the  subject,  by  all  that  heaven  is  worth,  by  all  that  is 
shocking  in  a  hopeless  death:bed,  and  by  all  that  is  black,  and 
dark,  and  dreadful,  in  the  untold  horrors  of  the  second  death.  If 
we  hold  an  unbroken  grasp  upon  the  present  life,  and  the  present 
world,  till  we  have  come  to  the  precincts  of  another,  it  must  not 
surprise  us  if  our  dying  lips  are  heard  to  utter  this  melancholy 
outcry,  "  The  harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  I  am  not 
saved."  We  may  have  our  heaven  here  if  we  can  stumble  on  such 
a  wretched  choice,  but  then,  all  beyond  is  hell ;  or  we  may  deposit 
our  treasure  in  heaven,  and  in  that  case  gather  many  of  its  com- 
forts on  our  way  thither. 

Wise  men  have  always  thought  much  on  the  subject  of  death. 
Read  the  history  of  the  patriarchs,  and  prophets,  and  apostles,  and 
how  often  do  we  see  them,  as  it  were,  wandering  amid  the  scenes 
of  the  tomb.  They  contemplated  the  event  of  death,  as  worthy 
to  occupy  a  prominent  place  in  every  scheme  of  life,  prepared 
themselves  a  sepulchre,  and  gave  commandment  concerning  their 
bones,  with  the  same  calmness  as  when  they  thought  of  other 
events.  Solomon  and  David  seemed  to  feel  themselves  nobly  em- 
ployed in  describing  the  scenes  of  the  dying  hour.  Locke  and 
Newton,  men  of  the  noblest  genius,  esteemed  the  present  world 
as  but  their  temporary  residence.  And  if  the  frequent  contempla- 
tion of  a  great  subject  is  evidence  of  a  creat  mind,  men  may  not 
hope  to  evince  their  wisdom  by  dismissing  the    subject   of  death, 


35S  THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    FOR    FUTURITY. 

and  the  grave.  Compared  with  these,  all  other  subjects  are  small 
and  mean.  Am  I  to  drop  this  body,  and  enter  an  unknown  world, 
and  find  a  far  different  state  and  different  employ  ;  these  are  great 
and  grand  ideas  that  deserve  all  the  strength  of  the  mind,  and  all 
the  energy  of  the  heart  in  their  slow  and  prayerful  contemplation. 
Does  death  finish  my  character,  and  fix  my  destiny,  and  place  me 
unalterably  in  paradise  or  perdition  ;  1  have  not  a  care  so  worthy  to 
occupy  my  intellect,  nor  a  scene  in  contemplation  on  which  I  so 
much  hang  my  hopes,  and  about  which  cluster  affections  so  wor- 
thy the  dignity  of  my  immortal  nature.  "  0  that  they  were  wise." 
You  have  known  cases,  when  men,  occupying  the  same  prison, 
were  under  the  same  sentence  of  death.  You  entered  their  apart- 
ment on  the  morning  of  their  execution.  One  was  sporting  in  his 
chains,  as  indifferent  to  the  scene  before  him  as  if  no  crime  had 
been  committed,  and  no  judgment  had  been  given.  You  was  ready 
to  presume,  that  he  did  not  know  that  his  last  day  had  come,  and, 
when  undeceived  on  this  point,  did  you  not  instinctively,  pro- 
nounce him  a  fool  1  His  fellow  sat  solitary  in  the  corner  of  his 
cell,  casting  his  eye  along  the  pap^e  of  inspiration,  and  when  he 
saw  you  he  fixed  upon  you  a  look  of  wishfulness  and  of  agony,  and 
exclaimed,  "  This  is  my  last  day  !"  Did  he  not  then  exhibit  a 
dignity  that  commanded  your  tearful  respect  1  The  one  intended 
to  postpone  the  cares  of  death  till  he  perished,  the  other  pondered 
the  scene  as  it  approached,  and  when  the  last  day  had  come,  could 
think  of  nothing  else.  From  the  one  you  turned  with  disgust,  the 
other  you  honored.  Yes,  and  we  have  the  same  impression,  when 
we  meet  with  men  of  these  opposite  characters  in  the  streets,  that 
you  had  when  you  entered  the  precincts  of  that  dungeon.  The 
one  will  not  speak  nor  permit  us  to  speak  of  any  world  but  this ; 
the  other  gladly  accompanies  us  to  the  death-bed  and  the  judg- 
ment. The  one  we  honor,  and  the  other  we  pity.  We  know  that 
both  are  condemned  by  the  law  of  God,  and  that  both  must  die, 
and  be  judged,  and  have  their  state  unalterably  fixed,  and  live  in 
glory  for  ever,  or  lie  down  in  "  shame  and  everlasting  contempt." 
We  feel  that  it  would  be  wise  in  them  to  lay  these  things  to  heart, 
and  speak  of  them  as  amazing  realities,  and  they  sink  in  our  esti- 
mation if  we  see  them  reluctant  to  cast  a  look  beyond  the 
sepulchre.     • 

REMARKS. 

1    Men  are  sometimes  afraid  to  think  of  death,  presuming  that 
such  thoughts  are  a  pre'  ude  to  its  approach.     1  believe  it   is   often 


THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    FOR    FUTURITY.  359 

impressed  upon  their  minds,  that  to  converse  with  the  scene  would 
absolutely  urge  on  their  dissolution.  But  we  shall  die  a  one  the 
sooner,  if  we  often  contemplate  the  solemnities  of  our  departure. 
Nor  will  death  stay  his  progress  if  we  push  from  us  all  thoughts 
of  his  advance.  In  the  counsels  of  heaven  there  is  an  appointed 
time  when  we  shall  receive  our  arrest,  and  the  places  that  know 
us  shall  know  us  no  more.  Why  then  be  afraid  to  meet  the 
thoughts  of  futurity,  and  to  converse  with  the  grave.  We  have  a 
preparation  to  make.  If  nothing  is  yet  done,  then  no  other  subject 
should  engross  the  mind  till  something  is.  Will  a  wise  man  culti- 
vate his  fields,  till  he  has  made  some  effort  to  have  his  heart  fruit- 
ful in  the  affections  of  the  gospel!  Will  he  be  careful  for  an  es- 
tate, till  he  has  laid  up  his  treasure  in  heaven  !  Will  he  adjust 
his  accounts  with  men,  and  feel  no  concern  to  settle  the  quarrel, 
and  have  the  debt  cancelled,  that  stands  against  him  on  the  records 
of  his  Maker!  Will  he  regard  the  esteem  of  men,  and  make  no 
effort  to  wipe  from  his  character  the  almost  indelible  stigma 
which  sin  has  stamped  upon  his  moral  reputation!  There  is  no 
other  concern  worth  your  care  if  God  is  your  enemy.  Be  this  the 
first,  and  be  this  the  only  care,  till  that  tremendous  controversy  is 
happily  adjusted. 

•2.  Sometimes  men  are  afraid  to  think  of  death,  because  they 
know  that  they  are  not  prepared.  They  are  scared  at  their  own 
condition.  I  recollect  to  have  seen  it  stated,  that  much  of  the  city 
of  Paris  is  undermined  by  a  quarry,  now  improved  as  a  cemetery, 
where  moulder  the  ashes  and  the  bones  of  its  former  gay  anil 
thoughtless  population.  Fears  have  been  entertained  that  it  might 
one  day  sink  into  that  deep  and  fearful  sepulchre.  A  slight  shock 
of  an  earthquake  might  be  sufficient  to  break  the  deceitful  incrus- 
tation upoji  which  they  revel,  and  under  which  they  are  destined 
to  rot.  Lest  any  should  take  alarm  at  their  frightful  situation,  I 
am  told,  there  is  a  law  of  the  city  forbidding  its  inhabitants  to  ex- 
plore the  vault  that  yawns  beneath  them.  Thus  sinners  covet  the 
calm  that  arises  from  ignorance  of  their  true  condition.  But  blind- 
ed as  they  may  keep  themselves  to  their  real  danger,  their  condi- 
tion remains  the  same,  and  the  pit  which  they  may  industriously 
cover  still  waits  to  receive  them.  One  would  think  it  more  wise 
to  endeavor  to  know  the  worst  of  their  case,  and  if  on  an  impar- 
tial survey  it  shall  appear  desperate,  aim  to  secure,  while  it  is  pos- 
sible, their  future  safety  and  blessedness.  But  be  the  danger  of 
delay  more  or  less  imminent,  they  still  covet  a  little  more  sleep,  a 
little  more  slumber,  a  little  more  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep.     If 


360  THE    WISE    MAN    WISE    FOR    FUTURITY. 

the  result  of  their  delay  is  perdition,  all  this  danger  they  intend  to 
Tisk. 

3.  Others,  perhaps,  refuse  to  consider  their  latter  end  because 
conscience  would  then  urge  them  to  fly  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and 
render  them  unhappy,  if  they  still  urged  their  way  to  death.  Hav- 
ing by  some  means  or  other  come  to  the  monstrous  conclusion, 
that  religion  would  render  them  miserable,  they  have  barred  their 
minds  and  their  hearts  against  all  its  claims.  Hence  every  argu- 
ment, and  every  thought  that  may  suggest  an  argument,  and  every 
object  that  may  awaken  such  a  thought,  are  barred  from  every 
possible  approach  to  the  mind.  In  this  condition  no  meditations 
are  so  painful,  as  those  by  which  the  mind  approaches  the  unseen 
world,  and  gently  lifts  the  curtain  that  hides  futurity.  If  men- 
should  act  so  madly  in  their  worldly  concerns,  they  would  merit  a 
cage,  a  chain,  or  a  guardian.  They  fly  from  their  best  friends, 
abandon  their  highest  interests,  and  linger  on  the  shores  of  death 
from  the  impression  that  to  live  for  ever  would  render  them 
wretched. 

4.  To  all  but  those  who  reject  a  Savior,  the  meditations  of 
death  and  the  grave  are  pleasant.  Here  is  a  period  to  all  their 
pains,  their  toils,  their  fears,  and  their  doubts.  In  death  they  drop 
this  dying  body,  and  leave  in  the  grave  the  last  relics  of  corrup- 
tion. All  beyond  is  life,  and  joy,  and  immortality.  There,  for  the 
first  time,  the  good  man  will  have  that  view  of  Christ  which  he  has 
always  longed  to  enjoy,  and  be  himself  what  he  has  always  wished 
lo  be.  Hence  the  good  man  often  finds  the  pulse  of  his  joy  quick- 
ened by  conversing  with  the  grave.  To  him  it  appears  closely 
connected  with  the  life  and  the  joys  to  come.  Where  the  sinner 
finds  nothing  but  corruption  and  misery,  he  gathers  hope,  and  joy, 
and  life.  To  him,  to  live  is  Christ,  but  to  die  is  gain.  How  de- 
lightful when  we  can  thus  think  of  death,  divested  of  its  sting,  and 
of  the  grave  as  a  kind  covert  from  the  storm,  a  shelter  and  a  home 
for  the  way-worn  pilgrim. 

APPLICATION'. 

I  have  called  your  attention,  my  dear  friends,  to  this  subject,  be- 
cause I  know  not  how  soon  you  or  I  may  yield  this  transitory  life. 
A  few  past  weeks  have  made,  in  many  of  your  families,  deep  and 
fearful  ravages.  God  is  speaking  to  us  by  these  events,  and  the 
text  is  the  very  language  they  utter.  "  O  that  they  were  wise, 
that  they  understood  this,  that  they  would  consider  their  latter 
end."      If  God  is  heard  when  he  speaks,  it  is  well;  and  if  not,  he 


THE    WISE    JON    WJSE    FOR    FUTURITY.  36] 

will  speak  again  and  again.  Have  we  resolved  to  turn  our  feet  to 
his  testimonies  (  Will  professors  of  piety  closely  examine  their 
hearts  and  their  lives,  and  inquire  whether  they  have  been  born  of 
God,  and  are  bringing  forth  fruit  meet  for  repentance  1  May  we 
see  prayer  in  all  their  families,  and  piety  in  their  daily  conversa- 
tions/ Will  those  who  have  no  hope  that  their  state  has  been 
altered  relax  a  little  their  care  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  give 
themselves  leisure  to  attend  to  the  things  that  belong  to  their 
peace,  before  it  be  hidden  from  their  eyes  1  Will  parents  deter- 
mine to  go  home,  and  set  their  house  in  order,  and  prepare  to 
leave  their  families  and  their  estates  for  ever  1  May  we  hope  that 
the  close  contemplation  of  the  grave,  to  which  we  are  invited,  may 
urge  us  all  to  cleanse  our  consciences  from  guilt,  to  application  to 
God  for  pardon,  and  make  confession  and  restitution  wherein  we 
have  wronged  or  abused  our  fellow-men.  It  will  be  dreadful  to 
come  to  the  death-bed  with  a  conscience  burdened  with  sin,  and 
feel  in  that  painful  hour  the  miseries  of  self-condemnation.  We 
all  have  a  conscience,  and  never  is  it  so  likely  to  gnaw  and  devour 
as  when  some  sudden  attack  of  disease  shuts  us  out  from  all  inter- 
course with  the  world.  Then,  if  our  miseries  do  not  forbid,  the 
busy  mind  will  retrace  our  past  life,  and  perhaps  bring  upon  that 
hour  the  compunction  which  it  should  now  be  our  wish  to  feel, 
and  the  anguish  which  then  we  shall  not  know  how  to  endure. 

Is  our  peace  made  with  God  1  Are  we  making  that  use  of  the 
gospel  which  was  heaven's  design  in  its  publishment  1  Are  we 
becoming  sanctified  through  the  truth  1  Or  is  the  gospel  more 
likely  to  be  a  savor  of  death  unto  death  to  us,  than  of  life  unto 
life  \  Are  there  any  of  our  youth  who  are  beginning  to  inquire 
after  a  Savior  and  a  pardon  1  May  we  hope  that  believers  are 
feeling  as  they  should  do  relative  to  those  who  are  perishing 
around  them'?  Are  they  staying  the  hands  of  their  pastor,  and 
pouring  into  the  ears  of  their  Redeemer  that  effectual,  fervent 
prayer  of  the  righteous,  which "availeth  much.  I  have  hoped,  and 
so  have  others,  that  God  was  about  to  pour  us  'out  a  bless 
True,  there  stand  some  frightful  apprehensions  in  the  way  of  such 
a  blessing.  But  God,  if  he  ever  returns  and  leaves  a  blessing  be- 
hind him,  must  receive  us  before  we  are  worthy.  There  never  will 
be  that  moment  when  he  will  not  see  enough  in  us  to  provoke  him 
rather  to  destroy  us  than  to  save  us.  Hence  our  only  hope  is  that 
he  will  have  mercy  upon  us,  according  to  his  loving  kindness,  and 
according  unto  the  multitude  of  his  tender  mercies. 
46 


SERMON    XXXI. 
THE  DESPERATE   EFFORT. 

MATTHEW,    XI.    12. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  Bllfferetb  violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by  force. 

I  remember  to  have  been  very  much  affected  with  a  scrap  of 
civil  story  which  I  met  with  in  the  history  of  the  Greeks'  escape 
from  the  iron  bondage  of  their  Turkish  oppressors.  After  being 
robbed  and  plundered  some  hundreds  of  years,  they  at  length  at- 
tempted to  escape.  The  enemy  had,  for  some  months,  closely 
besieged  Missolonghi,  and  the  Grecian  band  had  concluded  to  sur- 
render ;  but  as  there  was  nothing  for  them  but  servitude,  or  death, 
they  finally  concluded  not  to  be  taken,  but  to  rush  into  the  fort  at 
the  desperate  moment,  and  blow  themselves  up.  Their  purpose 
fixed,  and  the  light  of  Greece  about  to  be  extinguished  for  ever, 
there  was  one  young  man  who,  with  his  sister,  concluded  to  watch 
the  favored  moment,  and  rush  out  of  the  fort,  and  sell  their  lives 
as  dear  as  possible,  and  make  their  attack  where  the  ranks  of  the 
foe  were  the  thinnest.  They  did  so  ;  and  the  sister  being  mount- 
ed upon  a  mule,  fought  side  by  side  with  her  brother,  and  both 
were  so  inspired  by  their  desperation  that  they  hewed  themselves 
a  passage,  and  made  their  escape,  and  lived  to  tell  the  story.  Their 
settled  purpose  was  to  die,  sword  in  hand,  or  spill  all  the  Turkish 
blood  they  might,  and  live. 

Thus  men  must  determine  to  put  forth,  in  the  effort  to  reach 
heaven,  all  the  energy  they  can  muster,  and  if  they  do  this,  they 
shall  live.  I  suppose  this  to  be  the  very  spirit  of  the  text,  which 
reads  in  the  original,   "Agonize  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate." 

I  was  similarly  affected  by  a  narrative  of  the  escape  of  a  post- 
man, who,  for  a  very  large  reward,  attempted  to  carry  a  letter 
across  one  of  the  deep  glens  of  Scotland,  through  an  overwhelm- 
ing northeast  storm.  He  had  been,  if  1  remember  right,  a  shep- 
herd, and  fearlessly  set  out  on  the  enterprise,  while  many  were 
filled  with  apprehension  for  his  life,  if  the  storm  did  not  subside. 
The  weather  was  excessively  cold,  and  the  violence  of  the  storm 
rendered  il  impossible  to  see  any  track  of  man  or   beast,   through 


THE  DESPERATE  EFFORT.  363 

the  whole  glen.  The  only  chance  of  a  safe  arrival  consisted  of 
some  knowledge  he  had  of  the  ground,  where  he  had  many  a  time 
driven  his  flocks  in  summer.  But,  as  he  afterward  assured  us,  one 
may  have  a  very  accurate  knowledge  of  the  way  in  summer,  while, 
in  a  winter  storm  of  snow,  at  night,  the  whole  way  seems  like  a 
trackless  ocean.  It  is  said  that  some  of  those  glens  in  Scotland 
are  so  full  of  snow  in  winter  as  not  to  thaw  out  in  midsummer. 

His  courage,  as  the  storm  thickened,  and  the  cold  increased, 
would  have  failed,  hut  at  length  it  became  as  doubtful  whether  he 
could  find  the  way  back,  as  whether  he  should  succeed  in  crossing 
the  mountain  ridge  in  safety.  As  he  had  to  cross  many  a  small 
stream,  now  filled  with  snow,  he  not  unfrequently  sunk,  and  wet 
his  feet  in  the  stream,  and  on  bringing  them  up  again  to  the  cold 
air,  they  froze,  and  at  length  became  so  disabled  that  he  could  rise 
on  his  feet  no  more,  and  he  had  to  press  forward  on  his  kne 
well  as  he  could.  From  some  indications,  he  concluded  that  he 
had  well  nigh  crossed  the  glen,  and  might,  by  lifting  up  his  voice, 
be  heard.  He  cried  aloud  for  help — a  lost  traveler! — but  cried 
in  vain.  At  length  he  became  frozen  to  his  knees,  and  he  could 
only  worm  himself  onward  with  his  hands,  for  he  knew  that  when 
he  should  cease  all  exertion,  he  must  immediately  die,  and  there 
was  a  possibility  that  his  cry  might  be  heard,  and  he  should  live. 
Hence  he  raised  again  and  again  his  cry,  a  lost  traveler  !  But  at 
length,  a  little  opening  of  the  storm  showed  a  shepherd's  cot  at 
hand.  He  had  not  missed  his  way  to  the  cottage  of  a  shepherd 
which  he  sought,  and  easily  wormed  himself  to  his  very  door,  and 
gave  the  signal  that  saved  his  life.  His  friend  opened  to  him  and 
built  a  fire,  and  warmed  him  into  recollection  and  recovery. 

But  if  that  man  had  not  persevered  after  he  had  frozen  his  feet, 
and  even  after  he  could  no  longer  travel  on  his  lower  limbs,  but  had 
to  worm  his  way  on  his  elbows,  he  must  have  died.  Although 
he  was  near  the  shepherd's  cot,  yet  as  he  did  not  know  his  posi- 
tion, if  his  resolution  had  failed  for  a  moment,  and  exertion  had 
ceased,  he  must  have  died.  He  agonized  to  live,  and  his  agonizing 
saved  him.  And  if  we  will  only  thus  agonize  to  live  for  ever,  we 
shall  live  for  ever. 

There  is  not  an  enterprise  we  undertake  that  requires  so  much 
exertion  as  to  reach  heaven.  Those  who  conclude  that  they  know 
enough  of  the  subject  already,  and  that  heaven  will  come  as  :i 
thing  of  course,  and  fold  their  arms  and  slumber  on,  will  die  in 
their  sins,  and  never  see  the  Kin<r  in  his  beauty-  The  few  years 
of  their  probation  will  slip  by  before  they  are  aware,  and  they  will 


3G4  THE    DESPERATE    EFFORT. 

just  begin  to  feel  the  importance  of  doing  something,  whei  they 
shall  find  themselves  upon  a  dying  bed,  the  harvest  past,  the  sum- 
mer ended,  and  they  unsanctified.  The  Divine  direction  is, 
"  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate,"  agonize  to  enter  in.  There 
is  here  no  tameness,  nor  waiting,  nor  listlessness,  nor  indifference. 
We  are  to  put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,  and  force  our  way  to 
heaven,  as  men  cut  themselves  a  path  by  dint  of  prowess,  through 
the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  and  make  their  escape,  when  there  seems 
nothing  before  them  but  death.  Who  can  you  expect  to  be  con- 
cerned for  your  salvation,  if  you  care  not  for  it  yourself?  Who 
will  agonize  for  your  cleansing,  and  your  pardon,  and  your  accept- 
ance, if  you  care  for  none  of  these  things  !  If  God  ever  inter- 
pose in  your  behalf,  the  first  thing  he  will  do  will  be  to  awaken  you 
to  the  concerns  of  your  own  soul.  If  you  are  not  now  awakened, 
it  is  certain  you  are  still  in  the  broad  way  to  destruction.  Let  me 
offer  a  few  reasons  why  you  should  try  to  be  saved. 

1.  You  cannot  expect  to  be  saved  without  trying.  "The  kingdom 
of  heaven,"  says  Christ,  "  suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent  take 
it  by  force  :"  implying,  as  all  agree,  that  if  we  would  be  saved, 
we  must  make  great  exertion. 

If  we  would  get  to  heaven  there  is  a  great  deal  of  truth  that  we 
must  know  and  believe.  We  must  be  acquainted  with  the  charac- 
ter of  God  that  we  may  love  him  ;  with  the  character,  offices,  and 
work  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  may  trust  in  him;  with  the  nature 
and  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  we  may  feel  his  sanctifying 
influence.  We  must  be  acquainted  with  our  hearts,  or  we  shall 
never  see  the  need  of  their  being  purified  ;  and  with  all  the  great 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  or  there  will  be  no  medium  of  our  cleans- 
ing. "  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth."  We  must  know  the 
Scripture  account  of  heaven,  or  we  cannot  wish  to  be  there;  and 
to  learn  all  this  truth  will  require  great  exertion. 

We  have  a  great  many  sins  to  subdue,  and  must  calculate  to 
wrestle  hard  for  the  mastery.  Neither  pride,  nor  envy,  nor  anger, 
nor  vanity,  nor  ambition,  nor  lust,  nor  selfishness,  can  enter 
heaven.  We  must  put  off  all  these:  "anger,  wrath,  malice,  blas- 
phemy, filthy  communication  out  of  our  mouth."  These  vile 
affections  must  all  have  been  subdued  when  we  reach  heaven.  The 
warfare  is  no  mean  one.  And  more  yet :  "  we  wrestle  not  against 
flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities,  against  powers,  against 
the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wicked- 
ness in  bigh  places."  We  must  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  nnd 
lay  hold  on  eternal  life. 


THE  DESPERATE  EFFORT.  3G5 

Nor  can  we  enter  heaven  unless  we  have  all  the  features  of  the 
Divine  image:  we  must  "add  to  our  faith,  virtue;  and  to  virtue, 
knowledge  ;  and  to  knowledge,  temperance  j  and  to  temperance, 
patience  ;  and  to  patience,  godliness  ;  and  to  godliness,  brotherly- 
kindness;  and  to  brotherly-kindness,  charity."  We  must  be 
familiar  with  the  exercises  of  "love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering, 
gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance."  We  must 
"  forget  those  things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto 
the  things  which  are  before,  and  press  toward  the  mark  for  the 
prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  Now,  all  this 
implies  great  exertion,  which,  if  we  do  not  make,  we  cannot  reach 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

2.  Striving  to  be  saved,  you  have  the  most  kind  assurance  of  sue 
cess.  The  obstructions  to  your  salvation  are  all  removed,  on  God's 
part,  by  the  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  God  can  now  be 
"just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  that  believeth."  "  Mercy  and  truth 
are  met  together,  righteousness  and  peace  embrace  each  other." 
If  you  seek  wisdom  "  as  silver,  and  search  for  her  as  for  hid  trea- 
sure," you  shall  "understand  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  find  the 
knowledge  of  God."  "  He  that  seeketh  findeth,  and  to  him  that 
knocketh  it  shall  be  opened."  And  hence  the  kind  invitation, 
"  Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon  him  while 
he  is  near."  "  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighteous 
man  his  thoughts,  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord  and  he  will  have 
mercy  upon  him,  and  to  our  God  for  he  will  abundantly   pardon." 

Sinner,  as  God  is  true,  who  has  given  all  these  assurances  and 
promises,  it  will  be  your  own  fault  if  you  are  not  saved;  and  you 
will  have,  to  torment  you  in  the  future  world,  the  consciousness 
that  you  chose  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  your  deeds 
were  evil.  You  might  have  lived  in  heaven,  had  you  not  despised 
the  mercy  offered  you,  and  counted  yourself  unworthy  of  everlast- 
ing life.  When  was  it  ever  known  that  a  sinner  made  any  suitable 
exertions  to  be  saved,  and  still  was  lost  1  Among  all  their  unrea- 
sonable complaints  of  perdition,  none  ever  had  occasion  to  say, 
"  I  went  to  the  Savior,  at  his  invitation,  and  believed  the  promises, 
and  bad  assurances  of  pardon,  and  hope  of  heaven,  ami  yel  am 
lost!"  No!  not  one  of  the  spirits  in  prison  can  have  any  Buch 
alleviation  of  his  torment  as  the  thought  that  he  perished  through 
the  failure  of  a  Savior's  promise.  Why  then  will  you  not  he  saved  ' 
God  will  glorify  himself  by  you,  either  in  your  destruction  or  sal- 
vation, and  he  commands  you  to  choose  life.  But  you  inns: 
choose  now — "  now  is  the  accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salva- 


366  THE    DESPERATE    EFFORT. 

tion."     If  you  will  not  believe,  the  sin  and  the  ruin  will  be  your 

own. 

3.  You  should  try  to  be  saved,  because,  with  a  heavenly  temper, 
you  can  be  more,  useful  in  life.  How  much  can  you  do  to  induce 
men  to  respect  the  name  of  God,  and  obey  his  law,  and  honor  his 
government,  and  keep  his  Sabbaths,  and  revere  his  sanctuary,  and 

'obey  his  gospel.  You  can  set  an  example  to  men  of  all  the  duties 
of  piety,  and  induce  others,  by  your  godly  conversation,  to  glorify 
your  Father  in  heaven,  and  thus  become  a  light  of  the  wrorld.  You 
can  help  to  strengthen  Christian  affection,  and  bind  into  a  still 
closer  and  lovelier  union  the  members  of  the  body  of  Christ.  You 
can  aid  their  joy,  and  promote  their  sanctification  and  their  use- 
fulness. You  can  set  an  example  of  the  moral  virtues,  and  by  your 
conduct  and  precepts,  elevate  public  sentiment,  till  a  great  amount 
of  the  misery  that  falls  to  the  lot  of  sinners  around  you  shall  be 
cured  or  alleviated.  And  when  saved  yourself,  you  can,  by  God's 
blessing,  induce  other  sinners  to  fly  for  refuge,  and  lay  hold  on 
the  hope  set  before  them  in  the  gospel.  But  none  of  this  can  it 
be  hoped  you  will  do,  till  you  are  saved  yourself. 

4.  You  should  try  to  be  saved,  because  you  could  be  so  useful  in 
>.  God  has  given  you  a  mind,  and  if  not  now  the  most  bril- 
liant, it  might  perhaps  be  such  in  heaven.  The  rough  block  of 
marble  may  embosom  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  polished 
and  useful  workmanship.  Your  mind,  could  it  once  be  placed  in 
the  school  of  Christ,  and  afterward  in  heaven,  might  claim,  for 
aught  you  know,  a  blessed  elevation  among  its  ransomed  choirs. 
Unclog  it,  and  none  can  say  but  it  may  yet  vie  with  angelic  pow- 
ers. And  God  might  then  employ  it,  we  know  not  how,  in  the 
loftiest  enterprise.  We  do  not  believe  that  heaven  will  be  a  place 
of  idleness.  Some  new  anthem  may  perpetually  elicit  more  de- 
light through  all  the  heavenly  courts.  Some  new  means  of  doing 
good  to  that  world,  or  this,  or  some  other,  may  from  time  to  time 
arrest  the  attention  of  angels,  and  secure  the  co-operation  of  all 
the  holy  assembly.  Such,  we  may  suppose,  was  the  visit  of  Ga- 
briel to  Daniel  ;  and  such  the  song  of  angels,  heard  by  the  watch- 
fid  shepherds,  at  the  birth  of  Christ.  None  can  say  that  the  Re- 
deemer may  not  employ,  in  administering  the  government  of  this 
world,  the  very  beings  he  has  redeemed  from  it  with  his  blood.  O 
sinner !  we  regret  that  you  should  be  lost,  for  we  know  not  how 
useful  you  might  be  in  heaven. 

5.  You   should  try  to  be   saved    also,  because  you   could  be  so 
happy  in   heaven.     Even    in   this   poor  world    there    is    enjoyment. 


THE    DESPEKATE    EFFORT  367 

How  much  greater  will  be  our  bliss  in  heaven,  uheie  all  obstruc- 
tions to  our  happiness  will  be  removed.  There  will  be  no  unhal- 
lowed passions  to  be  excited.  No  pain  will  there  arise  from  anger, 
wrath,  malice,  envy,  ambition,  covetousness,  pride,  vanity,  lust, 
jealousy,  or  revenge.  There  will  be  no  natural  body  to  hunger, 
thirst,  faint,  and  tire  ;  to  suffer  pain  from  frost,  or  heat,  or  famine, 
or  pestilence,  or  wound,  or  bruise,  or  mutilation,  or  death.  There 
will  be  no  foe  to  hurt  your  character,  your  interest,  your  feelings, 
or  your  person  ;  no  rival  to  hate,  or  inferior  to  despise.  There 
will  be  in  heaven  no  sun  to  scorch,  or  storm  to  destroy,  or  moon 
or  sun  to  be  eclipsed,  or  sky  to  be  clouded  Suppose  all  this,  and 
how  much  of  life's  misery  is  gone. 

Add  now  to  the  removal  of  these  obstructions  every  positive 
good  that  an  Almighty  God  can  bestow;  a  mind  fully  illuminated, 
a  heart  the  seat  of  every  kind  and  holy  affection,  a  conscience  ex- 
onerated from  o-uilt,  an  imagination  unlimited  in  its  power  of  con- 
ception, a  judgment  that  can  never  err.  Let  there  be  presented 
to  the  admiring  view  all  that  is  lovely,  all  that  can  be  included  in 
the  golden  city,  the  rivers,  and  the  tree  of  life,  the  banquet  of  the 
Lamb,  "the  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory,"  the 
everlasting  song,  the  uninterrupted  rest,  and  the  society  for  ever 
of  holy  men  and  holy  angels.  All  this  would  render  you  so  happy, 
that  we  cannot  endure  the  thought  of  your  being  lost.  Try  then 
to  be  saved,  that  you  may  be  happy  in  heaven. 

6.  What  others  have  done  for  your  salvation  should  induce  you 
to  try  to  be  saved.  The  plan  for  your  redemption  was  laid  in 
heaven.  To  accomplish  it,  the  Son  of  God  became  incarnate, 
lived  a  life  of  sorrow,  and  died  on  the  cross,  and  now  ever  lives  to 
make  intercession  for  you.  How  much  he  must  have  cared  for 
your  soul  !  In  the  achievement  of  the  same  plan  of  mercy,  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  sent  from  heaven  to  awaken  and  sanctify  you. 
He  has  often  strove  with  you,  lias  produced  alarm  in  your  con- 
science, and  perhaps  deep  conviction ;  has  given  the  truth  some- 
times a  fixed  lodgment  by  the  side  of  your  heart.  Thus  has  he 
evinced  his  readiness  to  save  you.  And  his  ministers,  loo,  have 
long  and  earnestly  pleaded  with  you.  In  many  a  sermon,  unless 
you  have  absented  yourself  from  the  house  of  God,  they  have 
pleaded  with  you  to  "flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  lay  hold 
on  everlasting  life."  And  they  have  sometimes  fell  an  agony  for 
your  soul,  that,  it  would  seem,  could  not  be  denied.  They  have 
prayed  for  you  many  n  time  in  the  midnight  hour,  and  then  have 
come  from  their  closets  and  wept  over  you — and  all.  it  -'.'ems,  to 
no  purpose. 


368  THE  DESPERATE  EFFORT. 

It  may  be  that  a  pious  parent  has  long  cared  for  your  soul. 
Through  the  fear  that  you  would  be  lost,  that  faithful  friend  may 
have  wished  many  a  time  that  you  had  never  been  born.  O  !  could 
you  have  known  the  anxiety  and  the  agony  of  that  parent,  while 
watching  over  the  slumbers  of  your  cradle,  then  you  would  try  to 
be  saved. 

And  it  may  be  that  a  pious  brother,  or  sister,  or  wife,  is  at  this 
moment  pleading  at  the  throne  of  grace  for  your  salvation.  And 
will  you  not  then  care  for  yourself,  and  try  to  be  saved  1  All  this 
care  for  you — and  you  none  for  yourself! 

7.  You  should  try  to  be  saved,  because  you  must  be  infinitely 
degraded  in  hell.  You  are  to  remember,  that  you  were  made  a  lit- 
tle lower  than  the  angels  ;  that  you  have  a  nature  capable  of  being 
elevated  to  a  close  companionship  with  them,  and  of  pouring  forth 
a  praise  as  noble,  and  glowing  with  a  love  as  ardent  as  theirs. 
And  now  to  think  of  sinking  with  such  a  nature  down  to  hell, 
of  being  the  companion  of  devils,  and  of  employing  your  lips 
in  unceasing  blasphemy, — how  gloomy  the  conception  !  There 
will  be,  in  your  case,  the  shame  of  being  convicted,  and  that  be- 
fore assembled  worlds,  and  of  being  banished  into  outer  darkness, 
where  is  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  And  your  fall  from  the 
hope  of  heaven  must  be  known.  You  must  be  for  ever  congre- 
gated with  the  meanest  of  your  race,  the  thief,  the  robber,  the 
murderer,  the  swindler,  the  liar,  the  drunkard,  and  the  whole  mass 
of  convicts.  And  your  employment  will  be  suited  to  the  temper 
of  your  heart,  and  all  restraint  removed.  Hence  despair,  and  blas- 
phemy, and  malice,  and  revenge,  will  be  the  habitual  and  the  de- 
graded exercise  of  the  damned. 

Hell  will  be  the  grand  prison  of  the  universe,  where  will  be  col- 
lected the  incorrigibly  wicked,  the  smoke  of  whose  torment  will 
ascend  up  for  ever  and  ever,  marking  out  the  place  as  the  most  ac- 
cursed spot  in  all  the  dominion  of  God.  The  ignominy  of  such  an 
imprisonment,  and  such  a  damnation,  if  there  were  no  positive 
punishment  inflicted,  no  quenchless  fire,  nor  never-dying  worm, 
would  be  more  than  can  be  endured.  "  Can  thine  heart  endure,  or 
can  thine  hands  be  strong  in  the  day  that  I  shall  deal  with  thee  V 

8.  You  should  try  to  be  saved,  because  the  most  bitter  reflections 
await  you  if  you  are  not  saved.  You  will  reflect  how  much  was 
done  to  save  you  ;  how  much  the  Savior  did  ,  how  much  the  Fa- 
ther did  ;  how  much  the  Spirit  did  ;  how  much  your  Christian 
friends  did — all  to  no  purpose.  You  will  reflect  how  many  ser- 
mons, and  prayers,  and  tears,   and   entreaties,   and   Sabbaths,   and 


THE    DESPERATE    EFFORT  369 

sacraments,  and  admonitions  of  conscience,  and  revival  seasons, 
and  alarming  events  of  Providence,  have  spent  their  force  upon 
you  to  no  purpose,  hardening  you,  when  perhaps  they  might  have 
saved  you. 

You  will  reflect  how  easy  were  the  terms  of  salvation  ;  that  you 
were  offered  life  if  you  would  only  believe  ;  that  no  truth  was  re- 
quired to  be  believed  but  that  of  which  you  had  evidence,  and  no 
duty  to  be  done  but  that  which  would  have  been  pleasant  ;  that 
your  life,  if  yen  had  believed,  would  have  been  more  happy,  your 
death  tranquil,  and  your  eternity  glorious.  You  will  reflect  how 
nigh  you  came  to  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  was  lost.  Born  in  a 
Christian  land,  of  Christian  parents,  the  Bible  early  in  your  I 
and  you  as  early  taught  to  read  it,  given  up  to  God  from  your 
birth,  instructed  carefully  in  the  truth,  and  furnished  with  theSab- 
bath,  and  all  its  holy  appendages — it  will  seem  to  you,  for 
that  you  sunk  down  to  perdition  from  the  very  threshold  of  heavei. 

You  will  reflect  how  many,  with  no  more,  and  perhaps  fewer  ad 
vantages  than  you,  have  escaped  to  heaven.  Your  brother  oj 
sister,  it  may  be,  was  saved,  while  you  were  lost.  Some,  perhaps, 
your  immediate  friends,  of  wicked  families,  and  having  nothing 
like  the  advantages  that  you  had,  have  reached  heaven,  while  you 
have  been  lost.  Shall  these  bitter  reflections  prey  upon  you  like 
a  famine,  or  a  pestilence,  for  ever  ]  'Will  you  not  try  to  be  saved  \ 
"  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate  ;  for  many,  I  say  unto  you, 
shall  seek  to  enter  in,  and  shall  not  be  able." 

9.  You  should  attempt  now  to  be  saved,  because  the  longer  you 
postpone,  the  less  is  the  probability  that  the  attempt  will  ever  be  made. 
Whatever  are  the  reasons  of  the  postponement,  they  are  reasons 
furnished  by  depravity,  and  will,  of  course,  increase  with  the 
growth  of  sin.  If  it  be  enmity  to  the  kind  and  lovely  Savior,  it 
will  multiply  with  your  years,  and  ripen  with  your  age.  If  his 
eternal  excellences  have  never  yet  won  your  heart — if  the  glories 
that  have  attracted  the  gaze,  and  waked  the  song  of  angels,  and 
been  echoed  in  notes  of  victory  through  the  caverns  of  death, 
have  produced  no  thrill  of  joy  in  your  soul,  how  can  you  hope 
that,  as  hi.s  glories  shall  become  brilliant,  and  the  notes  of  In- 
quest shall  wax  louder  and  louder,  your  spirit  will  become  sub- 
dued \  "Will  it.  not  rise  in  its  wrath,  and  envenomed  at  length  like 
the  serpent  that  has  plunged  its  fangs  into  its  own  life-s- 
its own  damnation,  and  lie  down  in  fire  1  Wait  not  till  heaven  has 
raised  another  shout  of  victory  ;  stay  not  till  Christ  has  conqtl 
the  gods  of  China,  or  quelled  the  demons  of  Hani's  dark  empire, 
'est  his  glories  should  pierce  your  soul  through  with  rhe  poisoned 
17 


370  THE    DESPERATE    EFFORT. 

arrows  of  everlasting  chagrin.  0  wait  not  to  have  the  Hero  of 
Calvary  put  forth  any  hidden  glory  of  his  name  !  Devils  will  taunt 
the  sinner  that  waits  for  this,  and  is  damned.  His  laurels  wave 
already  over  their  dark  empire,  and  their  king  quails  at  His  power, 
mid  dies  anew,  whenever  another,  and  still  another  victory  is  sung. 
10.  Or  do  you  postpone  embracing  the  Savior,  because  you  have 
not  yet  had  your  fill  of  sin?  Surely  it  has  made  you  miserable 
enough.  Your  satiety,  after  a  scene  of  pleasure,  has  sometimes 
been  almost  insupportable.  When  it  threatened  your  health,  or 
your  character,  or  your  business,  to  continue  any  longer  in  sin,  how 
indescribable  have  been  your  sensations  of  regret !  You  wished 
you  had  never  loved  sin,  or  learned  to  sin;  you  wished  that  your 
parents  had  early  restrained  you;  you  regretted  that  you  had  ever 
formed  an  acquaintance  with  that  man  who  tempted  you  to  sin  ; 
that  you  had  ever  been  in  that  circle  whose  bewitching  snares 
have  caught  you  and  held  you  ;  that  ever  you  visited  that  scene 
of  dissipation,  or  went  to  that  house  of  death.  How  horrid,  to  be 
filling  up  life  with  these  regrets,  and  to  pore  unavailingly  over 
what  should  be  at  once  repented  of  and  abandoned  !  How  grovel- 
ling, to  be  howling  upon  your  bed,  when,  if  you  would  only  be  in- 
genuous enough  to  repent,  you  might  be  lifting  up  your  voice  in 
praise,  and  be  singing  on  your  way  to  the  grave,  songs  sweet  as 
ano-els  use.  The  meanness  of  sin  will  render  it  impossible  that 
the  lost  should  have  any  respect  for  themselves,  or  for  each  other 
in  the  world  of  death  !  How  utterly  vain  the  expectation,  that 
there  shall  be  in  that  world  anything  worthy  to  be  called  society,  or 
kindness,  or  friendship  !  0,  it  will  be  all  a  mass  of  despair,  and 
chagrin,  and  hatred,  and  shame;  when,  if  men  would  only  be  wise 
now,  and  accept  the  offered  Savior,  all  this  might  be  exchanged 
for  heaven,  where  kindred  spirits  might  bask  in  everlasting  sun- 
shine through  all  the  years  of  the  existence  of  the  unchanging  God. 

REMARKS. 

1.  But  why  does  God  make  it  so  difficult  to  get  to  heaven  1 
Does  he  delight  to  put  poor  human  nature  upon  such  a  pain- 
ful effort  with  no  specific  design  !  We  suppose  that  God  has 
a  wise  and  good  design,  and  that  his  design  may  be  obvious.  To 
make  such  a  mighty  effort  to  reach  heaven  will  greatly  enhance 
the  joy  of  being  saved.  O,  when  the  effort  is  made,  is  over,  and 
the  object  won,  with  how  much  joy  may  believers  look  back  on 
all  the  way  that  God  led  them  to  his  kingdom.  When  they  shall 
tie  wilderness  all  trodden  over,  every  sin  and  every  foe  suh- 
;'•...,!    nml  every  snare  escaped,  and  look  upon  the    heavenly  route 


THE  DESPERATE  EFFORT.  37] 

from  the  heights  of  Zion,  they  will  sing  the  more  joyfully  to  the 
honor  of  him  who  led  them  by  a  right  way,  that  they  might  go  to 
a  city  of  habitation.  How  joyfully  would  that  Grecian  pair  raise 
among  their  countrymen,  the  long  and  loud  Te  Deum  to  the  God 
of  armies  !  when  there  had  so  few  escaped  and  yet  they  had  es- 
caped, and  when  they  had  found  themselves  the  only  two  who  had 
sold  their  lives  at  any  price,  and  they  had  brought  life  away  with 
them  in  all  its  vigor  and  in  all  its  youth,  life  to  them  would  seem 
more  lovely. 

2.  If  we  have  taken  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  our  goods  ;  knowing 
in  ourselves  that  we  have  in  heaven  a  better  and  an  endurino-  sub- 
stance, and  through  much  tribulation  have  come  where  that  trea- 
sure is,  and  find  it  ample  and  abiding,  heaven  will  always  seem 
worth  more  for  the  cost  of  it.  We  always  value  most  what  cost 
us  most  ;  and  if  heaven  cost  us  more  than  everything  beside,  we 
shall  proportionally  esteem  it.  When  the  whole  family  of  the  re- 
deemed shall  have  vied  with  each  other  through  ten  thousand  ages, 
in  the  effort  to  see  which  can  set  the  highest  price  upon  the  ex- 
ceeding weight  of  glory  that  shall  have  been  poured  in  upon  their 
glorified  spirits,  they  will  not  have  reached  the  price  or  told  the 
value.  Its  price  is  far  above  rubies  One  will  value  that  world 
highly,  because,  in  competitorship  with  a  million  of  his  generation 
he  out-did  them  all  in  the  effort  to  keep  fanned  up  the  flame  of 
holy  love  in  his  heart,  which  held  him  ready  for  a  renewed  conflict 
on  the  bed  of  death  with  that  enemy  who  goes  about  as  a  roaring 
lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour.  Another  and  another  will 
throw  into  their  song  of  victory  the  joy  of  an  exemplary  youth, 
made  so  by  the  constant  application  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  rais- 
ed them  above  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  the  lusts  of  the  eye,  and  the 
pride  of  life. 

One  lovely  mother  will  sing  of  a  reviving  season,  in  the  even- 
ing-time of  life,  which  threw  by,  and  passed  over,  the  storms  that 
had  gathered  about  the  place  of  her  setting  sun,  and  gave  her  joy 
in  death.  Thus  one,  and  another,  and  another,  when  they  shall 
have  fought  the  good  fight,  and  finished  their  course,  and  kept  the 
faith,  and  have  found  laid  up  for  them  in  heaven,  a  crown  of  life, 
will  unite  to  say  in  one  eternal  chorus,  God  is  the  King  !  The  one 
hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  that  have  washed  their  robes 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  will  grace  the 
marriage  supper,  and  utter  in  a  long  and  loud  response,  "  This  is 
the  Lord,  we  have  waited  for  him  and  he  will  save  us  j  this  is  our 
God  !  we  have  waited  for  him  and  we  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in 
his  salvation." 


SERMON    XXXII 

CONCIO    AD  CLERUM. 

2   TIMOTHY     I.    8. 
Be  thou  a  partaker  of  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel. 

Most  other  parts  of  Paul's  instructions  to  Timothy,  have  been, 
at  times,  the  foundation  of  address  to  God's  ministers  ;  but  this,  to 
my  knowledge,  never.  The  opinion  is,  that  Paul  wrote  this  epistle 
some  twelve  or  fifteen  years  after  the  date  of  the  first,  near  the 
close  of  life,  and  while  a  prisoner  at  Rome.  It  contains  his  dying- 
advice,  given  in  view  of  the  assurance  that  his  departure  was  at 
hand.  Timothy  was  his  own  son  in  the  gospel,  and  he  expresses 
for  him  a  peculiar  affection,  and  deals  out  paternal  advice,  in  a 
dress  the  most  kind  and  amiable. 

The  exhortation  in  the  text  is  somewhat  singular.  Did  Timothy 
need  to  be  exhorted  to  become  a  partaker  in  the  afflictions  of  the 
gospel  1  Did  it  depend  on  his  choice,  whether  he  would,  or  would 
not,  be  a  partaker  in  those  afflictions  1  Was  it  desirable  that  he 
stand  ready  and  willing  to  suffer  1  Was  it  honorable  or  necessary 
to  be  afflicted  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  if  he  might  escape  1 
To  all  these  questions  the  text  implies  an  answer  in  the  affirma 
tive. 

It  is  more  than  possible  that  he  saw  Timothy  tempted  to  deny 
his  father  in  Christ,  now  that  he  was  in  bonds.  The  enemy  would 
tauntingly  say,  This  is  the  proselyte,  and  the  pupil  of  that  Paul 
who  has  gone  to  Rome  in  bonds.  Hence  Timothy,  as  Peter  on  a 
former  occasion,  would  be  in  danger  of  saying  I  know  not  the  man. 
He  might  thus  hope  to  escape  the  cross,  and  might  fear  that  other- 
wise  chains  might  be  fastened  on  himself,  as  a  man  equally  dan- 
gerous with  his  master.      Hence  he  exhorts  him  as  in  the  text. 

But  the  exhortation  is  not  of  private  interpretation,  and  will  ap- 
ply to  the  people  of  God,  and  especially  his  ministers,  in  this  age. 
as  readily  as  in  any  one  that  has  gone  by.  In  what  follows  I  shall 
notice  some  of  the  all! id  ions  of  the  gospel,  explain  the  import  of 
the  exhortation,  and  urge  upon  the  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  the 
duty  of  becoming  voluntary  partakers  in  these  afflictions. 


CONCIO    AD    CLEROI.  373 

I.  I  am  to  notice  some  of  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel.  In  doing 
this,  however,  I  shall  rather  dwell  on  the  causes  of  these  afflic- 
tions. 

1.  The  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  must  form  and  defend  an  un- 
popular character.  I  am  aware  that  efforts  have  been  made  to  show 
that  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  the  people  of  God  generally, 
need  have  nothing  about  them  peculiar,  and  I  am  aware,  too,  that 
many,  professing  godliness,  have  made  the  experiment  of  being,  in 
their  whole  deportment,  what  the  world  are.  And  it  cannot  be 
denied,  that  they  have  been,  in  that  case,  greatly  caressed  by  the 
world.  "  If  ye  were  of  the  world  the  world  would  love  his  own." 
Can  we  but  flatter  as  adroitly,  and  dress  as  gaily,  and  joke  as  fa- 
miliarly, and  laugh  as  loudly,  as  the  most  thoughtless  of  the  mul- 
titude, they  will  cease  their  complaints.  With  the  minister  of  the 
gospel  who  can  shine  in  the  party,  and  advocate  the  dance,  and 
make  the  game  innocent,  and  the  theatre  chaste,  and  every  other 
vain  amusement  harmless,  the  world  will  have  no  quarrel.  Not 
the  most  profane,  or  proud,  or  gay,  or  voluptuous,  will  have  any 
fault  to  find  with  him,  when  he  ceases  to  reproach  them.  Let  him 
in  company  keep  back  the  subject  that  would  give  offence,  and 
suppress  the  dissent  that  would  be  unwelcome,  and  bless  whom 
the  world  blesses,  and  rebuke  whom  they  abominate,  and  the  world 
will  pronounce  him  a  fine,  a  charming  fellow.  Let  him  associate 
with  the  gluttonous  man,  and  the  wine-bibber,  and  not  carry  to 
their  house  and  their  table,  the  hard  doctrine,  and  the  pointed  re- 
buke, and  the  distinct  condemnation,  and  the  zeal  for  his  heavenly 
Father's  honor,  which  characterized  the  sociality  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  they  will  agree  to  love  him. 

And  I  have  not  my  eye  now  fixed  on  the  ministry  in  its  gross- 
est aspect  ;  a  ministry  whose  whole  piety  is  a  kind  of  charity  that 
was  not  born  in  heaven,  and  has  neither  creed  nor  conscience.  I 
do  not  associate  such  men  with  the  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ.  But 
in  that  better  school,  where  truth  is  held  in  high  estimation,  and 
charity  is  not  sightless,  and  fellowship  has  gospel  boundaries  n 
is  feared  that  men  may  be  found  who  are  at  great  pains  to  avoid 
the  afflictions  of  the  gospel.  If  they  speak  of  hell,  it  is  with  an 
apology;  if  they  describe  a  bad  heart,  they  "  hope  better  things 
of  their  audience;"  and  if  they  are  driven  to  rebuke  a  vice,  they 
do  it  so  tamely  as  to  make  no  impression.  Hence  the  world  love 
them,  and  feed  them,  and  rally  round  them,  and  admire  their 
prayers,  and  their  oratory,  and  enter  into  close  leagues  of  friend- 
ship with  them.     But  whether  such  was  the  character  of  his  mm- 


374  CONCIO    AD    CLERUM. 

istry,  who  came  from  heaven  to  publish  salvation,  demands  a 
doubt. 

The  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  must  form  an  unpopular  charac- 
ter. They  must  be  more  serious,  more  holy,  more  circumspect, 
more  watchful,  and  prayerful,  and  heavenly-minded,  than  the  world 
would  choose  to  have  them.  They  must  adhere  more  tenaciously 
to  the  truth,  to  sound  maxims  and  correct  principles,  than  other 
men  ;  must  be  emphatically  "  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priest- 
hood, a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people."  The  traits  of  character 
which  the  world  are  prepared  to  eulogize,  they  are  obligated  to 
lash,  and  equally  obligated  to  have  on  the  very  traits  that  give  the 
world  offence.  They  must  be  in  character  and  conduct  like  their 
Master,  having  a  conscience  that  will  not  bend  to  the  exigencies 
of  the  moment ;  a  sternness  of  virtue  that  cannot  allow  iniquity  a 
smile,  a  fixedness  of  sentiment  that  looks  every  unhallowed  maxim 
into  shame,  a  regard  to  the  Divine  glory  that  can  sometimes  wield 
the  surge  of  rebuke,  and  drive  iniquity  from  its  presence.  They 
must  have  on  a  holiness  of  character  that  can  move  on  through 
the  ranks  of  sin  with  unbending  course  ;  and  command,  by  its  self- 
respect,  the  reverence  of  the  very  men  who  would  exterminate  so 
stern  an  integrity. 

And  the  character  they  cultivate  in  themselves  they  must  sus- 
tain in  others.  The  members  of  their  churches  must  know  that 
living  as  Christ  would  have  them,  they  shall  receive  no  reproach 
from  their  pastors,  for  not  becoming,  in  the  perverted  meaning  of 
the  apostle,  all  things  to  all  men. 

They  may  still  put  on  all  the  amiableness  of  the  gospel,  and 
show  out  the  benevolence,  the  meekness,  the  kindness,  the  hospi- 
tality, and  the  ardency  of  friendship,  that  piety  requires ;  and, 
finally,  leave  nothing  to  give  offence,  but  the  sternness  of  virtue 
But  in  conjunction  with  these,  there  must  be,  in  the  ministers  of 
Jesus  Christ,  traits  of  character,  that  the  men  of  the  world  will 
not  admire.  Hence  none  of  the  prophets,  nor  apostles,  nor  Jesus 
Christ  himself,  could  show  kindness  enough  to  atone  to  the  world 
for  their  holy  singularity.  They  partook  largely  in  the  afflictions 
of  piety,  and  went  most  of  them  to  heaven  from  the  cross,  the 
sword,  or  the  flames. 

2.  The  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  must  teach  unpopular  doctrines. 
They  must  show  the  very  nun  who  feel  themselves  to  be  whole, 
and  in  no  need  of  a  physician,  that  they  are  poor,  and  wretched, 
and  miserable,  and  blind,  and  naked.  They  must  exhibit  the  atone- 
ment of  Christ  to  the  very  men  who  would  perish  rather  than  trust 


CONCIO    AD    CLERUIM.  375 

in  him,  as  the  only  foundation  of  their  everlasting  hopes.  The 
men  who  are  prepared  to  say,  What  lack  I  yet  \  must  be  pressed 
with  the  necessity  of  being  born  again.  The  very  men  who  can 
see  little  or  nothing  wrong  in  their  whole  life,  must  be  assured, 
that  except  they  repent  they  must  all  likewise  perish.  And  the 
decrees,  and  the  sovereignty  of  God,  that  so  exalt  Jehovah,  and 
so  debase  the  rebel,  must  be  urged  upon  the  very  men  who  have 
so  little  confidence  in  their  Creator,  that  they  would  not  place  the 
smallest  temporal  interest  at  his  disposal.  And  how  can  such 
doctrines  be  popular  with  such  men  1 

I  know  you  will  refer  me  to  facts,  and  inquire,  Why  are  there 
so  mnny  congregations  who  have  an  orthodox  ministry,  and  still 
all  has  been  harmony  for  half  a  century,  while  yet  there  have  been 
few  or  no  conversions  1  In  this  case  I  have  an  answer  that  per- 
fectly satisfies  me.  The  truth  has  never  reached  the  conscience. 
It  has  been  so  tamely  exhibited,  that  men  have  slept  under  it 
Now  it  is  the  duty  of  Christ's  ministers  to  cure  this  insensibility, 
and  in  doing  it,  just  as  sure  as  God  is  true,  there  must  be  given  a 
new  heart,  or  the  unwelcome  intruder  will  be  made  a  partaker  in 
the  afflictions  of  the  gospel  ?  Compel  a  stupid  man  to  feel  the 
force  of  his  own  creed,  and  he  will  be  as  much  offended  as  when 
you  press  upon  his  conscience  doctrines  which  he  has  long  hated, 
and  long  since  discarded. 

I  know  there  is  a  ministry  which  I  dare  not  term  heretical,  but 
which  gives  no  offence  by  its  doctrines.  The  fact  is,  that  the 
doctrines,  though  not  denied,  are  never  distinctly  exhibited.  -Men 
care  not  what  they  hear,  nor  what  believe,  if  they  may  be  permitted 
not  to  feel  nor  act.  Only  suffer  them  to  sleep  on,  and  you  may 
lecture  from  the  Shaster,  the  Koran,  or  the  Bible.  Let  it  suffice 
that  they  be  quiet  and  orthodox,  and  they  care  not  if  it  be  the 
quiet  of  death,  or  the  cold  orthodoxy  of  the  grave.  But  let  the 
truth  drop  from  the  lips  of  an  honest  ministry,  and  be  pressed 
home  with  energy,  upon  "  consciences  that  have  not  been  sprinkled 
from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God,"  and  that  ministry  will 
soon  become  conversant  with  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel. 

3.  The  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  must  urge  upon  the  world  un- 
popular duties.  It  is  a  great  mistake  that  men  are  any  less  dis- 
pleased with  the  duties  than  with  the  doctri?ies  of  the  gospel.  Let 
duty  be  fully  explained,  and  pressed  home  upon  the  conscience 
with  energy,  till  men  shall  see  no  retreat  from  its  obligations,  and 
no  press  of  doctrine,  the  most  offensive,  can  give  any  keener  pain, 
or  be  more  sure,  where  God  does  not  seal  the  word  by  his  Spirit, 


376  CONCIO    AD    CLERUM. 

to  awaken  the  keenest  displeasure.  Make  the  man  who  never 
prays  see  the  impiety  of  his  neglect,  and  repeat  to  him  that  note 
of  alarm,  "  Pour  out  thy  fury  upon  the  heathen,  and  upon  the  fami- 
lies thai  call  not  upon  thy  name;"  and  you  will  soon  discover  that 
he  feels  himself  as  uncomfortably  urged,  whenever  this  duty  is 
named,  as  when  a  doctrine  which  he  does  not  believe,  or  does  not 
love,  is  pressed  upon  his  faith.  Urge  upon  the  covetous  man  the 
duty  of  giving  liberally,  no  matter  what  the  object,  and  he  will 
writhe  more  under  the  press  of  this  duty,  than  when  urged  to 
believe  the  most  odious  doctrine.  Urge  home  upon  the  conscience, 
no  matter  what  duty,  that  men  are  unwilling  to  perform,  and  you 
offend  them  equally,  as  when  you  teach  a  doctrine  they  are  reluc 
tant  to  believe,  and  in  either  case  draw  upon  yourself  the  afflictions 
of  the  gospel. 

But  the  duty,  as  well  as  the  doctrine,  may  be  so  tamely  and  so 
prudently  named,  as  to  produce  no  sensations.  If  men  are  asleep, 
and  you  do  not  so  lift  up  your  voice  as  to  wake  them,  they  care 
not  whether  the  babbler  utters  a  duty  or  a  doctrine.  But  this  would 
not  have  satisfied  Paul.  If  he  might  have  preached  in  Athens  the 
true  gospel,  unmolested,  but  must  have  seen  that  people  continue 
their  idolatries,  he  would  have  felt  that  he  was  doing  nothing.  It 
is  doubted  whether  doctri?ie  or  duty  was  ever  urged  home  with 
gospel  energy,  but  the  result  was,  the  believing  of  the  doctrines, 
and  the  doing  of  the  duty,  or  the  great  offence  of  the  man  upon 
whose  irritated  conscience  they  had  been  urged  with  unwelcome 
vehemency.     Hence,  again,  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel. 

k  The  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  must  advocate  in  his  Church  an 
unpopular  discipline.  Here  let  us  stop  to  solve  one  problem.  The 
men  of  the  world  are  perpetually  reproaching  professors  of  godli- 
ness for  their  sin.  Urge  religion  upon  them,  and  they  will  reply, 
"  I  am  in  as  fair  a  way  for  heaven  as  your  Christians."  And  often 
we  find  it  no  easy  matter  to  repel  the  charge.  We  lie  down  under 
it,  and  reply,  "  Truly  there  are  men,  without  the  pale  of  the 
Church,  as  generous,  as  pitiful,  as  public  spirited,  as  hospitable, 
a-  quiet,  as  peaceable,  as  kind,  as  neighborly,  as  some  within/' 
u  Wc  know,"  they  will  say,  "that  we  do  not  pray  as  often,  as 
loud,  and  as  long,  as  some  of  your  hypocritical  professors,  but  all 
this  we  more  than  balance  by  our  other  virtues." 

Now  from  all  this  it  would  seem  their  wish,  that  the  Church 
were  more  pure.  Surely  they  would  have  reformed  the.  very 
thing  they  complain  of.  But  the  very  moment  the  Church  com- 
mences a   course   of  discipline,   with   any  wayward   brother,  the 


CONCIO   AD   CLERtTM.  37T 

world  arms  itself  against  all  their  efforts.  Ai  i  often  's  there 
raised  without  the  Church,  an  opposition  that  would  deter  the 
Church  from  attempting  to  purify  her  fellowship.  And  the  minis- 
ter of  Jesus  Christ  is  understood  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  Church's 
purity.  Hence  he  becomes  the  butt  of  rebuke,  with  all  those  who 
would  shield  the  offender  ;  and  should  he  be  passive,  even  to  a 
fault,  still  he  must  bear  the  whole  blame  of  the  process,  and  be- 
come often  the  scape-goat  that  bears  away  into  the  wilderness  the 
sins  of  the  whole  brotherhood.  Thus  he  becomes  a  large  par- 
taker in  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel. 
We  are  now  prepared, 

II.  To  say  that  the  exhortation  of  the  text  implies  two  things. 

1.  That  we  so  minister  in  our  holy  office,  as  to  make  sure  to 
ourselves  all  the  trials  that  faithfulness,  in  a  world  like  ours,  must 
incur.  We  must  form  the  very  character  the  ungodly  disapprove, 
nor  be  willing  to  lack  its  most  odious  ingredient.  We  may  not 
lay  aside  for  an  hour,  that  sobriety,  that  spirit  of  dissent  from 
error,  that  honesty  which  holds  the  tongue  the  sure  index  of  the 
mind,  that  elevation  of  the  affections  which  shrinks  from  a  supreme 
engrossment  in  the  conversation  and  the  cares  of  the  life  that 
now  is. 

We  may  not  conceal  the  features  of  the  new  man,  and  be  reli- 
gious in  secret  only,  or  when  in  the  company  of  God's  people 
The  world  would  agree  to  this.  Can  we  but  act  the  mere  gentle- 
man in  their  society,  and  faun  and  flatter  as  they  do,  and  ever 
smile  and  be  happy,  whatever  the  conversation,  or  sentiments,  or 
temper,  or  men  with  whom  we  come  in  contact,  this  would  satisfy 
them,  and  we  might  be  as  religious  as  we  please  in  our  bed-cham- 
ber. But  such  was  not  the  course  of  Jesus  Christ,  nor  yet  of 
Paul,  even  when  he  became  all  things  to  all  men.  There  must  go 
with  the  man  of  God,  visible  as  the  features  of  his  face,  the  strong 
outlines  of  his  heavenly  character.  After  all  the  allowance  has 
been  made  that  can  be,  for  the  difference  of  character  and  conduct 
that  may  exist  between  the  disciple  and  his  Lord,  still,  in  a  world 
like  ours,  all  gay,  and  thoughtless,  and  dissipated,  we  arc  obli- 
gated to  put  on  so  much  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  wear  the 
lineaments  of  his  image  so  prominent  as  to  ensure  us  a  share  in 
the  reproach  that  fell  on  him,  and  must  help  others  to  do  the 
same;  and  must  pour  the  whole  mass  of  our  influence  into  a 
mighty  effort  to  make  the  whole  Church  of  God  as  unlike  the 
worM  as  possible. 

48 


378  CONCIO    AD    CLE  RUM. 

We  must  feel  obligated  to  draw  upon  ourselves  the  reputation 
of  sustaining  an  unpopular  creed.  We  are  obligated,  I  know,  to 
give  offensive  truth  the  most  ?moffending  aspect,  and  may  exercise 
all  the  wisdom  we  can  summon  in  descrying  the  Tempora  molia 
fandi ;  but  when  all  this  is  done,  still  the  whole  truth,  first  or 
last,  must  come  out,  fully  and  plainly,  and,  when  distinctly  seen, 
will  not  be  approved  by  ungodly  men.  And  the  odium  felt  toward 
the  truth,  will  be  promptly  transferred  to  the  man  who  enforces  it 
upon  the  irritated  conscience. 

Now  the  faithful  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  may  not  attempt  to 
shun  the  trials  that  will  thus  ensue.  It  must  be  his  wish,  as  soon 
as  possible,  to  give  the  truth  all  that  plainness  of  exposition,  and 
point  of  application,  which  will  ensure  the  trials  that  follow.  He 
may  not  keep  the  offensive  doctrines  out  of  view,  nor  exhibit  his 
creed  obscurely,  nor  throw  in  any  salvo  to  prevent  the  truth  from 
taking  a  rank  hold,  or  so  conduct  that  his  daily  lightness  shall 
neutralize  his  Sabbath-day  efforts ;  else  he  wickedly  shuns  the 
afflictions  of  the  gospel.  And  with  the  same  decision  must  he 
urge  the  unpopular  duties  of  the  gospel.  He  may  not  keep  them 
out  of  view,  nor  present  them  obscurely,  nor  invent  excuses  for 
neglecting  them,  nor  lavish  his  smiles  upon  the  man  who  uniformly 
stands  aloof  from  them.  The  precepts  of  Jesus  Christ  in  all  theii 
self-denying,  and  expensive,  and  laborious,  and  holy,  and  unpopular 
attitude,  must  be  promptly  exhibited,  as  claiming  the  obedience 
of  a  world.  And  the  duties  of  the  Bible  thus  fearlessly  exhibited, 
will  as  surely  convert  men,  or  offend  them,  as  the  doctrines.  The 
matter  of  fact  is,  that  the  precepts  imply  the  doctrines,  as  well  as 
the  doctrines  the  precepts  ;  and  the  man  who  urges  home  upon  the 
conscience  the  hated  duty,  no  less  than  he  who  exhibits  the  odious 
creed,  must  calculate,  unless  the  disciple  be  above  his  Lord,  to  be 
a  partaker  of  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel. 

And  he  must  be  known  to  be  the  advocate  of  a  watchful  disci- 
pline in  the  Church  of  Christ.  He  may  be  as  adroit  as  possible  in 
dividing  the  odium  with  the  members  of  his  Church,  it  should  be 
their  wish  to  be  partakers  with  him,  but  when  he  has  lain  hid,  and 
others  have  operated,  as  long  as  possible,  the  hour  will  at  length 
come,  in  every  bad  case  of  discipline,  when  he  must  have  an 
opinion  of  his  own,  and  express  that  opinion,  and  make  proselytes 
to  that  opinion,  and  it  will  be  against  the  conduct  of  the  offender, 
and  will  draw  upon  him  the  odium  of  one  who  needed  the  rod  of 
discip  me  to  make  him  decent.     And  the  offender  has  friends  whe 


COISCIO    AD    CLERUM.  379 

will  enlist  with  him,  and  feel  with  him,  and  hate  with  him,  the  min- 
ister of  Christ,  who  led  on  his  Church  to  the  act  which  covers  the 
Christian  character  of  the  offender  with  a  cloud.  Indeed  it  would 
be  wrong,  if  it  might  be  so,  that  a  Church  of  Christ  should  bear, 
without  the  countenance  of  their  pastor,  the  reproach  of  having 
administered  a  cruel  censure  upon  a  professed  follower  of  Jesus 
Christ :  Hence  no  escape  from  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel. 

2.  The  injunction  of  the  text  implies,  that  when  our  brethren  in 
the  ministry  have  taken  the  course  now  described,  and  have  drawn 
upon  themselves  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel,  we  stand  by  them, 
and  defend  them,  and  encourage  them,  and  take,  as  far  as  may  be,  a 
part  of  their  trials  upon  ourselves.  I  have  suspected  this  to  be  the 
burden  of  the  exhortation.  The  aged  apostle  exhorts  Timothy 
not  to  be  ashamed  of  the  testimony  of  the  Lord,  or  Paul  his  pri- 
soner, but  to  be  a  partaker  of  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel,  accord- 
ing to  the  power  of  God,  He  must  participate  in  the  trials  endured 
by  his  Father  in  Christ  for  his  faithfulness  in  the  dispensations  of 
the  gospel. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  the  offence  of  the  cross  has  ceased.  I 
know  that  Christ's  ministers  are  not  now  in  danger  of  the  same 
kind  of  persecutions  as  in  the  days  of  Paul.  They  do  not  fear 
dungeons,  or  faggots,  or  chains,  or  wild  beasts,  or  the  bloody  cross. 
They  may  apprehend  other  woes  however,  as  the  lash  of  slander, 
the  want  of  bread,  the  permanent  enjoyment  of  a  peaceful  home, 
and  the  means  of  educating  their  offspring.  And  who  would  not 
avoid  these  by  a  more  desperate  effort  than  would  be  made  to  es- 
cape death  itself.  I  know,  too,  that  faith  can  lift  the  mind  above 
a  host  of  trials,  and  render  the  hour  of  desperate  onset  a  time  of 
triumph,  and  make  these  light  afflictions,  which  are  but  for  a  mo- 
ment, issue  in  a  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory.  I 
know,  too,  that  many  ministers,  not  reputed  unfaithful,  escape  the 
trials  I  speak  of.  There  are  no  pointed  exhibitions  of  truth,  no 
extra  efforts  to  save  men  from  death,  no  energy  of  discipline,  no- 
thing to  break  in  upon  the  dead  calm  by  which  a  multitude  of 
souls  are  cradled  into  the  profoundest  slumbers.  And  the  result 
is,  no  revivals,  not  much  growth  in  grace,  and,  of  course,  no  dis- 
order. And  men,  under  such  a  ministry,  often  sleep  so  sweetly, 
that  any  voice  which  shall  wake  them,  even  the  voice  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  is  unwelcome.  Now  such  a  ministry,  I  know,  will  escape 
trials,  and  will  need  none  of  our  sympathy.  Pastor  and  people 
will  plod  on,  till  he  is  snitched  to  heaven,  and  they  scattered  upon 


?80  CONCIO    AD    CLERTJM. 

the  mountains,  or  gathered  and  saved  at   length   under  a  bett.<». 
ministry  that  will  need  our  sympathies. 

III.  I  shall  now  offer  some  reasons  why  the  ministers  of  Jesus 
Christ  should  participate  with  their  brethren,  in  the  afflictions  that 
arise  from  a.  faithful  discharge  of  their  duty. 

1.  To  sustain  our  brethren  when  they  are  in  bonds  for  the  gos- 
pel, is  a  duty  we  owe  to  Jesus  Christ.  He  sent  them  to  preach  his 
gospel,  assuring  them  that  they  went  out  as  lambs  among  wolves, 
and  promised  to  be  with  them  even  to  the  end  of  the  world.  And 
he  makes  good  his  promise,  and  is  with  them,  and  is  a  partaker  in 
all  the  afflictions  they  suffer  for  his  sake.  Would  we  then  do  him 
honor,  we  must  sustain  whom  he  sustains,  and  sympathize  with 
those  who  cannot  compromise  the  honors  of  their  Master  to  escape 
the  cross.  Permit  me  to  say,  as  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  I 
ask  of  the  world  no  greater  honor,  than  to  be  considered  a  prompt 
partaker  in  the  afflictions  of  every  ambassador  of  his  who  suffers 
for  his  name's  sake. 

2.  It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  our  brethren.  If  we  are  the  faithfu 
ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  we  all  belong  to  the  same  embassy,  and 
are  obligated  to  kindness,  not  merely  from  Christian  affection,  but 
from  that  endeared  brotherhood  begotten  by  the  additional  rela- 
tionship of  office.  Hence,  with  regard  to  every  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ,  I  am  bound,  either  to  dispute  his  commission,  or  prove  him 
a  traitor  to  his  Master,  or  stay  his  hands  when  they  hang  down. 
It  was  a  law  in  Israel  that  if  a  beast  had  fallen  under  his  burden, 
one  that  was  passing  by  must  lift  him  up;  what  then  are  we  not 
obligated  to  do  for  our  brethren  in  the  gospel,  when  they  faint 
under  its  afflictions. 

3.  Unless  the  ambassadors  of  Jesus  Christ  sustain  each  other,  the 
influence  of  the  gospel  ministry,  and  of  course  its  usefulness,  are 
greatly  diminished.  Common  sense  declares  that  unity  is  strength. 
And  each  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  knows  how  his  soul  is 
waked  to  energy  by  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  he  is  sustained 
by  his  brethren  in  the  same  office.  And  the  men  we  are  sent  to 
save  are  the  more  prepared  to  yield  their  hearts  and  their  deport- 
ment to  the  influence  of  truth,  when  they  see  it  brouo-ht  to  them 
by  a  united  band;  having  all  one  commission,  and  one  Master,  and 
one  creed,  and  one  heart.  It  then  comes  like  the  overtures  of 
peace,  brouo-ht  not  by  a  single  ambassador,  but  by  the  general  of 
an  army.  Then  the  commission  is  respected,  and  the  overtures 
receive  prompt  and  serious  attention. 


C0NCI0    AD    CLERUM.  381 

4.  Not  a  few  of  God's  ministers  have  quit  the  work  and  others 
in  the  hour  of  conflict  have  looked  about  them  for  some  other  em- 
ployment, because  they  conceived  that  they  were  not  promptly  sus- 
tained by  their  brethren.  They  had  been  given  a  stubborn  field  to 
cultivate,  all  grown  over  with  thorns  and  briars,  and  they  labored 
till  they  had  richly  earned  the  confidence  of  those  who  had  occu- 
pied a  less  stubborn  and  more  fruitful  section  of  the  vineyard  ;  but 
at  length  they  became  wearied  with  perpetual  effort,  and  finally 
quit  the  field.  And  it  is  a  query  worth  our  attention,  whether  a 
little  timely  help,  would  not  have  kept  them  in  the  work,  and  ren- 
dered them  immensely  useful,  while  now  they  are  at  some  other 
service,  and  must  die  out  of  the  vineyard.  And  there  are  probably 
many  at  this  very  moment  looking  about  them  for  a  school,  secre- 
taryship, or  professorship,  or  a  clerkship,  by  which  they  may  earn 
a  piece  of  bread  for  their  children.  And  this  at  the  very  moment 
when  we  are  making  every  possible  effort  to  send  forth  more 
laborers  into  the  vineyard.  Now,  why  not  make  some  effort  to 
sustain  those  already  at  the  work,  and  by  partaking  in  their  afflic- 
tions wake  them  to  renewed  enterprise,  and  a  far  more  extended 
usefulness  1 

If  any  who  have  been  commissioned  are  unworthy,  then  publish 
their  character,  and  send  them  back  to  the  plough,  and  the  residue 
sustain.  Shall  those  who  are  happily  located  fear  injury  to  them- 
selves, if  they  speak  a  kind  word  in  behalf  of  some  afflicted  brother  \ 
I  will  not  allow  myself  to  believe  that  the  legate  of  the  skies  can 
act  from  a  motive  so  contracted.  I  will  rather  believe  that  depres- 
sion   of  mind,   under  long  protracted    trials,  has  begotten   in   the 

minds  of  some  good  men  the  false  impression  that  they  won t 

duly  sustained  in  their  conflicts.  And  I  will,  ifi  the  mean  time, 
place  high  in  honor  those  noble  men  who  have  earned  and  obtain- 
ed the  reputation  of  strengthening  the  weak  hands,  and  confirming 
the  feeble  knees,  and  who  have  ventured  to  say  to  the  fearful  heart, 
Be  strong,  fear  not.  They  have  kept  many  a  good  man  in  t tie 
field,  and  thus  have  virtually  made  more  ministers  than  many  who 
have  pleaded  eloquently  the  cause  of  charitable  education.  "These 
ought  ye  to  have  done,  but  not  to  have  left  the  others  undone."' 
Said  the  apostle  of  the  circumcision,  after  giving  us  a  catalogue 
of  his  afflictions,  "  Who  is  weak,  and  I  am  not  weak  !  who  is  of- 
fended, and  I  burn  not  I"  This,  it  seems,  was  the  lesson  which 
his  own  trials  had  taught  him. 

Finally — Brethren,  feel  not  that  the  subject  was  an  unnecessary 


3S2  C0NC10    AD    CLERUM. 

exposure  of  ministerial  weakness.  We  shall  nut  give  the  churches 
confidence  in  us,  hy  showing  them  that  we  have  little  confidence 
in  one  another.  We  shall  not  bless  them,  by  neglecting  and  des- 
pising those  in  the  ministry  who  suffer  till  they  abandon  the  broth- 
erhood, and  go  back  into  the  world  to  get  their  bread.  The  des- 
perate enemies  of  God,  who  are  quarelling  with  their  minister  be- 
cause he  has  ventured  to  tell  them  the  whole  truth,  may  be  glad  if 
we  Avill  leave  him  unsustained,  till  they  can  devour  him.  But  the 
good  sense  of  God's  people,  and  of  all  generous,  noble-minded  men, 
will  love  and  honor  us  the  more,  the  stronger  is  that  ligature  that 
binds  together  the  hearts  of  God's  ministers. 


SERMON    XXXIII.* 

THE  MERCIES   OF  GOD   NOT   OBEDIENTLY   RECIPROCATED. 

ISAIAH    I.    2. 

Hear,  O  heavens,  and  give  ear,  O  earth  ;  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  ;  I  have  nourished  and  brought 

up  children,  and  they  have  rebelled  against  me. 

How  provoking  is  the  sin  of  ingratitude!  Among  men  it  is 
considered  unpardonable,  while  every  other  crime  is  forgiven.  To 
be  ungrateful  argues  a  want  of  ingenuousness,  of  which  even  the 
most  ungrateful  are  not  willing  to  be  accused.  And  can  we  won- 
der that  pride  takes  the  alarm,  when  a  charge  is  brought  that  ar- 
gues baseness,  not  to  be  found  in  the  herd  of  the  stall. 

The  descendants  of  Abraham,  to  whom  the  prophet  refers,  fur- 
nish us  a  long  history  of  ingratitude.  God  had  so  distinguished 
them  as  to  render  them  eternal  debtors  to  his  mercy,  but  they 
rebelled  against  him.  He  called  Abraham  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees, 
a  land  of  dark  idolatry,  gave  him  a  large  posterity,  and  made  them 
the  objects  of  his  peculiar  care.  When  oppressed  with  famine, 
the  king  of  Egypt  must  feed  them.  When  enslaved,  God  raised 
them  up  a  deliverer,  who  brought  them  out  with  triumph.  He 
bade  the  waves  of  the  sea  roll  back  and  leave  them  a  passage,  and 
return  to  discomfit  their  foes.  He  miraculously  clothed,  fed,  and 
guided  them  forty  years.  He  then  divided  Jordan,  and  introduced 
them  into  a  beautiful  country,  which,  being  watered  with  enrich- 
ing dews  and  timely  showers,  furnished  them  all  that  heart  could 
wish.  To  give  them  room  he  "  drove  out  the  heathen  with  his 
hand."  They  had  riches,  honors,  pleasures,  and  health.  God  de- 
livered to  them  his  word,  called  them  his  children,  and  placed  in 
their  magnificent  temple  the  symbol  of  his  presence. 

When  the  ten  tribes  revolted  from  the  house  of  David,  and 
were  abandoned  to  dispersion  and  slavery,  he  still  kept  his  eye  on 
Judah.  He  gave  them  wise  kings,  faithful  prophets,  and  a  mild 
and  happy  government.  Still  had  they  the  means  of  knowing  the 
mind  of  God.     They  had  their  temple,  iheir  high  priest,  their  holy 

*  Delivered  in  New-Jersey,  at  the  rising  of  the  sun,  on  Hie  Fourth  of  July, 
1814;  in   a  time  of  ereat  and   general   interest  on  the  subject  of  religion,  and 

intended  to  prevent  the  usual  desecration  of  the  day. 


384  THE    MERCIES    OF    GOD 

altar,  and  their  daily  sacrifice.  For  many  years  they  sat  under 
their  vinos  and  fig-trees,  and  none  made  them  afraid. 

Thus  God  nourished  and  brought  them  up  as  children.  Had  he 
not  a  right  to  expect  their  obedience  /  Was  it  not  enough  to  as- 
tonish heaven  and  earth,  to  see  it  withheld  !  Can  we,  without 
amazement,  be  told,  that  in  contempt  of  all  this  succession  of 
mercies,  that  people  made  them  other  gods,  and  bowed  to  images 
which  themselves  had  carved  1  They  imprisoned  their  prophets, 
profaned  their  temple,  hardened  their  hearts,  and  generated  a  pos- 
terity prepared  to  embrue  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  All 
this  mischief  achieved  by  that  people,  God  resolved  to  destroy  ; 
but  first  commands  heaven  and  earth  to  listen  to  the  story  of  their 
apostacy :  "  Hear,  O  heavens,  and  give  ear,  0  earth  ;  for  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  ;  I  have  nourished  and  brought  up  children,  and  they 
have  rebelled  against  me." 

How  aptly  does  this  whole  history  apply  to  us !  If  Judah's 
ingratitude  has  ever  been  surpassed — if  it  has  ever  been  equalled,  it 
has  been  in  America.  While  attending  to  this  short  history,  you 
have  been  making  the  comparison  between  that  nation  and  ours. 
We  have  been  nurtured  with  the  same  fatherly  care,  and  have  been 
equally  rebellious. 

In  pursuing  the  subject,  I  shall  follow  the  natural  division  of  the 
text,  and  show,  first,  that  God  has  nourished  and  brought  us  up  as 
children,  and  secondly,  that  we  have  rebelled  against  him. 

I.  I  am  to  show  that  God  has  nourished  and  brought  us  up  as 
children.  A  kind  parent  aims  to  promote  the  best  good  of  his 
children,  and  to  this  point  bends  every  effort.  So  the  dealings  of 
God  with  us  have  been  calculated  to  promote  our  best  good.  "He 
hath  not  dealt  so  with  any"  other  "  nation."  In  proof  of  this  as- 
sertion we  have  only  to  look  at  facts.  It  is  asked,  Wherein  has 
God  given  us  proof  of  paternal  affection  !      I  answer, 

1.  In  preparing  us  such  a  goodly  land.  It  is  believed  that  no 
portion  of  the  globe  is  to  the  same  extent  so  fertile,  healthful,  and 
pleasant  as  the  United  States  of  America. 

Our  soil  is fertUe.  Hardly  does  any  land  furnish  its  inhabitants 
comfort  or  luxury  that  ours  does  not  yield  for  us.  Our  valleys 
wave  witli  corn,  our  hills  are  white  with  harvests,  and  our  very 
mountains,  to  their  highesl  cliffs,  feed  our  (locks.  Till  God  shall 
become  angry,  and  shall  forbid  the  showers  to  enrich  our  fields, 
we  never  need  be  dependant  for  our  bread  or  clothing  on  any  othef 


NOT  OBEDIENTLY  RECIPROCATED.  3go 

nation.  What  one  region  of  our  country  does  not  produce,  prows 
abundantly  in  some  other. 

And  we  draw  sustenance  from  our  bays  and  rivers.  Thus  were 
"the  fields  to  yield  no  meat,  and  should  the  herd  be  cut  off  from 
the  stall,1'  we  should  be  still  supplied.  On  this  point  every  rea- 
sonable desire  is  satisfied,  and  every  ground  of  fear  removed. 

To  fertility  God  has  added  beauty.  Ours  is  all  that  rich  variety 
of  scenery  which  can  please  the  eye  or  charm  the  heart.  Our  e\- 
tensive  plains,  encircled  with  cultivated  hills,  watered  with  mean- 
dering streams,  and  opening  upon  the  traveler  as  he  reaches  the 
eminence,  afford  prospects  the  most  enchanting.  If  any  doubt 
whether  our  land  is  beautiful,  ask  the  Christian,  who,  in  some 
favored  hour,  ascended  the  mountain,  and  felt  his  soul  rise  from 
the  broad-spread  landscape  to  the  God  who  planned  and  built  the 
scene  ; — ask  him  if  "  our  lines  have"  not  "fallen  to  us  in  pleasant 
places."  Ask  the  mariner,  who  has  been  shipwrecked  upon  the 
coast  of  Africa,  and  has  seen  the  sable  tribes  making  a  delicious 
meal  on  reptiles — ask  him  if  we  have  not  a  goodly  heritage.  Ask 
the  traveler  who  has  scorched  his  feet  in  Arabian  deserts,  and  has 
climbed  the  Ararat,  if  the  tender  mercies  of  the  Lord  to  us  are 
not  great.  Ask  one,  if  you  please,  who  has  seen  the  lawns  and 
parks  of  polished  Europe,  if  nature  has  not  furnished  our  America 
with  richer  lawns  and  nobler  parks.  Will  it  not  excite  gratitude 
to  compare  our  country  in  point  of  beauty,  with  any  region  of  the 
globe  ?  What  was  once  said  of  England  is  more  true  of  America. 
"  It  is  a  paradise  of  pleasure,  the  garden  of  God.  Our  vales  are 
like  Eden,  our  hills  as  Lebanon,  our  springs  as  Pisgah,  our 
rivers  as  Jordan,  our  walls  the  ocean,  and  our  defence  the  Lord 
Jehovah." 

Nor  is  any  portion  of  the  globe,  to  the  same  extent,  more 
healthful.  From  the  eternal  snows  of  the  north,  and  from  the 
sultry  heats  and  deadly  blasts  of  the  south,  we  are  well  removed. 
The  longevity  of  our  grand  parents,  recorded  on  yonder  tomb- 
stones ;  the  many  in  our  assembly  today,  on  whom  is  seen  the 
blossom  of  the  almond-tree,  bear  witness  that  God  has  blessed  with 
health  and  long  life,  his  American  Israel.  The  numbers  who  can 
be  spared  from  the  sick  and  dying  bed,  to  wait  on  God  this  morn- 
ing in  this  house,  bear  testimony  to  the  salubrity  of  our  clime.  ^  es, 
God  has  fraught  every  gale  with  life,  and  has  wafted  health  to  us 
in  every  breeze.  The  effects  of  his  bounty  are  seen  in  every 
countenance,  and  felt  in  every  nerve. 

In  all  this  God  has  acted  the  part  of  a  kind  Father;  has  nourish- 
49 


3S6  THE    MERCIES    OF    GOD 

ed  and  brought  us  up  as  children.  The  land  of  Canaan,  although 
described  as  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  was  not  a  better  land. 
Nor  will  God  demand  less  of  us  than  of  Israel.  He  charges  us 
with  every  field,  every  spring,  and  every  river.  He  notes  agiinst 
us  every  shower  that  falls  upon  our  hills,  and  every  dew  drop  that 
moistens  the  vales. 

2.  There  was  a  display  of  God's  parental  affection  in  giving  us 
existence  in  this  favored  land.  Long  had  it  been  the  lonely  haunt 
of  savages.  Our  forefathers  were  natives  of  other  realms,  realms 
now  perhaps  in  ruins.  If  God  had  not  intended  to  be  a  father  to 
us,  we  might  there  have  been  born,  and  there  have  lived,  in  the 
midst  of  oppression,  tears,  and  blood.  We  might  have  been 
forced  into  those  armies  which  have  perished  on  the  plains  of  Eu- 
rope, stiffened  with  December's  frosts,  or  fattening  the  soils  with 
their  blood.  But  God  had  kindnesses  in  store  for  us,  and  bid  our 
fathers  fly  to  some  other  land. 

Rut  whither  could  they  fly  1  When  they  first  began  to  feel  op 
pression,  America  was  unknown  in  Europe.  It  had  lain  hid  be- 
yond a  vast  expanse  of  trackless  ocean,  ever  since  it  sprang  from 
chaos.  True,  it  had  been  visited,  but  from  its  dreary  bourne,  no 
one  had  returned  to  bear  tidings.  Driven  before  the  eastern  tor- 
nado, the  wretched  had  known  its  rocky  shores  as  the  place  of 
their  midnight  shipwreck  ;  else  unknown.  But  Divine  Goodness, 
which  had  long  kept  it  in  reserve  for  us,  raised  it  into  view,  just 
at  the  moment  when  oppression  was  preparing  our  fathers  to  wish 
and  pray  for  some  asylum  where  they  and  their  children  might 
be  free.  The  immortal  Columbus  sought  our  shores.  Our  ances- 
tors followed  him,  under  the  same  Divine  escort.  And  here  we 
are  this  morning  in  a  land  of  plenty,  health,  and  freedom. 

My  hearers,  do  you  not  feel  that  God  was  kind  in  all  this  \ 
Think  then  of  the  millions,  who  are  this  day  miserably  poor,  on 
that  ground  where  we  might  have  been  wretched  paupers,  if  our 
forefathers  had  remained  at  home.  Think  of  Europe's  precious 
youth,  who  have  been  lately  torn  from  home  in  their  tender  years, 
to  man  the  navy  and  fill  the  armies.  Think  of  the  fathers,  who 
now  need  sous  to  prop  their  age,  but  have  lost  them  in  battle.  Ah  ? 
and  mothers,  more  helpless  still,  without  a  child  remaining  to  so- 
lace their  widowhood.  See  that  band  of  females  !  they  have  been 
to  the  shore  to  salute  their  husbands,  but  they  return  in  despair  ; 
their  husbands  have  fallen   in   the   field.*     Think   of  the  pleasant 

*  A  scene  actually  witnessed  not  lonir  since  in  England,  on  the  return  from 
Spain  of  a  remnant  of  Lord  Wellington's  army. 


NOT  OBEDIENTLY    RECIPROCATED.  3S7 

cottages  wrapped  in  flames  by  the  torches  of  a  desolating  army. 
Recollect  the  sufferings  of  that  little  Swiss  Republic,  to  whom 
liberty  was  so  dear,  that  mothers  left  their  infants  under  the  oak, 
and  fought  and  fell  by  the  side  of  their  husbands.  While  humanity 
bleeds  over  these  scenes  of  distress,  let  piety  raise  to  heaven  a 
tearful  eye,  and  say,  "  Bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  and  all  that  is 
within  me  bless  his  holy  name." 

3.  As  a  parent  his  children,  the  Lord  has  instructed  us.  We 
were  from  infancy  taught  to  read  the  Scriptures,  and  were  early 
plnced  under  the  droppings  of  the  sanctuary.  Many  of  us  have 
been  devoted  to  God  in  baptism,  and  have  thus  been  made  mem- 
bers of  the  school  of  Cbrist.  Pious  parents  have  whispered  truth 
in  our  ears.  Ever  have  we  had  line  upon  line,  and  precept  upon 
precept.  In  no  other  quarter  of  the  globe  have  all  classes  the 
means  of  instruction.  And  in  this  matter  has  not  the  Lord  been  a 
kind  Father  1  If  a  doubt  remains,  think  of  those"  crowds  of  Pa- 
pists, who  through  ignorance  of  the  Scriptures,  pray  to  departed 
saints,  and  tender  gold  for  the  pardon  of  sin  !  See  those  hordes 
of  Mahometans,  stupid  as  the  beast,  till  their  infuriated  passions 
arouse  them  to  spill  a  brother's  blood.  Think  of  the  millions  of 
Pagan  tribes,  who  to  this  day  worship  a  block  of  wood.  Yes, 
think  of  the  hundreds  of  millions,  who  never  saw  a  Bible,  who 
never  enjoyed  a  Sabbath,  and  to  whom  no  kind  angel  of  mercy 
ever  carried  proffers  of  pardon.  Think  of  these  things,  and  you 
cannot  doubt  the  fatherly  kindness  of  God  in  providing  for  our 
instruction. 

4.  God  has  exercised  parental  love  in  defending  our  country  in 
times  of  danger.  Our  whole  history,  from  the  first  landing  of  our 
forefathers,  is  but  one  continued,  affecting  account  of  God's  care 
of  them  and  us.  When  that  first  ship  brought  that  liule  band  of 
persecuted  Christians,  and  landed  them,  in  the  midst  of  winter,  ",i 
Plymouth's  bleak,  inhospitable  coast, — when  they  there  kindled 
their  first  fire,  amidst  howling  beasts  and  yelling  savaccs, — when 
they  there  fell  on  their  knees,  and  to  heaven  raised  their 
streaming  with  tears, — when  they  covered  their  little  babes  with 
leaves  blown  from  the  trees  of  autumn,  and  stationed  a  sentinel  t<» 
watch  the  foe;  how  could  it  be  doubted  but  that  they  would  be 
driven  from  the  land  they  bad  reached  \  Who  could  have  predict- 
ed or  would  bave  dared  to  hope,  that  God  would  socn  give  thei  i 
peaceable  possession  of  all  this  extensive  country  I 

And  afterward,  when  the  savage  band  conspired  to  destroy  that 
little  company  of  strangers, — when  the  scalping  knife  was  r 


388  THE    XEKCIES    OF    god 

over  the  slumbers  of  the  cradle, — when  the  savage  yell  disturbed 
the  midnight  dream,  and  the  angry  flames  were  consuming  the  lit- 
tle thatched  hovels  where  our  mothers  slept,  who  could  have 
thought  that  God  intended  so  soon  to  give  the  word,  and  bid 
those  savages  retire  to  the  western  forests  1 — who  could  have 
believed,  or  dreamed,  that  those  miserable  hovels  would  in  a  few 
years  be  exchanged  for  these  beautiful  mansions  which  now  adorn 
our  land  1 

And  when,  afterward,  the  merciless  Frenchmen  bore  down  upon 
us  from  the  north,  and  in  the  west  hired  against  us  the  bloody 
tomahawk, — when  their  ships  of  war  covered  our  lakes,  and  spread 
destruction  along  our  Atlantic  shores,  and  the  savage  band  broke 
in  upon  our  frontiers,  each  pressed  on  by  infernal  fury  ;  who  could 
have  thought  that  heaven  designed,  by  this  war,  to  prepare  us  for 
future  conflicts,  and  raise  us  up  an  immortal  Washington  to  be  the 
future  savior  of  our  country. 

And  when,  at  length,  the  very  land  that   gave   us  birth  becamr 
hostile  ; — when  her  floating  purgatories   thundered   on   our   coast 
and  burned  our  cities,  and  her  hard  hearted  veterans  were  ravag 
ing  our  country,  stripping  our  fathers   of  their   flocks  and  herds, 
and  our  mothers  of  their  well-earned  food,   and  of  the  couch  oi\ 
which  they  dared  not  rest,  and  could  not  sleep  ; — when  at  length 
we   were  forced   to  make   an  appeal   to  the  sword,  and  our  litth 
companies  of  undisciplined  troops  were  rallying  round  their  Gen 
era! ; — when   our  fathers  began  to  fall  in  the  high  places  of  tin- 
field,  and  our  mothers,  with  some  of  us  infants  in  their  arms,  fleet 
from  the  foe,  and  saw7  him  burn  their  dwellings ; — when  at  length 
the  temples  of  the  living  God  were  converted  into  barracks,  pro 
faned  with  the  soldier's  oath,  and  dissipated  night  with  their  blaz- 
ing spires  ; — when  the  meek  ambassador  of  the  cross*  must  die 
for  loving  his  country,  ami  for  wishing  to  be   free  ;  and  when  all 
hearts  began  to  ache  and  to  bleed,  and  Heaven  had  not  yet  begun 
to    rr'we   us  the   victory, — in   this   trying   hour,  who   wrould   have 
thought  that  God  intended  so  soon  to  deliver  us  from  the  oppress- 
ive yoke  of  our  parent  country,  and  make  us  an  independent  and 
happy  republic. 

While  we  look  round  us,  and  see  some  present,  who  still  wear 
the  scars  they  received  in  that  perilous  hour,  Tve  feel  emotions  of 
gratitude  which  we  cannot  suppress.  Yes,  fathers  !  while  we 
bless  God  for  being  our  roek  of  defence  in  the  desperate  hour,  we 

•  Mr.  Caldwell,  of  Elizabeth-Town. 


NOT    OBEDIENTLY    RECirROCA  TED.  389 

thank  you  for  the  efforts  you  made  to  earn  and  deliver  to  us  the 
fair  inheritance  of  freedom.  We  never  will,  no  never  !  forget 
your  toils  and  dangers.  We  will  cherish  you  in  your  declining 
years,  and  when  you  are  dead,  we  will  lead  our  infant  children  to 
your  graves,  and  tell  them  the  history  of  your  sufferings  in  the 
cause  of  freedom.  But,  fathers,  while  we  thank  you  that  you 
fought  in  Israel's  hosts,  we  entreat  you  to  love  Israel's  God.  And 
ye  aged  mothers,  you  fled  with  us  from  the  malice  of  the  foe  : 
O  !  flee  with  us  from  the  wrath  to  come  ! 

Here  I  could  stay  and  mention  other  mercies  till  the  sun  had 
gone  down.  God  has  given  us  a  happier  form  of  government 
than  is  now  enjoyed  in  any  other  portion  of  the  globe.  Life,  pro- 
perty, and  the  rights  of  conscience  are  secure.  Parents  are  not 
constrained  to  send  their  children,  at  the  call  of  a  tyrant,  to  be 
trained  up  to  the  art  of  murder.  As  yet  we  have  suffered  but  lit- 
tle by  the  present  distressing  war.  The  foe  has  destroyed  others  ; 
fellow-citizens  have  spilt  their  blood  in  the  field,  and  others  have 
lost  their  all,  while  we  are  unmolested.  Nor  have  we  felt  the  dis- 
tresses of  famine.  The  poorest  among  us  have  bread,  while,  in 
our  world,  aud  doubtless  in  some  parts  of  our  land,  there  are  those 
who  are  destitute.  God  has  kept  us  too  from  those  plagues  aud 
pestilences  which  have  desolated  other  countries.  Our  breezes 
are  yet  laden  with  health.     0  how  good  is  the   Lord  ! 

And  we  could  tell  of  individual  blessings.  God  has  guarded  our 
lives.  In  the  midst  of  a  thousand  snares  we  have  been  safely 
kept.  Who  can  say  why  we  have  not  been  numbered  among  the 
millions  dead,  or  the  thousands  now  in  the  agonies  of  dissolution. 
Every  day  and  every  hour  have  our  lives  been  forfeited.  If  God 
had  bidden  us  die  any  morning  or  any  evening,  he  had  still  been 
just  and  good.  But  he  yet  allows  our  blood  to  flow  warm  in  our 
veins,  and  the  heart  to  beat  high  with  life  in  our  bosoms.  In  all 
this  how  strong  a  testimony  of  the  Divine  goodness  ! 

But  our  wonder  must  increase.  God  has  not  only  spared  us, 
and  defended  us  from  harm,  but  has  with  his  bounty  rendered  our 
lives  comfortable  and  happy.  We  have  been  surrounded  with 
every  thing  that  could  sweeten  life.  Our  friends  have  smiled  upon 
us  and  loved  us.  "  God  has  fed  us  with  the  finest  of  wheat,  and 
with  the  honey  out  of  the  rock  has  he  satisfied  us."  We  have  Bat 
peaceably  in  our  dwellings,  and  have  seen  the  rich  harvests  ripen- 
ing in  our  fields,  while  other  dwellings  have  resounded  with  dying 
groans,  and  other  fields  have  been  fattened  with  human  gore.  Thus 
God  has  employed  his  wisdom  and  power  in  making  rebels  happy. 


390  THE    MERCIES    OF    GOD 

If  all  this  does  not  excite  our  gratitude,  the  beasts  of  the  stall  will 
find  a  tongue  to  reproach  us :  for  "  the  ox  knoweth  his  owner,  and 
the  ass  his  master's  crib." 

But,  to  crown  our  other  mercies,  to  blacken  our  ingratitude,  and 
raise  our  wonder  to  its  climax,  God  offers  us  eternal  life  through 
his  Son.  We  are  pressed  with  the  obligations  of  dying  love.  The 
Holy  Spirit,  with  kind  intent,  has  come  down  among  us.  Through 
all  the  past  year  he  has  been  knocking  at  the  door  of  some  of  our 
hearts.  And  perhaps  many  present  have  continued  to  reject 
his  kindest  entreaties.  And  still  Divine  compassion  waits  to 
save. 

Thus  after  our  cup  has  run  over  with  earthly  blessings,  God  has 
opened  to  us  all  the  treasures  of  heaven.  First  he  fills  our  table 
with  his  fruits,  and  his  wines,  and  then  invites  us  to  the  marriage 
supper  of  the  Lamb.  Here  is  unparalelled  benevolence.  No 
world  has  known  the  like.  The  angels  have  seen  nothing  like  it 
in  heaven,  devils  have  heard  of  nothing  like  it  in  hell.  That  God 
should  be  kind  to  the  good  is  to  be  expected  ;  but  that  infinite  wis- 
dom and  love  should  exhaust  their  skill  to  make  a  rebel  happy,  is 
enough  to  excite  wonder  in  the  breast  of  Gabriel. 

Having  thus  nourished  and  brought  us  up  as  children,  had  not 
the  Lord  a  right  to  expect  obedience  1  Are  we  not  the  basest  of 
creatures  if  we  do  not  love  and  serve  him'?  I  appeal  to  conscience, 
which  God  has  placed  as  his  witness,  in  your  bosom.  What  de- 
mand does  that  messenger  of  heaven  make  upon  you  to-day  I 
Should  not  the  passing  hours  be  spent  in  God's  praise  1  If  other- 
wise employed,  will  not  the  God  of  Israel  be  angry  1  And  yet  we 
know  that  none  will  give  him  praise  but  those  who  love  him.  All 
others  will  profane  this  day,  and  thus  provoke  his  wrath.  I  pro- 
ceed to  the  other  part  of  my  subject. 

II.  While  God  has  been  exhibiting  all  this  parental  affection,  we 
have  rebelled  against  him.  Every  breach  of  God's  law,  every  de- 
parture from  duty,  every  unholy  affection  and  improper  action  is 
rebellion.  In  our  case,  as  in  that  of  Judah,  when  God  complained 
by  the  prophet,  we  exhibit  degeneracy  as  well  as  rebellion.  We 
have  departed  from  the  piety  and  rectitude  of  our  forefathers.  1 
shall  at  present  mention  some  of  the  prevailing  sins  of  our  land, 
by  which  jt  is  manifest  that  we  are  both  a  degenerate  and  rebellious 
people.  And  while  I  proceed,  every  one  must  allow  his  con- 
science to  do  its  office.  It  is  to  no  purpose  that  the  gospel  is 
preached,  unless  the  truth  is  felt. 


NOT    OBEDIENTLY    RECIPROCATED.  391 

The  first  sin  I  mention  as  proving  our  degeneracy  and  rebellion, 
is  the  want  of  family  religion  in  our  land  :  instance  family  prayer. 
While  we  are  commanded  to  pray  with  all  manner  of  prayer,  lift 
ing  up  holy  hands  to  God,  many  families  entirely  neglect  the  duty. 
From  no  domestic  altar  ascends  their  morning  and  evening  sacri- 
fice. They  rise  with  the  sun,  and  address  themselves  to  the  busi- 
ness of  the  day,  without  asking  God  to  watch  or  guide  them.  I 
fear  some  of  my  hearers  did  not  pray  in  their  families  this  morning. 
God  only  knows.  And  no  doubt  as  many  will  retire  this  evening, 
without  thanking  God  for  preserving  goodness,  or  engaging  any 
heavenly  guard  to  watch  the  sleeping  pillow.  Now  if  parents  do 
not  pray  in  their  families,  we  cannot  hope  that  they  do  it  in  their 
closets.  That  parent  who  finds  secret  prayer  delightful,  will  en- 
deavor by  example  to  teach  his  children  prayer.  It  is  reported 
that  some  professors  of  religion  have  no  prayer  in  their  families, 
and  ask  no  blessing  over  their  food.  Some  are  said  to  pray  only 
on  the  Sabbath,  and  ask  a  blessing  over  one  meal  in  the  day.  Why 
not,  with  the  same  propriety,  pray  once  in  the  year,  and  ask  only 
an  annual  blessing:  over  the  ingathered  harvest  1  This  would  cut 
the  business  short. 

In  this  point  we  have  degenerated.  It  is  said  that  among  our 
forefathers  there  was  no  family  without  a  domestic  altar,  no  little 
helpless  immortals  without  a  father's  prayers.  They  partook  not 
of  the  Divine  bounty  till  they  had  blessed  the  Giver.  Could  they 
return  they  would  blush  to  own  their  offspring. 

How  can  the  Christian  neglect  duties  so  plain  1  How  can  the 
father,  whose  title  implies  the  warmest  affection,  let  his  children 
retire  at  night,  till  he  has  committed  them  to  the  care  of  God  \  If 
neglected  by  the  father,  how  can  the  mother,  a  name  yet  more 
tender,  lay  her  little  ones  upon  their  pillows,  till  she  has  put  them 
under  the  care  o(  the  Watchman  of  Israel.  How  do  careless  pa- 
rents know  that  their  children  will  live  till  the  morning  ?  And 
should  they  die  on  that  night,  when  they  were  not  the  subjects  of 
parental  prayer,  how  must  those  parents  feel  I  With  what  heart- 
rending anguish  must  they  convey  their  bodies  to  the  grave.  The 
neglect  of  this  duty  in  particular,  and  of  family  religion  in  general, 
is  doubtless  a  crying  sin,  which  proves  our  apostacy  and  rebellion, 
and  must  draw  down  Divine  judgments. 

2.  Another  common  sin,  equally  manifesting  degeneracy  and  re- 
bellion, is  the  neglect  of  discipline  in  families  and  churches.  Many 
families  have  no  government.  The  children  never  feel  restraint. 
and  so  never  learn   obedience.     The   consequence  is,  they  often 


392  THE    MERCIES    OF    GOD 

despise  their  parents,  and  prove  scourges  to  society.  The  world 
is  the  loser  by  their  existence.  They  live  only  to  cumber  the 
ground,  and  reproach  their  parents.  How  ashamed  ought  parents 
to  be  of  such  children !  and  how  afraid  should  society  be  of  such 
parents ! 

In  Churches  the  same  neglect  of  discipline  prevails.  Some, 
who  have  no  pretensions  to  heart  religion,  are  admitted  to  the 
communion.  Many  are  seen  there  who  are  not  moral.  Yes  !  the 
the  lips  of  profaneness  touch  the  symbols  of  a  dying  Christ  ! 
Hands  polluted  with  the  intoxicating  bowl,  and  trembling  under  its 
dire  effects,  are  moved  to  the  sacred  cup  !  The  scorner,  in  many 
places,  takes  his  seat  among  the  followers  of  the  Lamb !  The 
very  disciples  of  Iscariot,  who  envy  Jesus  a  throne  with  the  Father, 
and  would  pluck  every  gem  from  his  crown ;  who  trample  upon 
truth  ;  and  would  gladly  extirpate  the  Church,  or  at  least  kindle  a 
hell  in  her  bosom — these  come  forward,  with  a  brazen  front,  and 
commemorate  the  dying  love  of  Christ!  Were  He  to  come  and 
put  himself  again  in  the  power  of  sinners,  would  not  many  of  our 
communicants  leave  the  sacrament  and  go  to  crucify  him  1  In  the 
days  of  our  forefathers,  there  was  not  this  want  of  discipline. 
Every  family  was  a  little  Church,  in  which  pious  parents  bent 
every  effort  to  make  their  children  like  themselves.  Departure 
from  duty  met  reproof.  The  child  who  would  disobey  a  parent, 
disrespect  superiors,  disturb  devotion,  or  profane  the  Name  of 
God,  would  meet  the  frowns  of  his  play-fellows. 

The  church-member  who  walked  disorderly  was  reproved,  and 
at  once  either  reclaimed  or  cut  off.  None  came  to  the  Lord's  ta- 
ble, who  were  not  strictly  moral  and  hopefully  pious.  They  had 
no  idea,  in  those  days,  that  unrenewed  men  had  any  right  to  the 
children's  bread.  If  they  were  correct,  we  are  degenerate.  It 
would  be  happy  for  the  Church  and  the  world,  if  that  golden  age 
could  return.  And  return  it  must ;  discipline  must  be  administer- 
ed, before  there  will  be  a  reformation  of  morals,  or  any  extensive 
revival  of  religion  in  our  land.  And  have  we  not  reason  to  believe 
that  a  reformation  in  this  matter  must  precede  the  removal  of  those 
judgments  which  we  begin  to  feel.  If  God  frowned  because  he 
disapproved,  why  smile  till  he  approve  ? 

3.  The  profanation  of  the  Sabbath  is  another  general  sin,  proving 
us  degenerate  and  rebellious.  Once  that  day  was  respected  in  Ame- 
rica. The  man  who  did  not  regard  the  Sabbath  was  not  esteemed. 
The  person  who  walked  the  streets  on  tint  day,  unless  to  or  from 


NOT    OBEDIENTLY    RECIPROACTEl  393 

the  house  of  God,  was  considered  a  disturber  of  the  public  peace.* 
Then  the  waterman  anchored  his  vessel  in  the  harbor,  till  the  hours 
of  Sabbath  were  by ;  the  traveler  delayed  his  journey,  and  the 
young  laid  aside  their  pastimes.  Now  the  sailor  begins  his  voy- 
age, the  traveler  pursues  his  journey,  young  men  their  pleasures, 
and  children  their  sports  on  that  sacred  day.  On  many  public 
streets  the  way  to  the  temple  is  obstructed  with  teams,  and  as 
you  enter  the  very  doors  of  the  sanctuary,  your  ears  are  assailed 
with  the  oaths  of  the  heaven-abandoned  teamsters.  The  inn- 
keeper and  his  family  can  never  hear  the  gospel ;  they  might  as 
well  live  in  India  :  they  must  be  at  home  to  serve  the  Sabbath- 
breaker.  In  many  parts  of  our  land  the  evening  of  the  Sabbath  is 
not  regarded. 

And  there  are  none  who  dare  oppose  this  flood  of  corruption. 
One  plea  is,  there  are  no  laws.  If  we  have  no  laws  sufficient  to 
enforce  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  our  legislators  refuse 
to  enact  any,  we  must  be  a  very  corrupt  people  ;  if  we  have,  and 
dare  not  enforce  them,  then  our  corruption  is  incurable.  In  either 
case,  we  have  a  striking  demonstration  that  we  are  a  rebellious 
and  degeneTate  people. 

4.  "Because  of  swearing  the  land  mourneth."  This  sin  proves 
us  degeneiate  and  rebellious.  The  profane  oath  used  to  be  the  sub- 
ject of  public  prosecution.     Men  dared  not  take  in  vain  the  name 

of  the  Lord  their  God.  When  respect  for  the  great  Jehovah  did 
not  restrain,  the  fear  of  man  did.  But  the  gold  has  become  dim. 
In  many  awful  instances,  the  child  who  has  just  begun  to  speak, 
is  taught  to  swear.  The  evening  streets  profanely  echo  with  the 
names  of  the  eternal  God.  The  inn,  formerly  the  peaceable  asy 
lum  of  the  pious  traveler,  is  now  often  rendered  intolerable  by 
resounding  oaths  and  curses.  What  sin  can  be  more  daring  \  It 
is  a  direct  attack  upon  a  holy  God.  It  evinces  a  heart  desperately 
rebellious.  Its  prevalence  evinces  a  state  of  society  monstrously 
degenerate. 

5.  Another  sin,  equally  proving  us  rebellious  and  degenerate,  is 
intemperance-!  This  is  a  growing  sin,  which  should  alarm  every 
friend  to  human  happiness.      It  prevails  among  both  sexes,|  and  in 

*  In  one  of  the  lanrest  States  in  the  Union,  a  public  officer  stopped  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, as  lie  was  walking  out  on  the  Sabbath,  ami  obliged  him  to 
return. 

t  It  is  .credibly  reported,  that  in  thefirst  settlement  of  this  country,  spirituous 
liquor  was  kept  only  by  the  apothecaries,  as  a  medicine. 

|  It   is  ascertained  to  be  fact,  that  under  the  pretem f  the  sick  headache, 

many  ladies  of  fashion  retire  i<>  -hep  oir  the  fumes  of  excessive  drinking. 
50 


39*  THE    MERCIES    OF    GOu 

all  classes  of  society.  Numberless  families  in  our  country  are 
rendered  miserable  by  this  unnatural  iniquity.  To-day  they  are 
happy  and  useful,  to-morrow  lost.  Intemperate  creatures  are  now 
found  in  every  place.  They  come  to  our  holy  communion,  they 
are  entrusted  with  public  offices,  they  officiate  in  our  churches, 
and  have,  in  some  distressing  instances,  made  their  way  into  the 
sacred  desk,  and  have  there  stood  in  the  place  of  God's  ambas- 
sador. 

6.  Another  sin  which  proves  us  degenerate  and  rebellious,  is  the 
existence  of  two  hostile  political  parties.  The  manner  in  which 
these  parties  treat  each  other,  prove  us  a  vicious  race.  Each 
accuses  the  other  of  designing  the  ruin  of  his  country,  of  being 
vile,  and  false,  and  under  foreign  influence.  Now  if  both  divisions 
speak  truth,  in  bringing  this  charge,  then  we  are  all  an  abandoned 
people  j  if  one  party  only  speak  truth,  still  about  half  of  us  are 
irrecoverably  lost ;  and  if  neither  keep  the  truth,  then  "  all  men 
are  liars."  Take  either  ground,  and  we  are  a  wicked  race.  An 
unhappy  result  of  this  political  division  is,  that  we  have  corrupted 
the  press.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  learn  truth  from  the  public 
gazettes.  By  party  prejudice  and  rage,  facts  are  discolored.  The 
honest  man  dares  not  confide  in  what  he  reads.  On  either  side 
the  plainest  facts  are  sometimes  obstinately  and  perseveringly  de 
nied  : — I  do  not  charge  it  all  to  the  editors,  nor  dare  I  attempt  to 
exonerate  them. 

Once  things  were  not  so.  Our  fathers  knew  but  one  party  . 
they  were  Americans.  They  contended  only  for  the  interests  of 
their  own  country.  Every  public  paper  was  the  vehicle  of  truth. 
If  one  said,  "  I  saw  it  written  thus  in  the  newspaper ,"  there  were 
none  to  contradict.  Nothing  was  written  there  that  was  not  be- 
lieved'to  be  truth.  But  that  golden  age  is  gone.  Truth,  unable 
to  breathe  our  polluted  atmosphere,  has  taken  its  flight.  As  if 
the  tongue,  that  "  world  of  iniquity,"  could  not  sufficiently  dis 
perse  falsehood,  men  have  taught  the  paper  and  ink  to  lie  ;  and 
yet  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  evidence,  that  there  may  not  be  on 
both  sides  of  the  question,  the  firmest  friends  and  vilest  enemies 
of  their  country. 

Here  I  could  enumerate  many  other  sins  ;  among  which  are 
conspicuous  a  disposition  in  professors  of  religion  to  conform  to 
the  world,  the  little  regard  paid  to  an  oath,  a  proneness  in  minis- 
ters to  seel  popularity  rather  than  usefulness,  to  consult  the  taste 
rather  than  the  good  of  their  hearers,  and  the  prevailing  propensity 
to  asperse  character: — I  am  ashamed  to  name  any  more. 


NOT    OBEDIENTLY    RECIPROCATED.  39f) 

These  sins  have  offended  God,  and  he  has  come  out  of  his  holy- 
place  to  punish  us.  If  we  do  not  repent,  how  can  we  hope  that 
God  will  not  treat  us  as  he  has  other  wicked  nations,  and  discharge 
upon  us,  ultimately,  the  full  vials  of  his  wrath.  Is  there  not  occa- 
sion why  this  day  should  be  devoted  to  God  1  If  he  be  for  us, 
none  can  be  against  us ;  but  if  God  forsake  us,  we  are  as  stubble, 
and  can  be  trodden  down  by  any  foe  that  he  may  commission. 
And  can  we  hope  that  he  will  continue  to  protect  us,  when  disci- 
pline and  prayer  are  neglected  ;  when  the  name,  the  worship,  the 
Sabbath,  and  the  sacred  honor  of  God  are  disregarded  ;  and  when 
every  sin  that  can  be  named  prevails?  Will  he  continue  to  shield 
us  by  his  power,  when  no  longer  his  people  1  Will  he  be  "a  wall 
01  fire  round  about  us,"  when  no  longer  "  the  glory  in  the  midst 
of  us  1"     As  the  Lord  liveth,  our  sins  have  placed  us  in  danger. 

Is  it  not  then  a  time  when  all  classes  of  men  should  fear  before 
the  Lord?  Ought  not  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  to  take  their 
stand  between  the  porch  and  the  altar,  and  cry,  with  incessant 
tears,  "  Lord,  spare  thy  people,  and  give  not  thy  heritage  to  re- 
proach." Have  they  not  reason  to  fear  that  the  ark  of  God  may 
be  taken  from  us,  and  carried  to  the  heathen  1  Alas  !  if  we  look 
round  us  must  we  not  fear  that  the  divine  glory  is  now  hovering 
over  the  threshold,  in  the  attitude  of  departing.  Since  our  iniqui- 
ties put  us  in  danger,  may  every  watchman  be  awake  upon  his 
watch-tower,  and  be  ready  to  give  the  alarm,  that  if  he  cannot 
save  others,  he  may  at  least  free  his  own  skirts  from  the  blood  of 
souls. 

And  shall  not  parents,  who  look  forward  to  the  destinies  of  a 
rising  offspring,  which  they  are  about  to  leave  in  the  midst  of  dan- 
gers like  these  ;  parents  to  whom  God  has  committed  in  charge 
souls  more  precious  than  material  worlds, — shall  they  not  this  day 
mourn  over  their  own  sins  and  the  sins  of  their  children  1  Shall 
they  not  bring  them  in  faith  and  prayer  to  the  arms  of  a  compas- 
sionate God.  My  dear  fathers  and  mothers,  soon  opportunity  to 
pray  for  your  children  will  be  gone.  Your  withering  locks  will 
soon  lie  in  the  dust.  We  do  hope  that  before  your  dissolution  ar- 
rives, we  shall  be  the  subjects  of  your  earnest  prayers.  We  en- 
treat you  to  pray  for  us  to-day. 

My  Christian  friends,  it  will  become  us  to  lie  low  in  the  dust 
to-day,  and  to  review  all  our  sins,  by  which  perhaps  wc  have  stum- 
bled the  mpenitent,  and  provoked  our  kind  Redeemer.  Think, 
brethren,  of  the  impending  dangers.  Everything  dear  to  the  pious 
heart  is  at  stake  ;  the  country  bought  with  the  blood  of  our  fathers  ; 


396  THE    MERCIE3    OF    GOD    NOT    OBEDIENTLY    RECIPROCATED. 

yes,  and  the  American  Churches  bought  with  richer  blood.  As 
we  inquire  now  respecting  the  seven  Churches  of  Asia,  others 
may,  another  day,  inquire,  "Where  are  now  the  once  nourishing 
Churches  of  America  V  0,  is  this  ground,  made  sacred  by  the 
impress  of  a  Savior's  feet,  to  be  trodden  down  by  a  savage  band  1 
Is  this  temple  of  God  to  become,  ever,  a  Mahometan  mosque. 
After  God  has  baptized  it  with  his  Spirit,  will  he  suffer  it  to  be- 
come a  heathen  temple  1  "0!  tell  it  not  in  Gath!  Publish  it  not 
in  the  streets  of  Askelon  !"  The  enemies  of  truth  will  triumph. 
Christians,  pray  this  day  for  Zion.  Go  to  your  closets,  while 
others  are  abusing  the  day,  and  deplore  the  prevailing  iniquities, 
and  weep  over  a  people,  who  by  their  sins,  are  destroying  them- 
selves. If  God  will  not  forgive  us,  and  still  be  for  us,  we  die.  And 
the  prayers  of  the  saints  must  bring  the  blessing  down. 

One  word  to  the  impenitent.  This  is  an  important  day  for  you, 
but  I  fear  that  some  of  you  may  this  day  do  your  souls  much  injury 
The  saints  consider  your  danger  very  great,  and  many  a  prayer  has 
ascended  this  morning  from  the  "  dwellings  of  Jacob"  in  your  be- 
half. If  ruin  comes  upon  our  land,  you  have  no  place  of  refuge. 
The  Christian  has  a  strong  tower,  into  which  he  can  run  and  be 
safe;  but  destruction  will  overtake  you  if  out  of  Christ.  O! 
what  need  have  you  to  be  afflicted,  and  mourn,  and  weep!  All 
your  sins  are  still  written  against  you  Not  one  of  all  the  myri- 
ads is  pardoned.  See  to  it  that  you  do  not  act  today  so  as  to  pro- 
voke God  to  anger,  and  perhaps  induce  him  to  abandon  you  for 
ever.  May  we  all  so  spend  the  day  as  to  do  our  country  good, 
and  promote  our  future  eternal  blessedness. 


SERMON    XXXI  V. 

THE  INDUSTRIOUS   YOUNG  PROPHETS. 

ISAIAH    VI.    1-3. 
And  the  sons  of  the  prophets  said  unto  Eliaha,  Behold  now,  the  place  where  we  dwell  with 
thee  is  too  6lrait  for  us.     Let  us  <;o,  we  pray  thee,  unto  Jordan,  and  take  there  every  man  a  beam, 
and  let  us  make  us  a  place  there  where  we  may  dwell.    And  he  answered.  <e>  ye.     And  one  said, 
Be  content,  I  pray  thee,  and  go  with  thy  servants,  and  he  answered,  I  will  go. 

About  nine  hundred  years  before  Christ,  there  was  at  Jericho  or 
Gilgal,  some  place  near  to  Jordan,  a  school  of  the  prophets,  at  the 
head  of  which  was  the  worthy  and  venerable  Elisha.  The  govern- 
ment of  Israel  was  in  the  hands  of  Jehoram,  a  degenerate  son  of 
the  impious  Ahab.  It  was  a  time  of  general  corruption;  the 
prophets  were  treated  with  neglect ;  and  the  honors  due  to  God 
were  given  to  an  idol.  Still  the  prophets  were  employed  in  pro- 
moting the  worship  of  God,  and  their  number  increased  till  they 
had  occasion  to  enlarge  the  place  of  their  tent.  In  the  simple  and 
interesting  history  of  this  enterprise,  we  learn,  that  the  prophets, 
though  poor,  and  not  held  in  very  high  estimation  in  that  degene- 
rate age,  were  pious,  honest,  and  industrious. 

They  seem  to  have  dwelt  together,  that  under  the  tuition  of 
their  honored  father,  they  might  become  prepared  to  teach  and 
prophecy  in  Israel  and  the  neighboring  countries.  They  were,  no 
doubt,  at  this  time,  frequently  consulted  by  the  leaders  of  Israel, 
notwithstanding  their  degeneracy  and  corruption. 

I  presume  it  can  need  no  apology,  if  I  glance  from  this  school  of 
the  prophets  to  the  edueation  of  a  gospel  ministry.  0  could  I,  in 
the  transition,  bring  with  me  into  gospel  times  the  faith  of  Eli- 
sha, and  transfer  into  my  audience  the  zeal  of  his  associates! 
Then  the  building  we  propose  to  erect  would  soon  rise,  and  the 
Church,  down  to  the  latest  ages,  feel  and  rejoice  iu  the  benevolent 
enterprise.     I  shall  take  occasion  to  remark  in  tin1 

First  place,  That,  a j>  to  this  moment,  very  inadequate  provision  is 
made  for  replenishing  the  gospel  ministry.  This  treasure  is  commit- 
ted to  earthen  vessels;  ministers  are  dying  men.  \\  lien  we  have 
served  the  Church  a  few  days,  we  go  the  way  of  all  the  earth,  and 

*  Delivered  at  the  lay  ig  of  the  corner-i*one  of  Amherst  College,  Aug.  '.',  1820. 


398  THE    INDUSTRIC  JS    YOUNG    PROPHETS. 

the  places  that  knew  us  know  us  no  more  for  ever.  But  the 
Churches  must  still  have  a  ministry  ;  and  that  ministry  be  com- 
posed of  men,  not  angels  ;  men  educated  by  liuman  means,  not  inspired 
with  miraculous  gifts.  Hence  there  must  be  made  a  perpetual 
effort  to  create  this  supply  of  pastors  and  teachers,  for  the  perfect- 
ing of  the  saints,  and  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ.  But  the 
present  ratio  of  supply  is  entirely  inadequate  to  the  exigencies  of 
the  Church.  On  this  subject  there  needs  no  other  argument  but  a 
statement  of  facts,  of  which  there  could  be  presented  a  list  that 
would  move  any  but  a  heart  of  iron.  A  very  few  of  these  facts, 
drawn  from  the  very  best  authorities,  I  will  take  the  liberty  to 
mention. 

The  nine  millions  of  souls  in  these  United  States,  have  the  ser- 
vice, it  it  believed,  of  only  about  two  thousand  five  hundred  minis- 
ters who  are  competent  to  preach  the  gospel.  But  if  instead  of 
this  number  we  had  nine  thousand,  each  must  then  have  the  care  of 
one  thousand  souls.  But  in  a  large  proportion  of  our  country,  owing 
to  the  scattered  state  of  its  population,  five  hundred  souls  would 
be  an  extensive  charge.  Hence,  nine  thousand  ministers,  in  addi- 
tion to  all  we  have,  would  be  but  a  bare  supply  for  this  district  of 
the  Church  of  Christ.  But  this  number  would  equal  that  of  the 
ministers  educated  in  times  past  in  all  the  colleges  in  the  United 
States  in  nearly  twenty  years.  While,  then,  we  might  be  prepar- 
ing this  supply,  many  ministers  will  go  to  their  graves,  and  others 
be  disabled,  and  our  population  will  have  almost  doubled. 

We  are  assured,  that  in  the  three  southernmost  of  the  Atlantic 
States,  containing,  perhaps,  a  million  and  a  half  of  souls,  there  are 
but  one  hundred  and  ten  competent  ministers  ;  while  in  one  district 
of  South  Carolina,  containing  nine  hundred  square  miles,  there  is 
but  one  place  of  worship,  and  (hat  not  used,  and  not  one  Christian 
church  or  minister  of  any  denomination.  In  the  whole  of  Indiana, 
Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Alabama,  Illinois,  Michigan  and  Missouri, 
a  district  of  country  large  enough  for  a  continent,  and  containing 
at  least  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  souls,  there  are  not 
twenty  competent  ministers ;  of  course,  but  one  to  more  than 
twenty  thousand.  In  East  Tennessee,  there  are  in  seventeen 
counties  more  than  one  hundred  thousand,  while  fourteen  of  these 
counties  arc  without  one  regular  minister  of  the  gospel.  In  the 
west  of  Virginia,  in  eight  counties,  are  forty-seven  thousand  souls 
connected  with  no  religious  society;  and  four  whole  counties 
without  any  religious  institutions  whatever.  In  another  district 
there  are  fifty-three  thousand   souls,   in   another  twenty  thousand, 


THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    PROPHETS.  399 

and  in  another  still  sixty  thousand,  all  in  about  the  same  deplorable 
condition.  In  Pennsylvania  there  are  extensive  districts  in  which 
there  never  was  a  school,  where  more  than  half  the  adults  can 
neither  read  nor  write,  m;my  never  saw  a  Bible  nor  any  book,  nor 
ever  heard  a  sermon.  One  district,  of  forty  thousand  souls,  lias 
but  one  fixed  pastor.  In  the  state  of  New-York  theru  could  be 
settled  immediately,  were  they  to  be  found,  two  hundred  ministers. 
And  if  we  should  survey  the  limits  of  New-England,  we  should 
see  some  dreary  moral  deserts.  In  the  two  oldest  counties  of 
New-Hampshire,  there  are  about  forty-five  towns  without  a  min- 
istry. But  I  have  not  time  to  enlarge.  Allowing  that  these  state- 
ments may  be  in  many  respects  not  exactly  correct,  still  they  are 
evidence  of  a  wide  and  fearful  desolation.  If  but  the  one  half  is 
true,  it  presents  to  the  eye  of  charity  a  moral  landscape  of  wide 
and  fearful  dimensions.* 

If  you  could  read  the  epistles  that  pour  these  complaints  into 
our  ears,  you  would  weep  if  you  ever  did,  or  would  die  with  shame, 
or  would  rise  to  a  tone  of  charity  that  many  have  not  reached. 
Now  these  desolate  places  must  be  cultivated,  these  wastes  of 
death  must  be  fertilized.  But  where  are  they  to  find  a  ministry  1 
The  common  resources  are  utterly  inadequate  to  this  home  supply. 
But  in  the  mean  time  we  need  missionaries  to  send  to  the  heathen. 
Of  these  there  are  six  hundred  millions  who  pay  their  supreme 
homage  to  stocks  and  stones.  The  United  States,  it  is  computed, 
ought  to  despatch  to  their  help  at  least  two  thousand  missionaries, 
and  will  do  it,  if  the  time  has  come,  as  we  presume  it  lias,  when 
the  Christian  community,  with  the  charter  of  eternal  life  in  their 
hands,  can  sleep  no  longer. 

And  still  the  ministry  must  be  replenished  at  home.  If  the  pro- 
bability is,  that  we  shall  feel  it  our  duty  soon  to  support  among 
the  heathen,  a  number  of  missionaries  greater  than  that  of  the  min- 
isters now  within  our  limits,  pray  from  what  resource  can  we  ob- 
tain that  enormous  supply  ?  To  export  the  whole  of  our  ministry, 
would  render  our  own  country  the  valley  of  death.  It  is  impossi- 
ble not  to  see  that  the  Christian  churches  have  neglected  then- 
duty  too  long.  We  must  be  more  thoroughly  awake  soon,  or 
nothing  but  a  boundless  desolation  stares  us  in  the  fare.  The 
wastes  of  death  are   already  so  wide  that  they  almost  outmeasure 

•  We  arc  happy  to  say  that  the  state  of  things,  in  all  these  cases,  are  greatly 
altered  for  the  better,  and  thai  this  institution,  notwithstanding  its  youth,  has 
had  its  full  «have  in  producing  these  happy  re 


400  THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    PROPHETS. 

the  hope  of  cultivation,  and  they  are  daily  augmenting  their  horrid 
circumference.  Our  children,  xohoi  vc  .shall  hare  done  all  that  we 
can,  are  very  likely  to  be  among  those  who  shall  cry  for  the  bread 
of  life,  and  perish  before  their  cry  is  heard.  When  they  shall 
have  attended  our  funeral,  they  may  retire  to  the  west,  and  there 
pine  away  in  their  sins,  while  there  falls  upon  their  ears  no  sound 
of  mercy,  and  their  eyes  see  not  upon  the  mountains  the  feet  of 
him  that  bringeth  glad  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace,  that  saith  to 
Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth.  We  may  miss  our  children  in  heaven, 
and  know  then,  but  know  too  late,  that  they  have  perished  through 
our  negligence.  While  we  thus  weep  over  the  fearful  dclinquen 
cies  in  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  it  is  cheering  to  know, 

II.  That  we  have  the  materials  and  the  means  of  an  abundant 
supply.  When  I  speak  of  the  materials,  my  eye  is  searching  among 
the  churches  for  the  happy  subjects  of  our  late  revivals.  Many 
of  them  I  perceive  are  in  the  vale  of  poverty,  and  would  rejoice 
to  be  useful,  if  they  might  presume  to  hope  that  they  could  be 
equipped  for  the  work,  and  that  God  would  employ  them  in  his 
service.  They  are  waiting,  it  is  presumed,  till  this  institution  rise, 
and  some  kind  voice  invite  them  to  come  and  take  sanctuary  under 
its  covert.  If  they  could  equip  themselves  they  would  ;  or  if  they 
dared  to  hope  that  they  were  worthy,  they  would  pour  their  cry 
into  our  ears,  and  give  us  no  rest  till  we  had  made  them  the  reci- 
pients of  our  charity.  A  few  years  since,  if  we  had  been  awake 
to  this  interest,  it  would  not  have  been  easy  to  find  materials. 
God  had  suffered  our  youth  to  grow  up  in  unbelief,  and  thus  had 
chastised  us  for  our  negligence.  But,  anticipating  the  close  of 
our  portentous  slumber,  his  mercy  has  waked,  and  prepared  the 
rising  generation  to  be  educated,  and  employed  to  lead  to  conquest 
and  to  glory  the  sacramental  hosts  of  God's  elect.  If  we  were 
prepared  and  would  enter  to-morrow  one  hundred  upon  our  open- 
inf  list  of  beneficiaries,  it  is  presumed  they  could  readily  be  found, 
and  their  hearts  would  leap  with  joy  to  know  that  they  might  be 
furnished  to  the  good  work  of  pointing  sinners  to  the  Savior. 

And  we  have  abundantly  the  means.  If  each  person  in  the 
United  States  would  give  one  cent  a  year  for  this  purpose,  it 
would  amount  to  ninety  thousand  dollars  annually,  a  sum  the 
interest  of  which  would  discharge  annually  and  for  ever  the  ex 
penses  of  more  than  fifty  beneficiaries;  or  if  tin-  principal  should 
be  expended,  it  would  support  for  one  year  nine  hundred.  If  each 
church    member    in   the    United    States    should   contribute  to  this 


THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    rROPHETS.  401 

object  annually  one  dollar,  it  would  probably  raise  tbe  sum  of  four 
hundred   thousand    dollars,   and    support    four  thousand   students. 
Most  congregations,  beside   supporting  the  ministry,  could  defray 
the  expenses  of  one  student  annually,  and  thus  furnish  every  seven 
years  one  minister.     In  one  timely  shower  of  ruin,  God   cauld   re- 
store all  we  had  expended  for  years  ;  or  by  warding  off  one  storm, 
could  save  for  us  a  far  greater  amount.     The  man  who  could  lose 
an  ox  every  year,  and  not  be   poor,  or  could  bear  the  expense  of 
one  fit  of  sickness,  could  pour  the  price  of  that  ox,  or  the  expenses 
of  that  visitation,  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord,  and  not    be   poor. 
But  if  half  the  number  who  could  make  this  sacrifice,  would  do  it, 
and  devote  the  avails  to   this   object,  we  could,  very  soon  tenfold 
the  number  of  our  ministers,  and  make  the  desert  and  the  solitary 
place  glad.     If  one  can  spend  idly,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  ten 
days,  and  not  be   poor,  he  could   employ  those  days,  and  not  be 
poor,  in  earning   something  for  this  benevolent   purpose.     But   if 
half  who   actually  make   this   sacrifice   should   thus  employ  their 
time,  the  treasury  of  the   Lord  would  soon  be  full.     1''  the  youth 
who   annually  spend   ten   dollars   in    mere   extravagances,  would 
give  the  one  half  of  this  expenditure  to  educate  pious  and  worthy 
young  men  for  the   gospel   ministry,  there  would  be  mad*  no  far- 
ther calls   upon  the  Christian   public.     If  farmers  would  cultivate 
each  a  nuarter  acre  of  their  waste  lands  in  the  best   manner,  and 
give  the  proceeds  to  the  Lord,  it  would  probably  tenfold  th«  sum 
that   has   usually  been   given  for  all  the  benevolent  purpose*  for 
which  contributions  have  been  made.     If  the   extra  crops  or  the 
present  year,  were  devoted  to  the  Lord,  and  expended  in  thrusting 
forth  laborers   into   his   harvest,   the  fields  that   are  white  would 
soon  be  gathered  in.     Were   that   sum   saved,  which  is  annual. v 
lost,  by  mere  negligence,  it   would  for  ever  supply  the   churcher 
with  a  well-educated  ministry,  would  furnish  an  army  of  evange- 
lists, and  would  fertilize  the  wastes  of  a  moral  world.     Instead  of 
its  being  the  fact,  as  the  covetous  daily  plead,  that  our  resources 
are   exhausted,  they   are  really   yet    untouched.      The   man    can 
hardly  be  found,  who  has   denied   himself  a   comfort    to   revive   a 
famishing  world.     And,  as  it  will  always  happen,  those  who  com 
plain  ihe  most  have  done  the  least,  and  most  of  those  who  complain, 
have   done   nothing.     The  man  who   loves  to   do   good   with   Ins 
wealth  is  attentive  to  every  call  of  charity,  and   has   made   every 
benevolent   institution   feel   the   effects   of  his    liberality   and    his 
prayers,  is  grieved  that  he  does  so  little,  and  has  never  been  heard 
to  say,  that  the  calls  upon  !  lis  charity  have  beco  ne  so  frequent  as 
51 


4-02  THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    PROPHETS. 

to  be  oppressive.     That  we  have  the  means  abundantly,  of  making 
exertions  that  we  have  never  made,  none  can  doubt. 

III.  It  is  our  duty  to  tise  these  means,  and  supply  ourselves  and 
others  with  a  well  educated  ministry.  The  duty  of  preparing  our- 
selves  a  ministry  admits  of  no  controversy.  If  a  congregation  in 
each  thirty  or  forty  years  wears  out  a  minister  in  their  service,  it 
is  but  honest  to  calculate,  that  such  a  congregation  should,  in 
every  such  period,  in  addition  to  supporting  the  ministry  already 
in  their  employ,  educate  one,  that  the  list  may  be  kept  full.  The 
only  question  is,  Shall  we  provide  a  surplus,  for  those  who  are 
destitute  of  a  ministry,  and  cannot  be  expected  to  supply  them- 
selves 1.  A  very  little  reflection,  it  would  seem,  must  render  this 
matter  plain.  If  we  look  about  us  upon  the  waste  places,  we  shall 
feel  that  we  are  imperiously  urged  to  provide  them  a  supply  of 
pastors.  There  are  Churches  very  near  us,  which  have  been  so 
unhappy  as  to  lose  the  blessing  they  once  enjoyed.  Perhaps  the 
surviving  members  had  no  partnership  in  the  sin  that  stripped 
them  of  the  ministry.  They  are  begging  for  help,  would  do  all  in 
their  power  to  provide  themselves  the  gospel  and  its  ordinances  ; 
but  when  they  have  done  all  they  can  do,  they  still  hunger  for 
the  bread  of  life.  The  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  instituted 
for  their  relief,  have  assured  us,  that,  although  their  funds  have 
been  low,  much  of  the  time  since  their  organization  they  have 
done  nothing,  because  men  could  not  be  found  suitable  for  the  scriu'ce. 
When  I  read  of  this  fact,  it  had  on  my  ear  the  effect  of  a  dying 
groan,  and  stole  through  the  heart  like  the  cold  stream  of  death. 
Said  I  to  myself,  Are  the  Churches  that  our  fathers  planted,  which 
they  watered  with  their  tears,  in  whose  bosom  they  expired,  and 
in  whose  prosperity,  though  now  in  heaven,  they  have  still  a  deep 
and  unalienable  interest — are  they  to  become  extinct  !  Is  that 
covenant  broken,  which  it  was  promised  should  be  perpetual  ? 
Had  their  Redeemer  said,  "I  have  graven  thee  on  the  palms  of  my 
hands,  thy  walls  are  continually  before  me,"  and  has  that  city  been 
demolished,  and  have  those  walls  been  thrown  down  \  Have  the 
children  who  there  received  the  seal  of  the  covenant,  no  promise 
left  on  which  to  hang  their  hopes?  If  we  are  to  do  good  to  all 
men,  but  especially  to  those  who  are  of  the  household  of  faith,  to 
help  them  to  re-establish  in  their  temples  the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion is  the  first  duti/  of  piety,  and  the  first  dictate  of  humanity.  They 
hunger  and  thirst  after  the  bread  of  life,  have    received    a   pledge 


THE  INDUSTRIOUS  YOUNG  PROPHETS  403 

that  God  will  sanctify  them  through  liis  truth,  and    cannot  he  de- 
nied the  blessing  requisite  to  the  fulfilment  of  this  promise. 

Or  if  we  turn  our  eye  to  those  who  have  gone  to  the  western 
woods  we  shall  see  opened  before  us  a  field  which  we  dare  not 
refuse  to  cultivate.  They  have  been  used  to  the  blessings  of  a 
Christian  land,  have  heard  and  loved  the  Church-going,  bell,  have 
enjoyed  schools,  academies  and  libraries,  and  have  been  revived 
by  the  ordinances,  and  must  they  now  be  excluded  for  ever  from 
these  privileges!  They  cannot  educate  for  themselves  a  ministry, 
nor  build  in  the  wilderness  the  unnumbered  conveniences  they  left 
behind.  They  have  turned  their  eye  to  us,  and  if  we  refuse  them 
help  we  cover  them  with  unmingled  despair.  They  have  thus  hc- 
fore  them  none  but  the  comfortless  prospect  of  seeing  their  child- 
ren become  wild  men,  their  hand  against  every  man,  and  every 
man's  hand  against  them  ;  nor  this  the  least;  for,  without  the  gos- 
pel, there  is  nothing  before  their  dear  devoted  offspring  but  the 
blackness  of  darkness  for  ever.  The  mother,  that  had  devoted  her 
children  to  God,  and  has  gone  witlvthem  into  the  western  wilds,  must 
now  die  crushed  with  the  tremendous  thought,  that  she  became  a 
mother,  merely  that  she  might  people  the  realms  of  death.  Already 
she  has  hung  her  harp  upon  the  willows,  and  there  it  must  hang,  till 
some  kind  missionary  enters  the  door  of  her  cabin,  and  wipes 
away  her  tears  ;  and  this  missionary  we  must  educate.  Ten  long 
years  must  still  roll  away  before  he  arrives,  and  she  in  the  mean 
time,  bleached  by  the  frosts  of  age,  trembles  on  the  brink  of  the 
grave,  but  dare  not  die  till  her  hopes  are  accomplished,  and  her 
children  saved. 

And  who  are  these  inhabitants  of  the  forest  1  They  are  our 
fathers  and  mothers,  our  brethren  and  sisters,  our  children,  our 
friends  and  neighbors.  They  were  born  in  the  houses  we  occupy, 
have  gone  from  our  families  and  our  bosom,  were  the  companions 
of  our  childhood  and  our  youth.  We  took  sweet  counsel  together, 
and  went  to  the  house  of  God  in  company.  Hence  the  cry  they 
utter  sounds  in  our  ears  loud  and  eloquent  as  the  shrieks  ol  death. 
If  we  do  not  hear  nor  help  them,  then  the  mother  has  forgol  her  suck- 
ing child,  and  feels  no  compassion  for  the  son  of  her  womb.  Do 
you  say,  They  shall  have  a  gospel  ministry  !  My  heart  responds, 
They  shall. 

But  I  hear  too  the  voice  of  the  savage,  sounding  from  the  b 
of  that  trackless  forest  still  beyond.  And  there  is  in  that  cry  a  wild 
and  native  eloquence. 

"You  have  stripped  us  of  our  hunting    ground  ;  all    in   life  that 


404  THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    PROPHETS. 

we  held  dear  ;  you  have  corrupted  our  morals  ;  our  tribes,  already 
incalculably  diminished,  have  nothing  before  them  but  the  dreary 
of  being  swallowed  up,  unless  it  be  the  more  fearful  appre- 
;  n  of  perishing  for  ever  in  our  sins.  Once  we  were  the  heirs 
of  your  soil,  we  now  only  ask  to  die  the  heirs  of  that  salvation, 
which  is  revealed  to  you  in  your  Bibles."  A  cry  like  this  has 
been  uttered  and  is  heard.  Already  the  heralds  of  salvation  have 
gone  to  look  up  the  remnants  of  their  depopulated  tribes,  and  point 
them  to  a  Savior.  Their  sun  is  setting  in  the  west,  and  we  should 
give  evidence  that  we  had  their  unpitying  nature  as  well  as  their 
s  ril,  were  we  willing  to  see  it  go  down  in  total  darkness.  If  the 
few  that  remain  may  live  for  ever,  it  alleviates  the  retrospect  of 
their  wrongs,  and  creates  one  luminous  spot  in  the  Egyptian  cloud 
that  hangs  over  the  place  of  their  fathers'  sepulchres.  I  would 
give  any  price  for  their  forgiveness  and  their  blessing  ;  and  it 
cheers  my  heart  that  my  country  is  beginning  to  pay  the  long  ar- 
rears which  are  due  to  that  injured  people. 

Now  suppose,  that  not  merely  from  the  west,  but  from  other 
heathen  lands,  we  hear  a  cry  for  the  gospel  If  the  millions  of 
India  ask  us  to  send  them  back  in  Bibles  and  missionaries  the  wealth 
we  have  imported  from  their  shores,  we  can  say  to  them,  "  Be  ye 
warmed  and  be  ye  fed  ?  If  Palestine,  and  the  shores  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, are  seen  pining  with  spiritual  famine,  and  should  beg  us 
to  send  them  that  bread  of  heaven  which  their  forefathers  sent  to 
ours,  would  there  be  no  eloquence  in  that  prayer  1  Or  if  Africa, 
poor  ill-fated  Africa,  should  beg  us  to  make  them  a  Sabbath  and  build 
them  a  sanctuary,  and  send  them  a  Bible  and  a  missionary  ;  would 
they  deserve  no  answer  1  Or  if  they  should  be  too  much  oppressed 
to  utter  any  cry,  and  we  should  only  know  that  their  highest  Deity  is 
a  serpent,  and  their  richest  hope  the  repose  of  the  grave,  can  we 
pass  by   on  the    other    side  I     Their  sons  have  served  our  fathers 

-  ;  we  have  taught  them  nothing  but  our  vices  ;  and  if  now,  , 
when  the  promise  is  about  to  be  fulfilled,  and  Ethiopia  is  stretch- 
ing  out  her  hands  unto  God,  we  should  refuse  them  the  o-ospel, 
how  can  we  answer  for  the  stripes,  and  chains,  and  servitude,  and 
famine,  with  which  we  have  taxed  them  ?  What  defence  can 
we  make  when  their  compasssionate  Redeemer  shall  advocate 
their  cause. 

Poor  Africa  must  share,  though  late,  the  blessings  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  it  must  be  sent  to  the  shores  of  Palestine,  must  be  propagat- 
ed in  India,  must  sound  through  every  isle  of  the  ocean,  and  must 
goy  with  ;ts  stores  of  blessings,   to  every  section  of  this  dark  and 


THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    PROPHETS.  40f) 

desolate  world.  But  it  cannot  be  sent  ;  the  miseries  that  it  would 
alleviate  must  remain  without  a  cure,  till  there  is  a  great  augment- 
ation of  the  army  of  evangelists.  Hence  we  77??/?'  use  the  materi- 
als and  employ  the  means  in  our  power  to  equip  young  men  for 
this  service.  And  every  year's  delay  will  bury  millions  who  have 
never  heard  of  Christ,  and  have  no  faith  in  his  blood.  Hence  we 
are  urged  to  the  work,  by  all  that  is  fleeting  in  time,  by  all  that  is 
valuable  in  the  soul,  by  all  that  is  bright  and  rich  in  the  thought 
of  heaven,  and  by  all  that  is  dark  and  dreary  in  the  idea  of  hope- 
less perdition. 

IV.  Union  in  the  Christian  world  will  insure  success.  Said  the 
young  men  to  the  aged  and  venerable  Elisha,  "  Be  content,  we 
pray  thee,  and  go  with  thy  servants."  There  was  union  ;  and  very 
soon  the  trees  of  Jordan  fell,  and  the  school  of  the  prophets  was 
builded.  How  simple,  how  interesting,  and  how  full  of  instruc- 
tion is  this  page  of  sacred  story  !  How  the  venerable  prophet,  as 
he  bore  up  a  beam  from  the  wood,  evinced  his  faith  in  the  cove- 
nant, nerved  the  young  men  to  exertion,  and  magnified  his  office  ! 
Let  the  Christian  world  unite,  and  the  work  we  propose  will  be 
easy.  When  all  shall  do  a  little,  none  will  be  burdened.  We  can 
educate  teachers  for  ourselves,  and  furnish  a  surplus  for  the  out- 
casts of  Israel.  And  to  do  it  all  we  hardly  need  deny  ourselves  a 
single  comfort.  We  hav  s  only  to  gather  up  the  fragments  and  let 
nothing  be  lost,  and  they  will  feed  millions  of  the  hungry.  When  we 
can  unite  in  the  effort,  it  will  be  easy  to  do  all  that  duty  ami  that 
benevolence  require.  The  waste  places  will  be  repaired,  the  desti- 
tute will  be  furnished  with  the  bread  of  heaven,  the  heathen  will 
be  tamed  to  civility,  and  will  burn  their  temples  and  their  idols, 
Ethiopia  will  stretch  our  her  hands  unto  God,  the  posterity  of 
Abraham  will  own  their  allegiance  to  their  Savior,  and  be 
grafted  into  their  own  olive  tree,  the  Turk  and  the  Aral)  will  ex- 
change the  mosque  and  the  Koran  for  the  sanctuary  and  the  Bible, 
the  Tartar  will  pitch  permanently  his  tent  about  the  house  of  the 
missionary,  and  Jesus,  the  long  neglected  Redeemer,  will  receive 
the  kingdom,  the  power  and  the  glory  for  ever. 

And  there  is  nothing  visionary  in  all  this.  It  is  all  promised,  it 
is  all  expected,  it  will  soon  transpire  ;  and  the  man  who  will  not 
believe,  like  the  infidel  of  Samaria,  may  die  in  the  gate,  while  the 
perishing  inhabitants  of  a  world  are  rushing  to  the  banquet  of  the 
Lamb.  The  angel,  flying  through  the  midst  of  heaven,  and  having 
the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  to  them  that    dwell  on  the  earth, 


4-06  THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    PROPHETS. 

will  publish  it  to  every  kindred,  and  nation,  and  tongue,  and  people. 
This  angel  is  the  gospel  ministry,  and  this  prediction  is  fast 
accomplishing. 

Will  any  ask,  What  has  all  this  to  do  with  the  present  occasion  1 
The  answer  is  obvious.  You  have  met  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
an  institution,  designed  to  recruit  the  ranks  of  the  gospel  ministry. 
There  are  many  who  would  become  soldiers  of  the  cross,  if  any 
would  equip  them.  The  subscribers  to  this  generous  fund,  and 
the  founders  of  this  noble  edifice,  have  in  view  this  single  object. 
fi  is  an  institution,  in  some  respects,  like  no  other  that  ever  rose  ; 
designed  to  bestow  gratis  a  liberal  education  upon  those  who  will 
enter  the  gospel  ministry,  but  who  are  too  indigent  to  defray  the 
expense  of  their  own  induction.  It  has  been  founded,  and  must 
rise  by  charity.  And  every  man  who  shall  bring  a  beam  or  a  rock, 
who  shall  lay  a  stone  or  drive  a  nail,  from  love  to  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  shall  not  fail  of  his  reward.  I  believe  this  institution  will 
collect  about  it  the  friends  of  the  Lord  Jesus,- who  will  be  fed  by 
their  philanthropy  and  watered  by  their  prayers,  and  will  yet  be- 
come a  fountain  pouring  forth  its  streams  to  fertilize  the  bound- 
Irss  wastes  of  a  miserable  world.  In  vision  I  see  it  among  the 
first  institutions  of  our  land,  the  younger  sister  and  the  best  friend 
of  our  theological  seminaries,  the  centre  of  our  education  societies, 
the  solace  of  poverty,  the  joy  of  the  destitute,  and  the  hope  and 
the  salvation  of  perishing  millions.* 

Connected  as  it  is  with  the  recruit  of  the  ministry,  the  salvation 
of  souls,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  it  will  rise,  and 
will  soon  have  a  claim  upon  the  charity,  the  prayers,  and  the  tears 
of  the  whole  Christian  community.  If  some  who  may  aid  in  the 
work  have  other  motives  than  the  glory  of  God,  still  I  will  hope, 
and  I  do  believe,  that  the  great  mass  of  the  donors  have  their  eye 
upon  the  future  glories  of  Immanuel,  and  are  erecting  this  insti- 
tution as  a  monument  to  his  honor.  And  having  put  their  hand 
to  the  plough,  they  will  not  look  back.  They  will  still  enlarge 
their  charities,  and  increase  their  hopes,  till  this  sacred  spot,  where 
they  are  erecting  the  school,  has  attracted  the  gaze,  and  gladdened 
the  aehinc  hearts  of  believers   in  every  destitute  section  of  our 

land. 

The  subject  now  makes  its  appeal  to  all  classes  of  men,  to  all 
ti  e  tender  relationships  of  life,  and  to  all  the  sympathies  of  human 

*  We  are  happy  to  say  that  this  prediction  has  been  fulfilled  long  before  this 
lime. 


THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    I'ROPHETS.  407 

nature.  Its  first  appeal  is  to  the  churches  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
They  are  the  sacred  depositaries  of  divine  truth,  and  are  obligated 
to  perpetuate  the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  Here  you  may  edu- 
cate your  children,  born  in  your  late  revivals,  and  committed  to 
your  care  to  train  up  for  the  Lord.  Here  you  see  revived  the 
hope  and  the  promise  of  your  future  prosperity.  "Thy  children 
shall  all  be  taught  of  the  Lord,  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy 
children."  Here  we  hope  will  be  educated  many  of  your  future 
pastors.  You  have  here  an  additional  pledge,  that  God  has  not 
forsaken  you,  and  that  he  will  never  leave  the  vine  he  has  planted 
in  this  western  world,  to  be  trodden  down  by  the  boar  of  the 
wood,  or  wasted  by  the  lapse  of  time,  or  the  ravages  of  death. 
"  Thy  teachers  shall  not  be  removed  into  a  corner  any  more,  but 
thine  eyes  shall  see  thy  teachers." 

And  congregations  have  a  singular  interest.  You  have  had  just 
occasion  to  fear  that  you  might  one  day  become  waste  places, 
through  a  lack  of  pastors.  But  the  thought  must  be  dreadful, 
whether  you  regard  a  future  life,  or  only  the  present.  When  the 
lips  which  now  address  you  in  your  respective  sanctuaries,  are 
cold  in  death,  and  you  are  met  to  pay  the  last  offices  of  affection 
to  your  deceased  pastors,  how  it  would  darken  the  glooms  of  that 
evening,  and  lessen  your  hopes  of  salvation,  to  apprehend  a  famine 
of  the  word.  But  the  most  judicious,  till  the  Church  waked  to  the 
duty  of  educating  herself  a  ministry,  feared  all  this.  The  increase 
of  our  population,  and  the  urgent  claims  of  the  heathen  and  the 
destitute,  seemed  to  leave  us,  till  we  discovered  this  remedy,  no- 
thing to  look  for  but  ultimate  desertion  and  ruin.  For  with  the 
gospel,  it  was  known  there  would  desert  us  the  Sabbath  and  all 
those  institutions  which  are  the  glory  of  our  land.  Hence  the 
very  infidel,  who  has  no  hope  for  himself  and  his  children  beyond 
the  grave,  but  would  have  them  civil,  and  decent,  and  wealthy, 
and  happy  in  the  present  life,  has  a  deep  interest  in  this  institu- 
tion. 

But  the  subject  addresses  itself  specially  to  believers.  You  love 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  love  his  Church,  and  have  a  deep  in- 
terest in  whatever  has  respect  to  his  honor.  And  the  eternal  life 
of  souls  is  near  your  heart.  If  this  institution  then  promises  to 
promote  either  of  these  objects,  it  will  be  dear  to  your  hearts. 
And  you  know  the  ministry  is  appointed  for  the  perfecting  of  the 
saints  and  for  the  edifyimr  of  the  body  of  Christ.  Of  course  an 
institution  designed  to  enlarge  this  ministry,  is  connected  inti- 
mately with  your  best  interests,  your  highest  pleasures,  and  your 


408  THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    PROPHETS. 

richest  hopes.     And  as  you  shall  see  its  walls  rise,  we  shall  pre- 
sume on  your  co-operation  and  your  prayers. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  whole  vicinity  have  a  deep  interest  in 
this  institution.  It  will  not  confine  its  blessings  to  you,  but  it  wilj 
offer  you  its  benefits  with  the  fewest  inconveniences.  If  God  has 
given  your  children  his  grace,  you  have  here  an  opportunity  to 
educate  them  at  your  own  threshold.  And  if  you  are  too  poor  to 
purchase  the  privilege,  still  this  institution  opens  to  you  its  doors 
Nor  is  the  thought  to  be  despised,  that  here  there  will  be  collected 
those  who*  have  an  interest  at  the  throne  of  grace,  and  whose 
daily  supplications  must  bring  a  blessing  upon  the  whole  vicinity. 

To  parents  this  subject  cannot  want  interest.  If  there  should 
be  no  prospect  that  our  own  children  be  here  prepared  for  useful- 
ness, still  the  institution  will  stand,  we  trust,  when  our  bodies  have 
mouldered  in  the  grave,  and  be  a  nursery  for  our  children's  child- 
ren down  through  many  generations.  In  an  age  like  this,  preg 
nant  with  such  high  and  holy  promise  to  the  rising  generation,  it 
is  a  blessing  to  be  a  parent.  We  may  have  higher  hopes  than  any 
ao-e  that  has  gone  by,  that  God  will  pour  out  his  Spirit  upon  our 
seed,  and  his  blessing  upon  our  offspring. 

The  friends  of  correct  sentiment  will  rejoice  to  see  a  school  of 
the  prophets  opened  among  a  people  who  believe  the  truth,  and  in 
a  neighborhood  where  there  is  a  pious  and  orthodox  ministry, 
where  prevail  the  doctrines  of  our  forefathers,  and  where  the  as- 
surance is  so  strong,  that  these  same  funds  shall  never  be  per- 
verted from  their  original  design.  We  have  seen  error  attempting 
to  roll  its  desolating  flood  through  our  churches.  We  have  seen 
orostituted  to  the  vile  purpose  of  disseminating  false  doctrines, 
funds  that  were  consecrated  to  the  interests  of  truth.  We  have 
seen  the  Redeemer  degraded  to  a  mere  attribute,  an  angel,  a  man, 
and  even  a  sinner,  by  the  very  charities  that  were  intended  to  give 
him  a  throne  in  every  heart,  and  an  altar  in  every  house.  We 
have  seen  fountains,  opened  by  the  liberality  of  a  pious  ancestry, 
so  poisoned,  that  every  stream  they  issued  carried  sterility  and 
death  through  the  provinces  they  were  designed  to  fertilize.  Next 
to  the  grace  of  God,  and  relying  on  his  blessing,  the  best  means 
of  cleansing  those  waters,  or  damming  these  streams,  is  to  prepare 
for  the  churches  a  full  supply  of  scribes  well  instructed  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.  And  the  hope  could  hardly  be  stronger,  that 
the  funds  here  deposited  for  that  purpose,  will  be  for  ever  held 
sacred  to  the  design  for  which  they  were  consecrated. 

The  poor  will  feel  a  special  interest  in  every  transaction  relative 


THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    PROPH5TS.  40(> 

to  this  institution.  The  fund  subscribed  is  exclusively  for  then., 
and  can  never  be  diverted  from  their  use.  Here  then  is  one  in- 
stitution where  envy  can  have  no  employ.  Tht  rich  would  nol  be 
willing  that  the  Christian  public  should  educate  tieir  children,  they 
would  prefer  to  purchase  the  benefit.  Once  it  was  said,  "  To  the 
poor  the  gospel  is  preached"  now  the  poor  may  become  qualified 
to  preach  the  gospel.  They  may  dispense  the  blessings  which  it 
has  been  their  province  to  receive,  may  teach  where  it  was  their 
privilege  to  learn,  may  become  beneficiaries  to  an  extent  that  shall 
qualify  them  to  become  benefactors.  Here,  if  you  cannot  educate 
your  own  children,  and  God  has  given  them  his  grace,  and  they 
are  otherwise  qualified,  you  may  send  them  to  live  by  the  temple 
and  feed  upon  its  offerings,  till  they  are  prepared  to  be  prophets 
in  Israel.  0,  it  must  carry  hope  and  joy  into  the  habitations  of 
poverty  to  day,  to  know  that  there  is  laid  the  foundation  of  an  in- 
stitution, destined  to  pour  its  blessings  exclusively  upon  the  indi- 
gent !  This  is  a  blessing  that  has  lain  so  beyond  their  hopes  as 
to  have  hardly  been  an  object  of  their  prayers.  Before  they  have 
called,  God  has  answered.  Hence,  to  the  full  extent  of  their 
power  they  will  pour  into  this  fund  the  little  streams  of  their  cha- 
rity, and  will  watch  the  progress  of  its  rising  honors  and  its  grow- 
ing interests  with  paternal  fondness  and  solicitude. 

Nor  will  the  rich  have  any  feelings  but  those  of  pleasure.  All 
other  institutions  have  opened  their  doors  to  them,  while  this  one. 
which  promises  promotion  to  the  children  of  their  poorer  neigh- 
bors, will  receive  their  patronage  and  their  prayers.  Nor  can 
they  know  but  their  posterity  may  be  poor,  and  one  day  hang  their 
last  hope  on  the  promised  aid  of  this  kind  and  benevolent  insti- 
tution. 

I  cannot  suppress  my  wish  to  recommend  this  institution  to  the 
patronage  of  females.  They  have  recently  signalized  themselves 
as  the  friends  of  religion  and  of  the  gospel  ministry.  Many  an 
ambassador  of  the  cross  owes  his  courage  and  his  success,  to  their 
charities  and  their  prayers.  Here  they  will,  have  opportunity,  I 
hope,  to  see  some  of  their  noblest  wishes  gratified.  Here  they 
may  consecrate  their  charities,  and  toward  this  place  may  turn 
their  eye  when  they  pray,  and  find  their  spirits  cheered,  their 
prayers  answered,  and  their  hopes  accomplished.  In  the  zeal  they 
show  for  these  objects,  they  evince  that  they  know  how  to  appre- 
ciate their  own  comforts.  The  gospel,  in  addition  to  the  promise 
of  eternal  life,  renders  them  free,  respected,  and  happy,  in  the  life 
that  now  is. 

52 


4-10  THE    IiNDUSTKlOUS    YOUNG     PROPHETS. 

This  institution  has  a  claim  upon  the  patriot.  No  country  is  so 
blessed  as  when  science  and  religion  blend  their  influences,  and 
shower  upon  society  their  united  blessing.  But  tliis  school,  more 
than  any  other,  will  tend  to  that  balance  of  influence,  and  approx- 
imate us  toward  that  equality,  which  is  ever  the  basis  of  a  govern- 
ment like  ours.  It  will  raise  the  poor,  widen  the  bonds  of  affec- 
tion, and  vastly  increase  the  amount  of  happiness.  We  hope  to 
enlist  in  this  benevolent  design  the  whole  aggregate  of  patriotism 
within  the  compass  of  its  influence. 

The  ministers  of  Christ  will  say,  God  speed,  to  an  enterprize 
calculated  to  increase  the  laborers  in  the  vineyard.  We  shall  thus 
give  evidence  to  the  world,  that  all  we  say  respecting  the  scarcity 
of  ministers  we  fully  believe  ;  for  if  things  were  otherwise,  we 
could  not  act  more  unwisely  for  our  own  interest  than  to  thus 
raise  up  rivals,  who  might  rob  us  of  our  parishes  and  our  bread. 
How  it  must  gladden  our  aged  fathers,  to  see  an  institution  rise, 
designed  to  prolong  the  cry  of  glad  tidings,  which  begins  to  die 
away  upon  their  palsied  lips.  When  they  can  address  sinners  no 
more,  and  can  only  cast  an  eye  over  the  valley  of  vision,  and  sur- 
vey the  vast  fields  of  the  slain,  it  will  rejoice  their  hearts  to  see 
other  prophets  taking  their  stand  by  the  side  of  that  valley,  intend- 
ing to  prolong  the  prophecy  till  the  dry  bones  have  become  living 
men.  When  the  aged  Elisha  went  with  the  young  prophets  to  the 
banks  of  Jordan,  to  cheer  them  in  their  toils,  and  aid  them  with 
his  counsels  and  his  prayers,  he  showed  a  strong  regard  to  the 
future  welfare  of  Israel,  and  deeply  engraved  his  memory  upon  the 
hearts  of  the  young  prophets.  Unless  I  greatly  mistake  the  feel- 
ings of  my  aged  fathers,  their  eyes  will  be  bright  with  joy  while 
they  see  these  walls  go  up.  They  will  fall  on  their  knees,  and 
spread  their  hands  toward  heaven,  and  give  us  their  dying  bless- 
ing;  and  may  their  prayers  return  into  their  own  bosom. 

If  now,  in  my  concluding  remarks,  I  should  address  you  as 
Christians,  I  would  say,  This  institution,  if  permitted  to  rise,  (and 
we  look  to  God  for  this  permission,)  and  if  not  grossly  perverted 
from  its  original  design,  is  connected  intimately  with  the  disper- 
sion of  that  Egyptian  darkness  which  lias  so  long  brooded  over  an 
apostate  world  ;  with  all  that  is  interesting  in  the  rescue  of  the 
idolater  from  his  gods,  the  Papist  from  his  relics  and  his  saints, 
the  Jew  from  his  Talmud,  the  Mahometan  from  his  Koran,  the 
African  from  his  chains,  and  the  assassin  from  his  pistol  and  his 
knife.  You  have  enlightened  views  of  your  Maker,  have  a  Bible, 
a  sabbath,  and  a  sanctuary,  can  feast  at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  and 


THE    IxNDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    PROPHETS.  411 

entertain  hopes  of  a  rich  and  happy  immortality.  I  plead  for  those 
who  are  immortal  like  you,  and  like  you  must  die,  and  be  judged, 
but  have  never  learned  the  true  character  of  God,  nor  heard  the 
story  of  a  Savior,  nor  have  discovered  any  escape  from  the  glooms 
of  the  sepulchre  ;  who  look  to  that  home  as  the  seat  of  perpetual 
darkness,  forgetfulness  and  silence  ;  who  have  never  kept  a  day 
of  rest,  and  can  hope  to  remit  their  toils,  their  cares  and  their  mis- 
eries, only  when  their  heads  shall  slumber  on  the  turf.  Religion 
would  make  them  as  happy  as  you,  and  heaven  as  blessed. 

But  I  do  not  appeal  exclusively  to  piety,  but  to  all  the  tender  feel- 
ings of  humanity.  When  you  cast  your  eye  over  the  dark  places 
of  the  earth,  which  are  full  of  the  habitations  of  cruelty,  every 
aspect  of  wretchedness  which  you  descry,  gives  importance  to  the 
transactions  of  this  day.  We  plead  for  the  unhappy,  for  the  lost, 
and  the  miserable.  I  think  I  see,  without  the  aid  of  inspiration,  a 
band  of  missionaries,  educated  in  this  school,  issuing  forth  to 
chase  misery  from  this  polluted  world. 

You  are  a  father,  are  loved  by  your  children,  and  cherished  with 
that  tenderness  which  your  infirmities  and  your  age  require  ;  we 
plead  for  fathers,  who  in  their  declining  years  are  deserted  by 
their  children,  and  left  to  perish  by  the  frosts  of  age,  who  are 
borne  to  the  bed  of  some  river,  that  they  may  be  swept  away  by 
the  tide,  and  become  the  food  of  the  shark  or  the  alligator. 

You  are  a  mother,  and  perhaps  a  widow,  and  your  children  would 
shrink  from  no  sacrifice  that  might  prolong  your  life,  or  soothe 
your  pains  or  your  cares  ;  I  plead  for  mothers  whose  offspring  are 
monsters,  and  can  force  them  at  the  point  of  the  spear  upon  the 
flames  that  are  consuming  the  corpse  of  a  husband,  and  can  drown 
their  dying  shrieks  in  acclamations  of  infernal  joy. 

You  was  left  in  your  infancy  an  orphan,  and  have  found  in  this 
inhospitable  svorld  a  guardian  and  a  friend,  who  has  nursed  your 
childhood,  and  watched  your  youth,  and  reared  you  to  respectable 
and  promising  manhood  ;  I  plead  for  orphans,  \vli<>  have  no  home 
but  in  the  place  of  sculls,  no  house  but  the  house  of  silence,  where 
sleep  the  ashes  of  a  merciless  mother,  no  friend  but  death,  who 
stops  the  rage  of  hunger,  blunts  the  edge  of  care,  extinguishes  the 
fire  of  affection  and  hope,  and  finds  the  wretched  a  covert  and  a 
calm  amid  the  clods  of  the  valley. 

If  the  relief  of  miseries  like  these  has  the  least  connection  with 
the  events  of  this  day,  these  events  will  have  some  claim  upon  the 
sympathy  of  every  feeling  heart.  If  we  might  only  hope,  that  by 
means  of  this  institution,  one  more   missionary,  than  would  other 


412  THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUISG    PR01  HETS. 

wise  be  educated,  will  enter  the  fields  of  labor,  and  go  to  some  one 
province  of  this  dark  world,  and  there  create  a  light  that  shall  guide 
home  to  heaven  one  benighted. soul,  it  would  be  worth  all  the  pains  and 
the  wealth  that  shall  be  expended  in  founding  this  school.  "The 
redemption  of  the  soul  is  precious  and  it  ceaseth  for  ever."  You 
might  cover  that  field  with  silver  and  gold,  and  if  the  whole  would 
buy  off  one  soul  from  perdition  it  would  be  well  expended.  And 
I  must  believe  that  more  than  one  missionary  will  be  sent,  and  more 
than  one  sinner  be  redeemed,  by  the  means  that  are  here  providing  ; 
and  in  the  boundless  joys  thus  generated,  shall  find  all  the  reward 
I  wish,  for  any  plea  I  can  offer,  or  any  exertions  I  can  make,  to 
advance  this  interest. 

If  we  are  utterly  mistaken,  and  any  feel  otherwise,  we  rejoice 
that  the  field  of  labor  is  large.  They  may  glorify  God  in  some 
other  way,  may  feed  the  poor,  disperse  the  Scriptures,  support  the 
missionaries  already  educated,  or  educate  others  in  some  other 
school.  Or  if  any  will  neither  aid  this  charity  nor  any  other,  and 
their  consciences  will  approve  of  their  neutrality,  they  shall  re- 
ceive no  reproach  from  us  if  they  do  nothing.  If  we  are  disposed 
to  do  good,  and  our  motive  is  the  glory  of  God,  it  will  ill  become 
us  to  reproach  others.     To  their  own  master  they  stand  or  fall. 

In  the  mean  time,  I  hope  that  those  who  cannot  conscientiously 
labor  with  us,  will  utter  no  reproaches,  nor  make  any  effort  to  dam 
the  streams  of  charity  that  might  flow  to  this  centre,  and  issue 
hence  to  carry  their  fertilizing  influence  through  the  wastes  of 
this  miserable  world.  If  once  the  object  was  good,  it  is  so  still. 
If  unhappily  some  may  not  have  had  in  view  the  Divine  glory  in 
their  most  zealous  efforts,  still  the  character  of  the  institution  is 
not  changed,  nor  its  importance  diminished,  nor  its  claims  cancel- 
led.    I  close  with  one  remark  to  the  friends  of  this  institution. 

How  important  is  it,  that  we  suitably  prize  and  improve  the 
ministry  established  among  us.  What  will  it  avail  us  that  we 
have  pitied  the  destitute,  and  the  heathen,  if  at  last  we  die  impeni- 
tent, and  sink  below  them  in  perdition.  We  may  send  them  the 
Bible  and  the  ambassador  of  peace,  and  still  neglect  that  book  and 
that  ministry,  and  die  unsanctioned.  The  ministry  can  be  a  bless- 
ing to  the  heathen,  only  as  it  may  become  the  means  of  their  con- 
version ;  hence  to  feel  anxious  for  them,  and  found  an  institution 
with  a  view  to  furnish  them  a  ministry,  and  yet  under  the  full  ad- 
vantages of  that  ministry  live  without  God  ami  without  Christ  in 
the  world,  is  to  act  with  unpardonable  disregard  of  our  first  best 
duty.     It  would  be  a  fearful  event,  if  finally  we  should  lift  up  our 


THE    INDUSTRIOUS    YOUNG    PROPHETS.  413 

voice  and  weep  and  say,  "My  mother's  children  made  me  the  keeper 
of  the  vineyards,  but  mine  own  vineyard  have  I  not  kept."  Each 
of  us  has  a  soul  that  must  live  for  ever,  that  must  be  washed  in  a 
Savior's  blood,  or  must  endure  the  terrors  of  his  wrath  ;  to  save 
this  soul  is  our  first  concern,  and  we  may  wake  in  its  interests  too 
late.  If  we  should  give  all  our  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  our 
bodies  to  be  burned,  and  yet  lack  that  charity  to  which  salvation 
is  promised,  we  should  die  fools  at  the  last.  It  is  true  that  the 
religion  of  the  gospel  is  benevolent ;  it  is  true  that  the  covetous 
man  is  an  idolater,  and  has  not  eternal  life  abiding  in  him,  but 
there  is  also  a  religion  which  all  evaporates  in  care  for  the  safetv 
of  others,  which  has  little  to  do  with  the  closet,  or  the  heart,  or 
the  Bible,  or  heaven.  0  let  this  day  bring  us  all  to  our  knees. 
Let  the  walls  of  this  edifice  be  bedewed  with  the  tears  of  repent- 
ance, and  may  we  all  be  pillars  or  polished  stones  in  the  mystical 
temple,  which  Christ  is  erecting,  that  when  the  top-stone  is  laid 
we  may  be  there  to  aid  the  shout,  Grace,  grace  unto  it.  "  Amen 
even  so  come.  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly." 


SERMON    XXXV. 

THE  NATURE  AND  RESULTS  OF  SAXCTZFICATION. 

john  xvrr.   ]7. 
Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth;  thy  word  is  truth. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  a  perfect  man.  This  we  must  be- 
lieve as  confidently  as  we  believe  his  divinity,  else  we  shall  have 
confused  ideas  of  many  portions  of  divine  truth.  And  as  he  was 
a  perfect  man,  and  would  be  in  all  things  a  pattern  of  what  his 
people  should  be,  he  must  have  a  perfect  religious  character,  and 
perform  the  Christian  duties  as  far  as  they  would  be  applicable  to 
his  exalted  nature.     Hence,  we  often  find  him  engaged  in  prayer. 

Whatever  difficulty  there  may  be  in  the  idea  of  a  divine  Re- 
deemer's praying,  the  fact  we  are  bound  to  believe.  In  his  infe- 
rior character  as  Mediator,  he  acted  by  commission  from  the 
Father,  and  would  take  instructions  from  him,  and  put  confidence 
in  him.  When  the  last  scene  was  coming  on,  and  he  knew  that 
soon  he  must  hang  upon  the  tree,  he  offered  that  memorable  prayer 
from  which  the  text  is  selected.  He  prayed  most  tenderly  for  Ids 
people  ;  and  among  the  first  blessings  asked,  he  prayed  for  their 
sanctification  through  the  truth. 

There  cluster  about  this  subject  many  interesting  questions,  to  some 
of  which  I  purpose  to  turn  your  attention. 

I.  What  do  the  Scriptures  mean  by  sanctification  \  Sometimes 
it  means  being  set  apart  to  sacred  use.  Thus  every  seventh  day 
is  sanctified.  "  God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and  sanctified  it  " 
Thus  the  tabernacle  and  temple,  the  priests  and  altars,  and  sacrifi- 
ces, and  all  the  sacred  things  of  the  Jewish  dispensation  were 
sanctified. 

God  speaks  of  sanctifying  his  name,  which  he  does  when  by  his 
judgments  lie  rebukes  the  gainsayers,  and  stills  their  blasphemies. 
He  thus  convinces  men  that  he  is  holy. 

I  could  name  many  other  uses  of  the  term  sanctification;  but  its 
principal  use,  and  that  intended  in  the  te.Tt,  is,  in  application  to  the 
work   of  rendering  an   unholy  creature  holy.     Men  are  by  nature 


THE    NATURE    AXD    RESULTS    OF    SANCTIFICM  HON.  415 

unholy.  They  exercise  forbidden  affections,  and  do  not  put  forth 
the  affections  that  God  requires.  The  prayer  of  Christ  in  the  text 
was.  that  his  followers,  through  the  instrumentality  of  truth,  might 
be  made  what  God  requires  them  to  be  ;  having  the  affections  of 
the  heart,  and,  of  course,  the  deeds  of  the  life,  conformable  to  the 
divine  law. 

II.  Another  question  may  here  very  properly  be, — When  does 
this  holiness  begin  1  And  the  answer  is  obvious.  It  begins  at  the 
moment  of  regeneration.  Till  then,  all  the  exercises  are  unholy  ; 
for  "  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God."  Nor  is  there  any 
degree  of  alarm,  or  any  amount  of  conviction,  that  can  generate 
one  holy  affection  in  the  heart,  previously  to  this  period.  Of 
course  all  the  prayers  offered,  and  all  the  exertions  made,  prior  to 
this  change,  are  unregenerate  prayers  and  exertions.  Nor  can  it 
be  believed,  consistently  with  correct  Scripture  views,  that,  ante- 
rior  to  this  moment,  there  is  any  approximation  toward  correct 
feeling.  No  alarm,  nor  the  most  distinct  conviction,  can  bring  an 
unregenerate  man  to  feel  any  more  correctly  toward  God,  or  any 
holy  object,  than  he  did  in  a  state  of  carelessness  and  security. 
And  although  we  would  not  pretend  to  say  that  the  Divine  influence 
in  the  hour  of  awakening  may  not  restrain  the  sinner,  and  hold 
him  back  from  the  blasphemous  thoughts  and  affections  which  he 
might  otherwise  put  forth,  yet  in  all  this  there  is  no  holiness. 

And  then  it  may  be  a  question  whether  the  sinner,  under  alarm, 
does  not  wax  worse  and  worse,  till  the  moment  of  passing  from 
death  unto  life.  If  he  has  more  light — if  he  sees  more  distinctly 
the  objects  of  his  implacable  hatred,  does  he  not  obviously  rise  in 
his  hatred,  till  it  is  changed  into  love  ?  This  point,  however,  il  i  ■ 
not  my  object  to  press.  We  must  concede  that  holiness  I 
when  the  heart  is  changed. 

III.  Is  it  always  small  in  its  beginning  ?  Does  that  text  in  which 
the  kingdom  of  God  is  compared  to  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  and 
that  other  where  it  is  compared  to  leaven,  teach  us  that  grace  in 
the  heart  is  thus  small  at  the  first  1  Or  do  they  illustrate  the  pri- 
mitive smallness  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  its  ultimate  growth 
and  enlargement  !     They  may  be   in. ■•mm   to   apply  in  both   c 

but  aside  from  these  texts,  we  are  taught  unequivocally  in  the 
Scriptures,  that  the  believer  is,  at  the  first,  sanctified  but  in  ;i  small 
degree,  and  that  he  "grows  in  grace"  till  he  arrives  at  the  fulness 
of  the  stature  of  o  perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus.     He  is  at  the 


416  THE    NATURE    AND    RESULTS    OF    SANCTIFICATION. 

a  "babe,  and  has  need  of  milk,  and  not  of  strong  meat."  After 
wards,  he  "  forgets  the  things  that  are  behind,  and  reaches  forth 
to  those  things  that  are  before,  and  presses  toward  the  mark  for 
the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  The  light 
that  has  shined  in  upon  him  shines  "brighter  and  brighter  unto 
the  perfect  day."  Hence,  we  gather,  that  though  the  work  of  re- 
generation is  from  its  very  nature  instantaneous,  the  work  of  sanc- 
tification  is  progressive,  and  is,  at  the  first,  comparatively  small. 

IV.  But  how  will  this  comport  with  what  believers  have  thought 
was  their  experience — that  at  the  first  they  felt  a  glow  of  holy  af- 
fection, which  they  termed  their  first  love,  which  afterward  they 
lost  \  And  the  Scriptures,  they  have  supposed,  favored  the  idea. 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  I  remember  thee,  the  kindness  of  thy  youth. 
the  love  of  thine  espousals,  when  thou  wentest  after  me  in  the 
wilderness,  in  a  land  that  was  not  sown."  But  was  that  love  of 
espousals,  thus  accredited  to  Israel,  all  holy  love  1 — or  was  it  not, 
in  great  part  at  least,  merely  that  natural  joy  which  might  arise 
from  the  comfort,  and  pride,  and  novelty  of  their  emancipation  ?  It 
surely  soon  vanished,  and  they  murmured,  and  made  them  gods, 
under  whose  guidance  they  purposed  to  return  to  Egypt.  And 
that  whole  congregation,  you  know,  died  in  the  wilderness.  They 
were,  evidently,  as  a  body,  destitute  of  holiness;  hence  their  love 
of  espousals  must  be  explained  as  something  else  than  delight  in 
God. 

But  why  may  not  the  same  be  said  often  of  that  joy  with  which 
the  heart  of  the  new-born  seems  to  overflow  1  Can  we  be  allowed 
to  believe  it  is  all  holy  love  to  God  1  There  can  be,  as  yet,  but 
little  knowledge  of  God,  or  of  truth.  Hence  that  strong  affection 
can  hardly  be  allowed  to  flow  wholly  from  objects  so  dimly  seen. 
Is  there  not  often  far  greater  probability,  that  it  is  the  mere  effu- 
sion of  animal  affection  \  Or,  at  leasr,  that  it  has  far  more  of  na- 
ture in  it  than  of  grace.  There  may  not  seem,  afterword,  the 
same  hilarity  ;  but  is  there  not  more  knowledge  of  truth  and  duty, 
and  more  stability  in  the  way  of  God,  more  fixed  principles  of  ac- 
tion, more  humility,  and  more  undeviating  confidence  in  the  Sa- 
vior 1 

In  which  position  would  the  believer  most  readily  go  to  the 
stake,  and  lay  down  his  life  for  hi>  Master  '.  when,  during  the  first 
month  of  his  regeneracy,  he  lills  the  air  with  his  song  !  or,  when 
a  few  years  afterward,  he  has  learned  the  corruption  of  his  heart, 
and  at  times,  perhaps,  hardly  dare  hope  that  he  is  born  of  God  '. 


THE    NATURE    AND    RESULTS    OF    SA  NOTIFICATION.  4]  7 

May  not  the  joy  abate,  and  there  be,  at  the  same  time,  an  increase 
of  the  principle  of  holiness  that  develops  a  heavenly  mind  1  Sure- 
ly it  is  the  believer  of  continued  experience,  and  not  the  man  re- 
newed but  yesterday,  that  is  rooted  and  grounded  in  the  trutl 
who  cannot  be  driven  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine.  Whether 
this  question  is  decided  right,  however,  I  wish  each  one  to  judge 
for  himself. 

V.    Another  question  arising   out   of  this   subject  is — does  the 
good  man  at  all  times  advance  in  holiness?  and   arc  we  so  to  un- 
derstand that  text,   "  The  righteous  shall  hold  on  his  way"  !  Here, 
perhaps,  again,  it  is  not  easy  to  come  at  what  we  are  sure  is  truth. 
I  have  believed  that  it  is  otherwise,  and  that,  while  there  are  times 
when  the  good  man  progresses  rapidly,  there  are  other  times  when 
he  makes  no  progress,  and  others,  again,  when  the  progress  of  ho- 
liness, if  I  may  so  speak,    is  backward.     Thus    Israel,    sometimes, 
bent  their  track  directly  to  the  promised  land,  at   other  times    did 
not  move  for  many  days,  and  at  other  times   marched   retrograde. 
So  we  have  seen  the  plant  spring  up  and  grow  as  if  life  was  in  it. 
and  then  perhaps  for  weeks  seem  stationary,  and  then  again  with- 
ering under   drought,  and   seemingly   about   to   perish.      Whether 
these  analogies  may  teach  us  truth   or  mislead  us,  still  I  have  be- 
lieved it  thus  with  the  child  of  God.     And  the  only  position  con- 
tested, 1  believe,  is,    whether  the    Christian   is   ever  in  the  way  to 
do   himself   essential   injury.     That  broad   promise,   "All  things 
shall   work   together  for  good   to   them  that  love  God,"  has  been 
used  as  implying  the  negative.     That  the  promise  is  true,  and  that 
the  full  import  of  it  will  be  accomplished,  there  cannot  be  a  doubt. 
But  what  is  its  import  1     Does  God  merely   promise,    in  this  pre- 
cious   text,   that  all   the  events  of  Ids  prmud'nce  shall  conspire  to 
bring  his  people  to  a  higher  seat  in  heaven  1      Or  does  he  promise 
all  this,  and  more  too,  that  their  very  backsliding  shall  conspire  to 
the  same  result  1      Would    he    promise,    that    if  they  forsake  him, 
and  sin  by  going  after  their  idols,  this  very  sin  shall  tend  to  purify 
them!     Would  it  be  safe  to  trust  a  wandering   believer  with  such 
a   promise    in   his    hand  !     Is   it  reasonable   to    believe  that  it  will 
tend  to  the  health  and    growth   of  the    heavenly    mind,    to    have  it 
wounded,  and  polluted,  and  ensnared  by  transgression  !      Have  we 
any  assurance  that  Peter   and   David    might   not    have  reached   i 
nobler    Christian   stature,   if  they    had    stood  linn  in   the    hour  of 
temptation?     1  confess,  I  thb*k  there  is  no  such  assurance 
53 


418  THE    NATURE    AND    RESULTS    OF    SANCTIFICATION 

Do  not  facts  warrant  us  to  believe  that  Christian  minds  of  the 
same  powers  and  opportunities,  have  made  different  degrees  of  ad- 
vance in  the  ways  of  God  1  The  one  is  seen  to  climb  the  steeps 
of  Zion,  with  brisk  and  steady  step,  and  far  outgo  the  other,  while 
in  us  there  appears  no  reason  why  the  other  might  not  have  lea 
in  the  enterprise.  The  professor  who  comes  at  length  to  the 
grave  in  old  age,  and,  as  we  hope,  a  believer,  but  who  can  look 
hack  upon  whole  years  of  relapse  and  of  wandering,  has  he  those 
marks  of  maturity,  and  that  animating  hope,  and  that  strong  and 
conquering  faith,  seen  in  the  man  who  moved  steadily  on  in  the 
ways  of  God,  till  his  Master  called  him  1  You  are  thinking,  per- 
haps, while  you  read,  of  two  old  men,  contemporaries  who  died, 
it  may  be  in  the  same  year,  members  of  the  same  communion,  the 
one  having  hardly  deviated  from  the  path  of  life  an  hour,  while  the 
other  has  seemed  to  be  alternately  a  Christian  or  a  worldling,  as  the 
times  were.  Now  which  of  them  seemed  manifestly  to  fall  asleep  in 
Jesus,  while  the  other  was  saved  perhaps,  though  as  by  fire  1  You 
have  all  answered  me.  Pass  through  our  Churches,  and  tell  me 
where  is  the  venerated  man  of  God,  who  is  to  the  world  around 
him  a  walking  conscience,  and  carries  heaven  on  his  brow,  in 
whose  life  there  have  not  been  some  dark  seasons  of  marked,  and 
guilty,  and  hurtful  relapse  1  Let  me  say,  I  do  not  believe  that  the 
Christian  does  make  uniform  progress  in  holiness,  but  does  some 
times  become  stationary,  and  sometimes  retrograde  in  the  heavenly 
road. 

VI.  Are  we  then  to  believe,  that  while  every  Christian  in  heaven 
will  be  perfect,  there  will  still  be  a  difference  in  their  Christian  sta- 
ture, and  their  amount  of  enjoyment  proportioned  to  their  industry 
in  acquiring  holiness  in  the  present  life  1  Ou  this  point  there  can  be 
very  little  doubt.  There  will  be  a  difference  in  heaven  among  re- 
deemed spirits,  as  one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory. 
Doubtless  God  will  have  employment  for  them  all  in  his  kingdom. 
As  in  a  building  there  is  a  variety  of  materials,  places  to  fill  requir- 
ing  more  and  less  strength,  but  all  necessary  ;  so  in  that  mystic 
temple  whose  topstone  is  to  be  laid  in  heaven  with  shouting, 
Grac  unto  it,  there  may  he  required,  to  give  it  its  greatest 
strength  and  beaut y,  souls  of  very  different  capacities. 

VII.  It  is  then  obvious  that  we  are  ourselves  selecting  the  posi- 
tion we  shall  occupy  in  heaven,  if  any.     On   our  industry  wi 


THE    NATURE    AND    RESULTS    OF    S/i  NOTIFICATION.  419 

pend  our  growth ;  and  on  our  growth  our  station  in  the  kingdom 
of  the  Redeemer.  And  how  can  men  be  indifferent  what  is  the 
position  they  shall  hold  among  the  redeemed  in  heaven !  Increas- 
ing holiness  bears  its  present  fruits,  gives  its  immediate  as  well  as 
its  future  rewards.  In  what  other  enterprise,  then,  shall  we  be  so 
ambitious  to  succeed  as  in  this  1  If  there  is  any  one  thing  stir- 
prising  above  all  others,  it  is  that  believers  in  Christ  should  be 
slow  to  put  on  his  image.  The  Psalmist  would  never  be  satisfied 
till  he  awaked  from  death  in  the  likeness  of  his  Redeemer.  There 
is  surely  no  joy  like  that  which  is  begotten  by  a  holy  temper  : — 
hence,  how  can  one  who  has  tasted  this  joy,  find  any  other  plea- 
sures, which,  for  a  single  hour,  can  become  its  substitute]  Let 
me  close  by  presenting  a  few  motives  to  engaging  with  ardor  in 
this  heavenly  enterprise. 

1.  I  have  hinted  that  we  shall  be  happy  in  proportion  as  we  are 
holy.  We  are  mistaken  in  supposing  that  any  particular  circum- 
stances are  requisite  to  render  us  happy.  There  is  but  one  thing 
requisite,  likeness  to  Jesus  Christ.  And  this  is  a  happiness  within 
the  reach  of  us  all,  in  proportion  as  we  are  willing  to  exercise  his 
temper,  and  copy  his  example,  and  put  on  his  image.  Hence  that 
rich  and  precious  intimation*  "  Christ  in  you  the  hope  of  glory." 

2.  We  shall  be  useful,  other  things  being  equal,  in  proportion  as 
we  are  holy.  No  good  man  can  be  satisfied  who  feels  himself  to 
be  living  to  no  purpose.  Find  me  the  Christian  who  is  never  hap- 
py, and,  sure  as  life,  he  is  never  useful.  He  is  a  cumberer  of  the 
ground,  and  can  never  reflect  on  the  day  that  has  gone  by  with 
pleasure.  The  man  who  is  not  aiming  to  bless  his  generation  may 
dig  after  comforts,  but  he  can  never  find  them.  He  may  read  all 
the  promises  over,  day  by  day,  but  there  will  not  be  found  a  word 
of  consolation  for  him.  He  might  derive  more  from  some  act  of 
real  Christian  benevolence,  than  he  does  from  a  whole  Bible  full 
of  consolations  :  and  to  be  holy  is  the  way  to  be  useful.  To  fol- 
low Christ  has  an  eloquence  in  it  that  no  exhortation,  nor  argu- 
ment can  hold  out.     "Be  ye  followers  of  me,  as  dear  children." 

3.  There  is  dignity  and  character  in  being  holy,  that  nothing  else 
can  produce.  What  man  is  great  like  him  who  walks  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  exercising  the  same  affections  that  Christ  dor-;  !  In 
what  matter  should  not  men  feel  indifferent,  rather  than  ho  willing  to 
be  losers  in  this  mighty  concern  1  How  can  it  seem  a  small  thing, 
whether  we  put  on,  or  not,  the  character  that  glows  in  the  view 
of  heaven]  the  character  that  he  wears  who  receives  the  homage 


420  THE    NATURE    AND    RESULTS    OF    SANCTIFICATION. 

of  all  the  redeemed,  and  is  adored  by  cherubim  and  seraphim  1 
How  comparatively  trifling  a  matter  is  it,  that  we  are  honorable  in 
the  estimation  of  those  who  judge  according  to  the  outward  ap- 
pearance. The  apostle  could  say  to  his  enemies,  It  is  a  small 
thing  that  I  should  be  judged  of  you,  or  of  man's  judgment.  How 
noble  his  character,  while  he  thus  regarded  supremely  the  inward 
adornings  of  holiness  !  Would  we  then  aim  at  character — charac- 
ter that  will  stand  the  test  when  worlds  are  burned  up — let  us 
press  on  after  holiness 


SERMON    XXXVI. 

THE  MEANS  OF  SANCTIFICATION. 

JOHN    XVII.    17. 

Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth  ;  thy  word  is  truth. 

The  grand  purpose  for  which  God  gave  to  men  a  revelation  of 
his  will,  was,  that  the  truth  thus  revealed  might  be  the  medium  of 
their  sanctification.  It  is  hence  spoken  of  as  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  the  Sanctifier.  If  it  be  asked,  Why  God  does  not  make 
men  holy  without  the  use  of  truth,  we  answer,  that  he  would  not 
thus  treat  them  as  moral  agents.  There  must  be  in  that  case  a 
mere  act  of  his  sovereignty,  and  man  become  virtuous  without  de- 
sign. Indeed,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  keeping  within  the  record  to 
say,  that  men  cannot  be  saved  without  a  knowledge  of  Divine 
truth,  in  consistency  with  the  nature  God  has  given  them,  and  the 
heaven  he  has  provided  for  holy  beings.  The  very  nature  of  holi- 
ness implies  that  men  have  felt  the  force  of  truth,  and  yielded 
voluntarily  to  its  influence.  To  repent  implies,  that  we  see  the 
truths,  that  the  law  is  good,  and  that  we  have  broken  it,  while  we 
were  under  the  most  sacred  obligations  to  obey  it.  And  faith  im- 
plies, that  we  feel  distinctly  the  truths,  that  we  are  lost,  that 
Christ  is  able  and  willing  to  save,  and  has  warranted  us  to  make 
application  to  him.  Hence  men  cannot  be  forcibly  made  to  repent 
and  believe,  not  acting  themselves,  voluntarily,  in  view  of  truth, 
without  an  infringement  of  their  agency.  Or,  rather,  such  faith 
and  repentance,  if  we  could  suppose  its  existence,  would  not  be 
their  own  act,  and  could  not,  on  the  Gospel  plan,  avail  them  to 
salVation.  Let  us  then  inquire,  how  and  why  Divine  truth  is  used  in 
rendering  men  holy. 

I.  It  presents  to  view  the  objects  of  holy  affection.  To  lovt 
God  is  a  holy  affection.  But  God  cannot  be  loved,  till  men  are 
acquainted  with  his  character.  In  his  word,  his  character  is  all 
presented.  Had  we  no  Bible,  we  might  see  his  mighty  power  and 
Godhead  in  the  works  of  creation ;  but  only  in  the  oracles  of  God 
do  wo  see  his  whole  character.     There  every  attribute  is  written, 


422  THE    MEANS    OF    SA .NOTIFICATION. 

and  the  full  Deity  made  known.  Now,  if  we  have  vhat  temper  to 
which  goodness  is  lovely,  we  shall  not  fail  to  love  him. 

The  complete  character  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is,  in  the  same 
book  of  God,  revealed  for  our  faith.  We  can  see  for  ourselves, 
whether  he  has  those  attributes  we  can  love,  and  is  such  a  Savior 
as  we  can  trust  in.  There  could  be  no  faith  in  him  without  this 
delineation  of  his  character. 

The  Christian  character,  also,  is  presented  in  the  Bible,  as  the 
object  of  our  affectionate  regard.  We  there  learn  the  divine  law, 
and  have  opportunity  to  approve  :  and  the  same  may  be  said  in 
reference  to  every  holy  object  on  which  God  requires  us  to  place 
our  esteem 

And  we  learn,  too,  in  the  same  book,  the  objects  ive  are  required 
to  hate  ;  fur  holiness  consists  in  feeling  disgust  towards  the  ob- 
jects of  unrighteousness,  as  well  as  complacency  in  righteous- 
ness. There  we  learn  the  temper  of  our  hearts,  and  all  the  moral 
wrong  in  ourselves  that  we  are  to  loathe  and  repent  of.  Thus  a 
primary  use  of  truth  in  our  sanctification  is  to  present  us  with  the 
character  of  the  objects  toward  which  we  are  to  exercise  holy 
affections,  the  objects  we  are  required  to  love,  and  the  objects  we 
are  required  to  hate. 

II.  Another  use  of  truth  is  to  present  motives  to  the  exercise  of 
the  right  affections.  The  Bible  amply  assures  us,  that  holiness  is 
a  lovely  attribute  of  character.  It  is  what  renders  God  lovely, 
and  angels,  and  the  whole  family  of  the  redeemed.  Hence  holi- 
ness is  indispensable  to  good  character  ;  and  here  is  a  motive  to 
aim  at  a  high  standard  of  holiness. 

The  Bible  assures  us,  that  only  where  there  is  holiness  there  is 
happiness.  This  begets  the  peace  and  joy  that  reign  in  heaven ; 
while  its  opposite  has  occasioned  the  ruin  of  this  world,  and  the 
miseries  of  hell.  These  facts  are  so  amply  illustrated  in  the  word 
of  God,  as  to  show  the  loveliness  of  virtue,  and  the  hatefulness  of 
vice,  thus  presenting  us  new  motives  to  become  holy.  The  Bible 
presents  motives  to  holiness,  by  drawing  out  holiness  and  depravity 
to  their  final  result  in  heaven  and  in  hell.  In  the  one  world,  holi- 
ness has  produced  its  full  effect  in  the  everlasting  peace  and  bless- 
edness of  its  population  ;  in  the  other,  too,  its  full  effect  in  the 
unspeakable  misery  of  its  hopeless  inmates.  Thus  Bible  truth 
presents  men  with  motives  to  become  holy,  and  being  urged  home 
oy  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  the  understanding  and  conscience,  is 
the  medium  of  sanctification. 


THE    MEANS    OF    SANCTIFICATIOM.  423 

III.  As  holiness  must  beget  the  love  of  holiness,  it  must  also 
produce  love  to  that  truth  which  is  the  medium  of  its  own  produc- 
tion. The  Christian,  then,  wishing  to  progress  in  that  holiness 
which  is  begun  in  him,  will  be  the  friend  of  Bible  truth,  will  aim 
to  grow  in  the  knowledge  of  it.  As  this  is  seen  to  be  the  medium 
of  his  cleansing,  and  as  he  now  aspires  to  be  clean,  he  must  desire 
to  know  more  of  truth.  All  Bible  truth  will  please  him,  for  it  all 
has  one  and  the  same  effect,  his  cleansing.  He  will  thus  be  a 
diligent  student  of  the  Bible,  and  will  never  feel  that  he  knows 
enough  of  it,  while  there  remains  in  his  heart  or  life  one  moral 
pollution  to  be  cleansed  away. 

IV.  It  will  follow  then,  of  course,  that  the  Christian  who  is  a 
child  in  Bible  knowledge,  will  be  a  child  in  holiness.  To  the  same 
extent  that  he  remains  ignorant  of  divine  truth,  he  will  remain  un- 
sanctified  ;  and  men  will  learn,  without  inquiring  of  him,  how  much 
attention  he  gives  the  sacred  valume.  Apparent  exceptions  to  this 
position  are  easily  explained.  We  have  seen  men  of  small  intel- 
lect and  small  acquisitions  in  science,  generally,  who  yet  appeared 
to  be  rapidly  growing  in  holiness.  In  such  cases,  it  will  always 
be  found,  on  a  close  acquaintance,  that,  though  the  man  may  have 
no  general  knowledge,  he  is  daily  conversant  with  the  testimonies 
of  the  Lord.  If  one  will  learn  sanctifying  truth,  he  may  become 
sanctified,  though  he  may  remain  ignorant  of  other  truth.  We  fre- 
quently meet  with  the  contrast  of  this  case ;  men  possessing  a 
large  amount  of  general  knowledge,  but  knowing  little  about  their 
Bible  ;  in  which  case  there  will  not  be  seen  much  advancement  in 
the  stature  of  piety.  If  we  are  acquainted  merely  with  men  and 
money;  though  we  may  be  ac  ite  worldlings,  this  knowledge  will 
not  tend  to  purify  the  heart.  The  knowledge  that  will  render  us 
holy  is  to  be  gathered  from  the  word  of  the  Lord.  "  Sanctify  them 
through  thy  truth." 

V.  It  would  seem  to  be  a  truth  unquestionable  that  the  man  who 
is  under  the  process  of  sanctification,  will  have  an  increasing  thirst 
for  a  knowledge  of  divine  truth,  till  he  dies.  As  the  heart  be- 
comes purified,  the  love  of  truth,  the  means  of  its  purifying,  must 
increase.  And  let  the  thirst  for  truth  increase,  and  it  needs  no  ar- 
gument to  prove  that  men  will  grow  in  the  knowledge  of  it.  We 
shall  find,  then,  no  believer  who  thinks  he  knows  enough  of  the 
Bible,  no  man,  however  old,  or  infirm,  or  poor,  or  occupied,  or 
neglected,  if  he  has  begun  to  be  sanctified,  who  will  not  wish,  by 


424  THE    .MEANS    OF    SANCTIFICATIO.W 

learning  more  truth,  to  nourish  the  spiritual  life  that  is  begun. 
More  a*.id  more,  as  the  cleansing  operation  goes  on,  and  he  feels 
the  pleasure  of  being  holy,  will  his  mind  be  open  to  conviction, 
and  the  truth  become  adapted  to  his  taste  as  the  honey  and  the 
honeycomb.  The  love  of  truth,  in  the  aged  believer,  becomes  his 
strongest  appetite.  Old  men  are  not  accustomed,  you  know,  to 
abandon,  in  their  latter  years,  the  objects  of  their  appetite.  How 
often  do  they  rather  become  the  slaves  of  some  strong  governing 
principle,  which  is  seen  at  last  to  be  mightier  in  death  than  ever! 
And  in  the  man  of  God,  who  is  struggling  with  his  corruptions, 
and  desperately  bent  on  the  masteiy,  the  appetite  for  truth  must 
be  the  ruling  passion  while  his  eye  can  see  or  his  ear  hear,  or  his 
mind  perceive,  or  his  heart  and  conscience  be  impressed.  He  will 
carry  his  Bible  with  him  to  his  death-bed,  and  put  it  by  his  pillow, 
Mid  glance  his  dying  eye  upon  its  pages,  and  ask  the  by-standers 
to  teach  him,  and  will  be  digesting  some  heavenly  truth  when  life 
goes  out ;  and  the  nourishment  afforded  his  soul,  by  that  last  re- 
flection, will  add  the  finishing  stroke  to  his  sanctification.  How 
can  it  be  otherwise  1  Whomsoever  it  may  condemn,  though  it 
tear  from  myself  the  last  hope  I  have,  still  it  must  be  true,  that  as 
grace  advances  in  the  heart,  the  love  of  truth  will  be  enkindled. 
As  there  can  be  no  natural  health,  and  the  bodyr  cannot  be  strong 
and  vigorous  after  the  appetite  is  gone ;  so  is  there  no  spiritual 
health,  and  the  inner  man  is  sickly  and  nerveless,  where  the:e  is 
no  relish  for  truth.  The  case  cannot  be,  where  there  is  growth  in 
grace  accompanied  with  a  disrelish  for  the  study  of  divine  truth. 

VI.  It  would  seem,  then,  that  it  cannot  be  a  light  thing  to  reject, 
or  disrelish  any  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  Every  doctrine  must  have 
its  use  in  rendering  men  holyr,  else  it  had  not  been  taught  in  that 
Bible  sent  to  sanctify  the  world.  God  knew  exactly  what  the  case 
required,  what  system  of  truth  the  Spirit  could  use  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage, in  rendering  the  world  holy,  and  this  he  has  published. 
Hence,  no  part  of  it  may  be  rejected  as  unwholesome,  or  innutri- 
tious.  Suppose  a  table  spread,  day  by  day,  byr  one  who  perfectly 
knew  our  constitutions,  knew  any  disease  that  might  be  lurking 
about  the  body,  or  any  danger  of  the  season  or  the  climate  that 
needed  to  be  guarded  against,  and  we  should  presume  to  say,  that 
one  article  upon  the  table  was  injurious  to  health,  and  never  taste 
it  ;  how  exactly  would  the  case  resemble  that  of  the  man  who  ima- 
gines he  has  found,  in  the  book  of  sanctifying  truth,  one  doctrine 
of  pernicious  tendency.     How  arrogant,   in   the  preacher  of  the 


THE    MEANS    OF    SANCl'IFICATION.  J. '25 

gospel,  to  lay  his  hand  on  any  doctrine  which  he  may  not  preach, 
or  any  duty  he  may  not  enforce,  or  promise  or  threatening  which 
he  may  not  deal  out  to  the  friends  or  the  foes  of  God  !  And  how 
mistaken  his  people,  who  would  have  him  suppress  any  paragraph, 
or  hold  back  any  doctrine  or  maxim  of  the  word  of  the  Lord  ! 
Who  can  judge  as  well  as  he  who  gave  the  word"?  Who,  among 
the  army  that  publish  it,  or  the  multitude  who  hear  it,  can  tell  bet- 
ter than  he,  what  kind  of  truth  is  suited  to  the  exigency  of  a  be- 
trayed and  ruined  world  1 

VII.  It  would  seem,  then,  a  matter  of  course,  that  sanctification 
will  be  going  on  among  the  various  classes  of  Christians,  more  or 
less  prosperously,  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  truth  embraced 
in  their  system.  We  may  even  determine,  by  this  criterion,  what 
denomination  is  built  the  most  substantially  on  the  foundation  of 
the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  cor- 
ner-stone. There  may  be  in  a  human  system  some  truth,  but  not 
the  whole  truth.  There  may  be  so  much  error  as  shall  greatly 
counteract  the  effect  of  truth.  The  system  thus  made  out  may  be 
somewhat  calculated  to  sanctify  ;  and  yet  not  the  best  calculated.  It 
may  nourish  a  sickly  and  palsied  religion,  while  it  can  never  pro- 
duce the  strong,  and  vigorous,  and  useful  man  of  God.  It  may 
contain  truth  enough  to  bring  men  to  heaven,  and  yet  never  pro- 
duce, to  shine  in  the  firmament  of  God,  many  stars  of  the  first 
magnitude.  In  choosing  our  religion  this  one  question  should  be 
kept  prominently  in  view  :  which  is  that  that  makes  the  most  en- 
lightened, the  most  benevolent,  the  most  holy  and  heavenly  temper  1 
for  there  we  shall  assuredly  find  the  most  truth  and  the  least  error. 

VIII.  Slight  not  believers  be  sooner  ripe  for  heaven  1  or,  rather, 
might  they  not  all  be  qualified  in  the  time  that  God  allows  them, 
after  their  second  birth,  for  a  higher  seat  in  heaven  than  they  do 
ordinarily  reach  1  Yes.  They  could  learn  more  truth,  could  learn 
it  faster,  and  digest  it  better,  and  grow  more  vigorously,  and  pass 
earlier  the  boundaries  of  Christian  childhood,  and  thus  arrive  ear- 
lier at  the  fulness  of  the  stature  of  perfect  men  in  Christ  Jesus. 


1.  May  not  that  truth  which  is  learned  before  regeneration,  oper- 
ate afterward  to  the  forwarding  of  the  believer  in  holiness  1  Yes. 
It  matters  not  how  early  truth  is  known.  Give  it  then  a  free  en- 
trance at  the  first  opening  of  the  mind,  and  pray  that  it  may  please 
the  Spirit  of  God  to  use  it  for  sanctification.  The  smallest  lad  in 
54 


426  THE    MEANS    OF    SANCT1FICATI0N. 

the  school  may  be  learning  now  what  will  be  useful  and  r.recious 
truth  to  him,  when  he  shall  be  shining  a  mighty  orb  in  his  profes- 
sion, or  afterward  in  heaven. 

2.  Is  there  not  more  hope,  then,  that  the  children  in  our  Sab- 
bath-schools will  be  converted,  than  those  who  are  to-day  lining 
the  fields,  and  fishing  along  the  banks  of  the  brook  1  No  doubt. 
They  will  have  treasured  up  truth  to  exert  a  sanctifying  and  ele- 
vating influence  when  the  times  of  refreshing  shall  come  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord. 

3.  Will  not  revivals  prevail  in  the  next  generation,  among  a 
younger  class  of  sinners  than  in  times  past  1  Doubtless.  As  we 
approach  the  millenium,  and  the  Sabbath-schools  shall  have  ma- 
tured minds  earlier  for  reading  and  reflecting,  a  younger  and  still 
younger  generation  will  be  sanctified,  till  our  revivals  will  all  be 
in  the  Sabbath-schools  ;  and  God  will  at  length  ordain  praise, 
according  to  his  promise,  from  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings. 

4.  And  shall  we  not  have  then  in  our  churches  more  active 
young  men,  and  a  race  of  fathers  and  mothers  that  shall  shine 
brighter  in  the  Church  of  God  1  Yes,  young  men  will  be  indeed 
"  strong,"  and  the  patriarchal  age  will  return,  and  every  gray  head 
will  indicate  the  presence  of  wisdom  and  holiness  ;  thus,  there  will 
be  far  more  select  and  pure  assemblages  for  the  supper  of  the  Lamb. 

5.  And  will  not  this  be  then  a  holier  and  happier  world  1  So 
the  prophet  sung:  "  The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and 
the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid,  and  the  calf,  and  the  young 
lion,  and  the  fatling  together,  and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them." 

6.  And  will  there  not  then  ascend  to  God  nobler  recruits  of  the 
family  of  believers  than  in  any  of  the  ages  that  have  gone  by  '! 
Yes ;  new  constellations  will  appear  in  heaven.  And  the  various 
successions  of  the  sanctified  that  shall  then,  at  different  times, 
come  home  to  glory,  will  for  ever  shine  more  brilliantly  in  the 
kingdom  of  their  Father. 

7.  And  can  we  do  nothing  to  hasten  on  that  day,  and  swell  the 
hallelujahs  of  heaven'?  Yes;  let  us  seize  the  dear  youth  or  child, 
wIki  a  year  or  two  hence  will  feel  himself  too  old  to  be  a  scholar, 
and  press  him  into  the  Sabbath-school  and  Bible  class,  and  have 
his  mind  imbued  with  holy  truth,  before  he  irets  that,  palsying 
maxim,  u  too  oA/."  Let  ns  all  gird  ourselves  anew;  let  us  cheer- 
fully discharge  every  obligation  ;  and  let  it  be  our  holy  ambition 
to  share  largely  in  the  coming  glory.  They  that  lie  wise  shall  shine 
as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament  ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  right* 
tousness,  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever. 


SERMON    XXX  VII. 
THE  GREAT  PHYSICIAN. 

PSALMS  CI  II.  3. 
Who  healeih  all  thy  diseases. 

This  Paalm  appears  to  have  been  a  song  of  thanksgiving  on  bein<* 
recovered  fro  n  sickness.  Hence  it  is  full  of  those  tender  recol- 
lections that  are  prone  to  recur  to  the  pious  mind  in  such  a  sea- 
son." "  He  will  not  always  chide,  neither  will  he  keep  his  anger 
for  ever."  "He  hath  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins,  nor  rewarded 
us  according  to  our  iniquities."  "  Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  child- 
ren, so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him :  for  he  knoweth  our 
frame,  he  remembereth  that  we  are  dust." 

With  a  mind  filled  with  such  reflections,  David  came  with  his 
thank-offering  to  God,  and  called  upon  his  soul,  and  all  that  was 
within  him,  to  bless  that  infinite  goodness  which  preserved  him  in 
the  time  of  his  calamity.  It  is,  however,  quite  immaterial  on  what 
occasion  the  Psalmist  ascribes  to  God  the  praise  of  healino-  all  his 
diseases. 

In  nothing,  perhaps,  can  pious  minds  see  more  distinctly  the 
good  hand  of  God,  than  in  the  plagues  and  pains  to  which  sin  has 
subjected  their  dying  bodies. 

I.  Disease  itself  affords  us  one  of  our  richest  luxuries.  This 
remark  will  seem  more  paradoxical  than  it  really  is.  But  I  pre- 
sume no  one  who  has  been  laid  upon  the  bed  of  pain,  will  consider 
the  proposition  false.    There  are  moments,  when,  as  the  poet  sings, 

We  shift  from  side  to  side  by  tarns, 

And  'tis  a  poor  relief  we  ?ain, 

To  change  the  place  but  keep  the  pain. 

In  the  attacks  of  disease,  the  jaded  spirit  is  restless  and  perhaps 
rebellious.  A  day  has  sometimes  seemed  an  age,  and  a  night  a 
little  eternity.  The  sun  has  seemed  to  stop  in  his  course,  and 
the  moon  has  delayed  her  going  down.  The  index  that  told  of 
the  passing  hoi;rs,  seemed   riveted  to   the   point  where  it  stood. 


428  THE    GREAT    PHYSICIAN. 

But  the  paroxism  subsides,  and  the  pleasure  then  felt  in  a  single 
moment,  outweighs  an  hour  of  perfect  health.  To  be  able  to 
breathe  without  a  groan,  is  then  more  pleasant,  than  when  one 
may  wander  the  fields  in  May,  and  catch  the  richest,  softest  zephyr 
that  ever  fanned  creation.  In  these  precious  intervals,  every 
minute  gathers  the  comforts  of  an  hour,  and  every  hour  the  plea- 
sures of  a  month.  It  is  impossible  to  describe,  to  one  who  has 
not  known  the  joy  of  a  kind  and  timely  release  from  the  fierceness 
of  disease,  the  exquisite  enjoyments  of  such  an  hour.  And  in  this 
we  see  the  goodness  of  God.  "  Sorrow  may  endure  for  a  night, 
but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning."  There  may  remain  still  great 
weakness,  and  much,  that  in  other  circumstances,  would  be  called 
distress;  but  this  is  all  forgotten  amid  the  luxury  of  a  temporary 
release,  and  a  hope  still  better.  One  that  has  entirely  escaped 
those  severe  attacks  which  immediately  strip  life  of  its  comforts, 
darkens  every  prospect,  and  unhinges  the  mind  from  the  pursuit 
of  science,  friendship,  and  piety,  has  failed  to  enjoy  one  of  the 
sweetest  repasts  ever  tasted,  except  in  some  hours  of  divine  re- 
freshment. Now,  how  good  is  God,  that,  since  we  deserve  and 
expect  to  be  scourged,  he  should  mingle,  with  the  pains  and  mis- 
eries of  the  sick-bed,  such  high  enjoyments  !  Should  enable  us  to 
extract  from  the  very  agonies  of  a  tortured  body,  high  and  precious 
delights  !  If  I  should  look  through  the  fields  of  creation,  for  some 
one  high  and  paramount  testimony  of  the  Divine  beneficence,  be- 
side the  gift  a  Savior,  I  should  despair  of  finding  one  that  would 
lead  me  more  promptly  to  absolute  assurance  of  God's  love,  than 
I  am  led  by  the  seasons  of  gracious  relief  that  interlard  the  ago- 
nies of  the  sick-bed.  But  for  these  relaxations  from  suffering, 
how  soon  would  nature  sink,  even  by  the  slightest  disease  !  How 
many  days  would  one  endure  the  unceasing  rage  of  a  burning 
fever  X  the  perpetual  throbbing  of  a  mangled  limb  \  the  gripe  of  a 
cholic  1  or  even  the  aching  of  a  tooth  1  How  soon  would  life  go 
out  in  agony,  with  any  disease  that  attacks  us,  did  not  nature  re- 
cruit her  strength,  while  the  disease  intermits  its  rage.  A  few 
hours,  when  the  pains  have  been  unceasing,  have  often  brought  to 
the  sepulchre  the  very  champions  of  our  race,  men  who  had  seemed 
to  defy  death,  in  any  other  armor,  but  the  forked  lightning,  or  the 
eruptions  of  some  treacherous  iEtna  or  Vesuvius. 

Now,  <!•'(!  would  have  been  good,  if  his  judgments  had  not  been 
so  mingled  with  mercy  ;  if  diseases  had  never  quit  the  contest  till 
life  was  conquered,  or  the  hand  of  God  slaved  the  plague.  Then 
the  aching  tooth  had  proved  mortal,  and  an  infection  of  the  small- 


THE    GREAT    PHYSICIAN.  429 

est  joint  had  in  a  few  days  carried  putrefaction  to  the  very  foun- 
tain of  life.  Hence,  we  can  make  no  calculation  as  to  the  proba- 
ole  issue  of  any  disease.  If  the  disease  makes  its  attack  at  some- 
what distant  periods,  nature  has  time  to  recruit  and  to  heal,  but  if 
there  be  no  periods  of  respite,  the  scene  is  soon  closed. 

II.  We  see  Divine  goodness  in  the  efforts  that  nature  makes  to  ef- 
fect her  own  cure.  On  this  point,  perhaps,  the  physician  could  in- 
struct you  more  than  the  Divine  ;  and  the  fact  is  obvious,  to  every 
discerning  mind,  that  nature  is  often  her  own  best  physician.  Many 
of  the  remedies  which  ignorance  prescribes  in  the  hour  of  sick- 
ness and  of  death,  are  so  many  barriers  to  the  speedy  return  of 
health.  The  limb  that  has  been  wounded  by  the  luckless  knife, 
would  often  heal  in  a  few  hours,  if  the  wound  could  be  bathed 
only  with  its  own  blood,  and  the  severed  fibres  be  permitted  to 
join  their  wounded  parts.  How  soon  will  the  fractured  bone  join 
its  broken  parts,  and  become  as  firm  as  before  !  How  often  will 
nature  create  some  new  disease,  that  it  may  rid  itself  of  the  dan- 
gers and  the  miseries  engendered  by  some  other !  The  palate 
takes  disgust  at  food,  when  the  stomach  has  lost  its  power  to  di- 
gest ;  and  the  food,  if  received,  would  endanger  life.  How  often, 
when  the  stomach  has  received  the  deadly  potion,  which  to  re- 
tain would  be  quick  destruction,  does  it  exert  all  its  power  to  cast 
back  the  poison  and  keep  life  in  its  seat !  The  very  thorn  that 
pierces  the  plowman's  foot,  is  thrown  from  its  unwelcome  bed  by 
nature's  own  efforts. 

Were  I  more  of  a  physician,  I  should  love  to  enlarge  this  arti- 
cle— it  develops  the  goodness  of  God.  Many  are  wounded  when 
no  surgeon  is  near;  many  are  subjected  to  disease  who  are  una- 
ble to  employ  a  physician  ;  and  it  often  happens  that  he  who  shun  hi 
cure  is  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the  disease,  and  plies  all  his  skill 
to  prevent  nature  from  doing  her  office.  In  these  distressing  cases, 
it  often  happens  that  nature  cures  herself.  She  attacks  the  disease, 
and,  in  spite  of  every  hindrance,  conquers  and  cures. 

Brethren,  when  1  thus  speak  of  nature,  I  do  not  use  that  word 
as  many  do,  who  intend  to  exclude  a  God  from  his  own  creation. 
By  nature,  I  mean  the  unseen  operation  of  his  hand  who  hrah'th 
all  our  diseases  ;  1  mean  God  himself,  operating  by  certain  .aws 
which  he  has  indented  upon  every  part  of  our  frame.  The  cure 
is  effected  without  a  miracle,  but  not  without  the  finger  of  God. 
This  we  learn  from  the  text.  If  we  had  to  wait  when  attacked  by 
disease,  till  some  angel  came   from  heaven  with  the  appropriate 


430  THE    GREAT    PHYSICIAN. 

specific,  or  till  God  himself  spoke,  as  he  did  in  Israel's  camp,  and 
bid  the  disease  abate,  we  should  be  no  more  dependent  than  now 
on  the  immediate  agency  of  God.  This  is  the  very  thought  of 
the  text  David,  when  diseased,  was  cured  like  other  men,  by  the 
laws  of  matter,  and  by  human  means;  still  he  takes  occasion  to 
bless  and  praise  Jehovah  as  him  who  healeth  all  our  diseases. 

III.  The  great  variety  of  specifics  found  in  every  part  of  the  crea- 
tion, for  the  various  diseases  of  men,  speak  the  Divine  goodness. 
Probably  there  is  not  a  plant  or  shrub  that  grows  but  yields  us 
either  food  or  medicine.  The  severest  poisons  are,  at  length,  in 
many  instances,  considered  the  safest  and  speediest  remedies. 
They  have  almost  all  become  tame  and  manageable,  and,  like  food 
itself,  are  hurtful  only  when  taken  without  due  regard  to  time  and 
quantity.  The  discoveries  of  every  year  add  new  light  to  this  in- 
teresting subject.  The  mineral  and  vegetable  kingdoms  are  con- 
stantly pouring  their  treasures  into  the  chamber  of  distress.  And 
there  seems  an  almost  inexhaustible  variety.  Hence  they  furnish 
a  specific  for  every  disease.  Even  that  most  dire  of  all  plagues, 
the  hydrophobia,  a  disease  which  I  can  scarcely  mention  without 
horror,  is  thought  at  length  to  yield  to  the  virtue  of  one  plant, 
very  common  in  all  countries.  If  the  serpent  bite,  the  remedy  is 
found  on  the  spot.  If  one  plant  has  poisoned  us,  there  is  another 
growing  by  its  side  that  can  counteract  its  influence.  In  some  in- 
stances, two  of  the  deadliest  substances  are,  when  united,  not  only 
harmless,  but  wholesome.  The  same  shower  and  the  same  sun- 
shine caused  the  poison  and  the  antidote  to  vegetate  side  by  side. 
They  grow  like  brethren,  perhaps  resemble  each  other,  but  one  has 
the  power  to  kill  and  the  other  to  heal. 

Now  in  all  this  how  good  is  God  !  He  could  have  sent  the 
plague  without  the  remedy,  the  poison  without  the  antidote.  It 
would  be  our  shame  if  we  could  withhold  our  praise,  and  yet  live 
in  n  world  so  full  of  the  glory  of  God,  where  every  plant  and  shrub 
and  mineral  speaks  his  praise,  and  every  disease  yields  to  the  spe- 
cific he  prescribes. 

IV.  It  still  is  true  that  it  is  God  who  healeth  all  our  diseases. 
But  for  that  wisdom  which  he  has  o-iven  to  man,  physicians  could 
never  have  known  their  nature,  or  the  virtue  of  those  plants  and 
minerals  which  are  their  appointed  remedy.  And  Ids  blessing 
makes  the  means  effectual.  We  can  rely  nowhere  else.  The  phy- 
sician often  confesses  that  nothing  operates  as  he  expected.     He 


THE    GREAT    PHYSICIAN  431 

fears  he  is  destroying  the  patient  he  wishes  to  cure.  And  often, 
when  his  skill  has  failed,  the  patient  given  over  to  death,  and  the 
grave-clothes  preparing,  God  bids  the  patient  live,  and  he  returns 
to  health.  Nor  should  it  derogate  from  his  glory,  when  he  bless- 
es the  means,  for,  still,  his  own  agency  performs  the  cure.  Heze- 
kiah  was  sick  unto  death  ;  a  prophet  of  the  Lord  was  directed  to 
assure  him,  that  he  should  die.  But  he  cried  and  prayed,  and  a 
respite  of  fifteen  years  was  granted  him.  The  event  was  now  cer- 
tain, and  still  a  bundle  of  figs  must  be  the  means  of  his  cure.  But 
was  it  any  the  less  God  that  healed  him  1  Had  the  figs  any  power, 
independently  on  Him  who  had  arrested  the  hand  of  death,  and 
prolonged  the  life  of  the  king  1 

The  pious  heart  will  have  no  misgivings  on  this  point.  Our 
life,  our  health,  and  all  our  comforts,  are  in  the  hands  of  God. 
"  He  killeth  and  he  maketh  alive,  he  bringeth  low  and  raiseth  up." 
It  is  good  to  feel  that  we  are  the  creatures  of  his  power ;  espe- 
cially when  we  may  hope,  that  we  are  the  subjects  of  his  grace. 

REMARKS. 

1.  A  period  of  recovery  from  sickness  should  be  a  season  of 
praise.  If  we  have  misery  in  prospect,  it  fills  us  with  pain  ;  but  we 
can  look  back  upon  a  season  of  great  trial  with  pleasure.  The 
miseries  we  remember  are  gone  by ;  in  retrospect  they  are  soft- 
ened and  are  harmless.  But  we  had  died  had  it  not  been  for  the 
hand  of  God.  We  had  never  risen  from  that  bed,  we  had  never 
enjoyed  returning  health.  The  physician  would  have  mistaken 
our  case,  or  would  have  used  the  wrong  means,  or  would  have 
found  his  specifics  to  be  the  deadliest  poisons.  And  we  had  for- 
feited our  lives,  and  could  look  for  nothing  but  ruin  as  our  desert. 
And  where  had  we  been  if  the  hand  of  God  had  not  been  under 
us  1  To  what  world  had  we  fled  while  some  friend  was  closing 
our  eyes — how  employed,  on  the  day  of  our  funeral  solemnities  ( 
"Bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  within  me  bless  his 
holy  name." 

2.  The  life  that  God  has  made  his  care  should  be  devoted  to 
him.  And  we  have  all  an  interest  in  this  particular.  If  wo  have 
never  known  the  attacks  of  disease,  it  was  God  who  purified  the 
air  we  breathed,  and  warded  off  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in 
darkness.  And  if  otherwise,  if  life  has  met  with  some  interrup- 
tion, and  we  have  been  called  occasionally  to  the  sick  bed,  it  was 
God  who  healed  us.  In  either  case  we  are  wholly  the  Lord's. 
Whether  we  feel   our  obligations  or  not,  will   not   alter  the  case. 


432  THE    GREAT    PHYSICIAN. 

God  is  good,  and  deserves  our  service,  whether  we  think  and  feel, 
or  are  thoughtless  and  stupid.  There  is  not  one,  among  all  my 
readers,  that  does  not  love  and  serve  the  Lord,  who  can  escape 
the  charge  of  being  a  wicked  and  slothful  servant.  God  has  made 
yon  what  you  are,  and  given  you  all  you  have.  You  live  by  his 
permission,  ai  1  feed  on  his  bounty.  In  these  circumstances,  to 
withhold  your  love  and  your  service,  is  impious.  None  can  be 
wise,  and  refuse  to  present  their  bodies  and  souls  to  him  as  a 
living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  to  God. 

3.  We  see  why  many  have  praised  the  Lord  upon  the  sick  bed. 
It  is  not  a  place  so  destitute  of  comfort  as  many  have  supposed. 
The  fiercer  attacks  of  disease  are  separated  by  intervals,  in  which 
there  are  felt,  independently  of  the  comforts  of  religion,  a  keen 
and  sensible  pleasure  ;  but  when  the  heart  is  right  with  God,  and 
these  precious  moments  are  employed  in  lifting  a  prayer,  or  a 
song,  to  his  throne,  I  see  nothing  to  prevent,  the  joy  rising  to 
ecstasy.  Even  in  the  dying  hour,  the  little  lucid  intervals  of 
strength  and  reason,  may  witness  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory.  I  do  not  deny  that  piety  may  operate  even  when  the  pains 
are  on,  and  may  even  quench  their  fury  by  its  ecstatic  joy.  But 
such  is  the  immediate  connection  between  the  soul  and  the  body, 
that  neither  can  suffer  alone,  nor  the  joys  of  the  one  fail  to  be 
interrupted  by  the  agonies  of  the  other.  Hence  how  welcome  to 
the  mind  that  longs  for  communion  with  God,  are  these  little  sea- 
sons of  respite. 

4.  The  subject  will  lead  us  to  reflect  with  the  Psalmist,  on  the 
wondrous  mechanism  of  our  natures:  "I  am  fearfully  and  wonder- 
fully made  ;  marvellous  is  thy  loving  kindness,  0  Lord."  There 
is  one  noted  instance  on  record  of  a  physician  who  was  an  infidel, 
till  he  had  occasion  to  dissect  a  human  body.  He  then  declared 
that  he  could  be  an  infidel  no  longer  ;  that  he  saw  in  the  structure 
of  the  body  the  traces  of  the  finger  of  God.  But  we  may  all  know 
enough  to  make  us  ashamed  of  our  infidelity,  without  the  aid  of 
surgical  instruments,  or  operations.  When  we  think  of  our  bodies, 
how  delicately  strung,  how  easily  injured,  how  liable  to  disease, 
and  yet,  ordinarily,  how  healthy  and  how  firm,  we  can  ascribe  it 
only  to  God. 

Our  life  contains  a  thousand  springs, 

And  dies  if  one  be  '.rone  ; 
Strange,  thai  ;i  harp  of  thousand  strings, 

Should  keep  in  tune  so  long. 

But  when  we  rise  higher,  and  <  mtemplate  the  union  of  the  soul 


THE    GREAT    PHYSICIAN  433 

and  body,  and  survey  the  delicate  ligatures  that  bind  them  toge- 
ther, the  mind  finds  an  enlarged  field  of  dignified  and  pious  con- 
templation. The  numerous  inlets  of  pleasure ;  the  varied  appe- 
tites finding  their  full  enjoyment  in  the  temperate  use  of  the  good 
things  that  God  has  strewed  about  our  path  ;  and  our  varied  dis- 
eases finding  their  cure  or  their  alleviations,  in  specifics  that  grow 
under  our  feet,  and  in  addition  to  these  the  pleasures  of  those  very 
sicknesses  that  were  added  in  mercy  ;  how  loudly  do  they  pro- 
claim the  beneficence  of  God. 

5.  To  be  thankful,  then,  would  seem  a  first  law  of  nature.  And 
to  be  ungrateful,  a  charge  brought  against  the  whole  heathen  world, 
was  adding  as  the  last  item  to  the  climax  of  our  degradation  and 
ruin.  A  people  rational,  sensitive,  and  immortal,  if  they  have  no 
revelation  of  God,  and  no  hopes  of  a  future  blessedness  beyond 
the  grave,  should  not  have  been  pronounced  ungrateful : — 

"  The  brutes  obey  thy  will, 

And  hoi?  their  necks  to  men ; 
But  we,  mors  base,  more  brutish  things, 
Reject  thine  easy  reign." 

55 


SERMON     XXXVIII 

THE  MAN  OF  GOD  DEVELOPED. 

JOHN  XV.    19. 
Yt  are  not  of  the  world. 

It  has  always  been  the  wish  of  the  enemies  of  truth,  to  amalga- 
mate the  Church  with  the  world.  They  gain  by  this  means,  in 
their  estimation,  several  distinct,  and  important  advantages.  Hence 
a  gospel  is  current,  that  bends  all  its  efforts,  to  do  away  the  dis- 
tinctions, between  God's  people,  and  the  men  of  the  world.  The 
Christian  character  is  let  down,  till  all  its  beauty,  and  all  its  hon- 
ors are  in  the  dust.  It  is  plead  that  the  Christian  need  not  differ 
widely  from  other  men.  He  may  retain  his  evil  heart  of  unbelief, 
may  pursue  the  world  as  he  has  done,  may  cultivate  the  same  pride 
of  character,  may  bury  himself  in  scenes  of  dissipation,  and  may 
be,  in  all  respects,  the  same  man  of  the  world,  as  previously  to  his 
hope  and  his  profession.  If  he  should  sometimes  be  profane,  and 
occasionally  gamble,  and  be  habitually  hard,  bordering  upon  ro- 
guery, in  his  commerce,  and  trifle  with  Scripture,  and  sing  a  merry 
song,  or  be  overtaken  by  any  vice  that  is  fashionable,  that  is  not 
low  and  vulgar  ;  all  this  is  permitted  to  affix  no  stain  upon  his 
Christian  character. 

He  may  be  in  full  league  with  the  guilty  population  of  the  apos- 
tacy,  need  perform  no  duties,  nor  embrace  any  doctrines,  not  re- 
lished by  the  ungodly,  nor  encompass  himself  with  any  of  that  sa- 
credncss  of  character  that  brings  a  sword.  Thus  the  man  of  God 
is  robbed  of  every  feature  of  holiness,  that  can  possibly  distinguish 
him  from  the  mass  of  the  ungodly  ;  and  the  men  of  the  world  have 
only  to  adopt  the  creed,  and  make  oath  to  the  covenant,  and  come 
to  the  consecrated  table,  and  the  work  is  done. 

They  need  have  no  knowledge  of  that  new  birth,  which  the  Lord 
Jesus  pressed  upon  Nicodemus ;  need  not  be  translated  out  of 
darkness  into  marvellous  light,  and  from  the  power  of  sin  and  Sa- 
tan unto  God;  need  not  disturb  themselves  with  repentance,  and 
faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  nor  exhibit  that  transformation  of 
character  which  shall  evince  them  risen  with  Christ,  and    seeking 


THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED.  435 

those  .things  that  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand 
of  God.  Thus  the  Lord  Jesus  is  made  to  martial  a  band  of  mis- 
creants. He  has  the  attitude  of  a  rebellious  prince,  who  mingles 
with  a  multitude  of  rebels,  enlists  them  under  his  banner,  demand- 
ing neither  loyalty  nor  duty,  and  winks  at  all  the  deeds  of  wrong 
and  of  outrage  which  they  have  committed  against  the  throne  and 
the  kingdom.  In  pursuing  the  subject,  /  shall  give  a  Scriptural  ac- 
count of  the  secluded  character  of  believers,  and  show,  that  their  amal- 
gamation with  the  world,  would  both  injure  them,  and  the  ungodly 
with  whom  they  are  associated. 

I.  I  am  to  give  a  Scriptural  account  of  the  secluded  character  of  the 
believer.  Said  an  apostle,  to  those  who  believe  in  Christ,  and  to 
whom  he  is  precious,  "  Ye  are  a  chosen  "feneration,  a  royal  priest- 
hood, a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people  ;  that  ye  should  show  forth 
the  praises  of  him  who  hath  called  you  out  of  darkness  into  mar- 
vellous light."  And  said  another  apostle,  "  Be  not  unequally 
yoked  together  with  unbelievers;  for  what  fellowship  hath  rio-ht- 
eousness  with  unrighteousness  1  and  what  communion  hath  ljo-ht 
with  darkness  1  and  what  concord  hath  Christ  with  Belial  1  or 
what  part  hath  he  that  believeth  with  an  infidel  1  and  what  agree- 
ment hath  the  temple  of  God  with  idols  1  For  ye  are  the  temple 
of  the  living  God  ;  as  God  hath  said  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk 
in  them;  and  I  will  be  their  God  and  they  shall  be  my  people. 
Wherefore  come  out  from  among  them,  and  be  ye  separate,  saith 
the  Lord,  and  touch  not  the  unclean  thing  ;  and  I  will  receive  you  ; 
and  will  be  a  father  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  dauofh- 
ters,  saith  the  Lord  Almighty."  I  have  made  this  long  quotation, 
because  almost  every  clause  bespeaks  the  secluded  character  of 
the  believer. 

Said  our  Lord  to  his  disciples,  "If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the 
world  would  love  his  own;  but  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world, 
but  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  shall  the  world 
hate  you."  Often  did  he  say,  that  none  could  be  his  disciples,  but 
such  as  would  deny  themselves,  and  take  up  their  cross  and  follow 
him. 

Now  the  very  idea  of  a  Church,  implies  a  secluded  and  peculiar 
people.  Why  have  any  creed,  or  coven  nt,  or  discipline,  but  thai 
God's  people  must  have  a  character,  and  perform  duties,  and  sus- 
tain relationships,  that  belong  not  to  the  world  at  laTge.  I  know 
there  is  a  sense  in  which  they  must  both  grow  together  until  the 
harvest.     God's  people  must  stay  in  this  world   til)   they  have  ri- 


436  THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED. 

pened  for  heaven  ;  but  they  may  be  in  the  world,  and  still  be  tho 
secluded,  and  retiring,  and  peculiar,  and  heavenly-minded  people, 
which  God  requires  them  to  be. 

Hence  to  amalgamate  the  Church  with  the  world,  is  to  thwart 
the  Divine  plan,  and  join  what  God  has  sundered.  The  purpose 
•  if  <  rod  to  give  his  people  at  last  a  world  by  themselves,  and  pub- 
licly separate  them  from  the  ungodly  in  the  scene  of  judgment, 
placing  the  sheep  on  the  right  hand,  and  the  goats  on  the  left ; 
speaks  plainly  that  distinctness  of  character,  interest,  and  condi- 
tion, which  becomes  them,  and  is  enjoined  upon  them,  in  the  pre- 
sent life.  In  no  Scripture  are  they  confounded  with  the  unregen- 
erate.  Their  distinctness  is  kept  up,  through  the  whole  series  of 
epithets  given  them  in  the  boolc  of  God ;  saint  and  sinner,  clean 
i  ml  unclean,  righteous  and  wicked,  holy  and  unholy,  believer  and 
unbeliever,  godly  and  ungodly. 

II.  The  amalgamation  of  God's  people  with  the  world  will  injure 
them.  Men  have  shown  great  zeal  in  proselyting  the  world  to  a 
visible  fellowship  with  the  church,  as  if  all  that  is  desirable  were 
gained,  when  men  are  brought  to  put  on  the  garb  of  piety.  But 
assuredly  nothing  is  gained  to  the  Church.  She  receives  no  acces- 
sion of  strength,  or  beauty,  when  the  multitudes  of  the  ungodly 
come  to  her  solemn  feasts,  and  enter  the  enclosures  of  her  cove- 
nant. The  army  of  God  that  goes  out  to  wage  war  with  sin,  and 
darkness,  and  misery,  can  operate  with  far  more  efficiency,  when 
none  are  enlisted  but  the  loyal.  Permit  the  enemy  to  enter  the  sa- 
cred enclosures  of  Zion,  and  what  can  you  hope  for,  but  that  in  the 
time  of  the  seige,  they  will  betray  her  interests,  and  open  her 
gates  to  the  enemy  1 

It  is  when  the  church  is  pure  as  Christ  would  have  her,  that  she 
can  know  her  strength,  and  however  small  her  numbers,  can  de- 
fend  her  interests  and  preserve  tier  honors.  But  when  polluted 
with  a  mass  of  unregeneracy,  she  is  paralyzed  and  exposed.  She 
moves  to  every  onset,  wielding  a  burden,  that  renders  impossible 
every  prompt  and  vigorous  exertion.  So  the  host  of  Gideon, 
while  it  embraced  thousands  who  were  afraid,  could  achieve  noth- 
ing. The  three  hundred  when  separated  from  the  multitude,  could 
do  more  than  thirty  thousand. 

Our  Lord  preferred  to  be  followed  by  a  little  faithful  band,  rather 
thin  an  army  of  ill-chosen  and    ungodly  men.       He  could    have 
gathered  into  his  Church,   if  lie  would  have  lowered  his  requisi 
lions,  amass   of  Serines,   and    Pharisees,   and   Saducees,   and   law- 


THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED.  437 

yers.  Had  he  been  less  austere,  to  use  the  term  his  foes  employ- 
ed, he  could  have  swelled  his  little  flock  to  a  countless  multitude, 
and  could  have  selected  from  them  a  soldiery,  that  would  have 
made  him  a  king,  and  built  him  up  an  empire.  Had  he  but  pro- 
claimed, that  he  would  feed  by  miracle  the  multitudes  that  would 
follow  him,  he  could  easily  have  outnumbered  the  army  of  Xerxes, 
and  could  have  obliged  the  world  to  do  him  homage.  But  his 
cause  would  have  suffered,  and  he  could  no  longer  have  said,  that 
his  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world. 

When  the  influence  of  Constantine  poured  in  upon  the  Church 
an  unwieldly  mass  of  nominal  Christianity,  the  result  was  that  the 
sinew  of  action  was  paralyzed.  There  ensued  the  dark  ages,  in 
which  there  was  swept,  from  what  had  been  the  Church,  almost 
the  last  vestige  of  truth  and  holiness.  There  was  more  real  light 
and  strength  in  the  camp  of  that  little  band  which  fled  from  her 
sword  into  the  wilderness,  than  was  found  in  the  whole  Catholic 
communion. 

And  the  same  will  be  the  result  whenever  the  same  experiment 
is  tried.  Bring  down  the  standard  of  piety  till  men  totally  de- 
praved shall  covet  the  children's  bread,  and  you  have  perverted  the 
whole  design  of  a  Christian  Church.  The  equipments  of  the  gos- 
pel no  longer  adorn  her  soldiery,  nor  the  Captain  of  her  salvation 
lead  her  on  to  victory  and  glory.  Hence  the  design  to  break  down 
all  distinction  between  the  children  of  God  and  the  unsanctified, 
and  lead  within  the  enclosures  of  the  Church  a  band  of  God's 
enemies,  is  assuredly  of  all  the  intrigues  of  the  prince  of  darkness, 
one  of  the  most  daring  and  desperate.  While  it  pretends  to 
strengthen  the  Church,  it  makes  a  deep  and  broad  incision  in  her 
arteries,  and  lets  out  her  very  life  blood.  While  it  professes  a 
wish  to  beautify  her,  so  that  the  ungodly  are  charmed  with  hrr 
visage,  it  does  but  constitute  her  an  image  of  marble,  cold.  Mind, 
deaf,  dumb,  and  powerless.  While  it  holds  out  a  wish  to  guard 
her  interests,  to  watch  her  gates,  and  man  her  fortresses  ;  it  docs 
but  covenant  with  her  foes,  and  in  the  dark  hour  of  midnight, 
while  her  watchmen  sleep,  gives  the  enemy  possession  of  her 
towers. 

The  men  of  this  world  can  never  be  the  beauty  or  the  strength 
of  Zion.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  have  a  Church,  that  puts  on 
his  image,  and  reflects  his  glory,  that  can  be  a  nursery  for  heaven, 
that  fosters  in  her  bosom  his  own  disciples,  and  will  stand,  her- 
self a  monument  of  his  redeeming  power.  She  is  a  city  set  on  a 
hill,  and  her  light  must  shine.     She  must  have  on  all  the  features 


438  THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED. 

of  beauty  seen  in  her  Master,  and  show  out  to  the  world  every  iine 
of  comeliness  found  in  his  image.  There  must  be  written  on  her 
banner,  "  Love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
faith,  meekness,  temperance." 

Ami  can  all  this  be,  when  the  Church  shall  be  composed  of  un- 
godly men  \  Will  they  put  on  the  image  of  the  Lord.  Jesus  Christ, 
or  act  out  the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  or  have  any  light  to  spare,  by 
which  the  darkness  of  this  apostate  world  may  be  illuminated  1 
Can  their  science,  and  their  courteousness,  and  their  high  sounding 
titles,  become  a  substitute  for  the  ornaments  of  the  Spirit  1  Let 
monarchs  come  in  with  their  diadems,  and  princes  with  their  trap- 
pings, and  the  multitudes  of  the  learned  with  their  philosophy,  but 
who  have  none  of  them  been  taught  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  ;  and  is 
the  Church  thus  made  beautiful  1  Ah,  it  would  depend  on  who 
saw  her.  She  would  dazzle  the  eye  which  could  look  only  on  the 
outward  appearance,  but  would  be  deformity  and  corruption  in  his 
view  who  looketh  on  the  heart. 

What  will  the  Church  gain  then,  when  she  has  opened  her  bo- 
som to  the  multitude  ?  May  the  believer  look  for  individual  en- 
joyment, from  being  associated  in  covenant  with  those  who  are  wise 
and  honorable  in  this  world  1  Will  such  fellowship  ensure  to  him 
esteem  and  respect,  from  those  who  shall  thus  have  pledged  them- 
selves to  treat  him  as  a  brother  \  We  answer,  no.  When  the  men  of 
the  world  have  put  on  the  garb  of  piety,  facts  assure  us,  that  they 
will  by  their  ungodly  conversation  bring  rebuke  and  shame  upon  the 
Lord's  people  ?  Believers  will  not  run  with  them  to  the  same  ex- 
cess of  riot.  Hence  their  scruples  of  conscience,  which  will  still 
render  them  a  peculiar  people,  will  not  fail  to  bring  upon  them  the 
sneer  and  the  contempt,  and  the  buffetings  of  the  whole  proselyt- 
cd  brotherhood.  The  stricter  principles,  and  purer  doctrines,  and 
higher  standard  of  Christian  morality,  adopted  by  the  real  disci- 
ples of  the  Lord  Jesus,  will  be  denominated  enthusiasm  ;  and  what- 
ever they  may  do  more  than  others,  will  go  to  sink  their  reputa- 
tion,  and  cover  them  with  reproach. 

What  then  are  we  to  think  of  that  gospel,  so  called,  which  aims 
at  this  monstrous  confederacy  !  which  would  flatly  contradict,  or 
artfully  neutralize,  every  requisition  of  discipleship  in  the  family 
of  Christ,  and  thus  mingle  the  Church  with  the  world  \  On  what 
page  of  inspiration  shall  we  find  the  solitary  text,  that  thus  con- 
founds the  Lord's  people  with  the  multitudes  that  know  not  God, 
■and  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  1  And  who 
would  venture  to  make  such  an  experiment  on  the  life  of  the  church, 


THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED.  439 

unless  unequivocally  instructed  from  heaven  1  Alas,  the  experi- 
ment has  been  mack,  and  is  making,  the  Divine  authority  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding.  Man y  Churches  are  bleeding  and  expiring 
under  the  operation  of  this  philosophy.  It  has  polluted  their  creed, 
and  changed  their  ministry,  and  robbed  them  of  their  covenant, 
and  thrown  open  the  doors  of  their  fellowship  to  the  wide  world 
The  hedges  of  the  vineyard  are  broken  down,  and  the  result  is, 
that  the  boar  out  of  the  wood  devours  the  vine.     I  proceed  to  say, 

III.  That  the  men  of  the  world  are  injured  no  less  than  the  Church, 
by  this  promiscuous  amalgamation -of  those  who  have  no  similari- 
ty of  temper.     Let  me  remark, 

1.  A  profession  of  religion  increases  the  disposition  and  gives  men 
opportunities  to  do  mischief :  and  this,  it  will  be  acknowledged, 
is  a  curse,  and  not  a  blessing.  I  know  it  has  been  said  that  the 
enemies  of  the  Church  may  be  restrained,  by  the  gospel  being  *° 
accommodated  to  their  taste  as  to  win  them  to  its  faith  and  its  fel- 
lowship. Do  away,  it  is  said,  those  doctrines  that  they  disrelish, 
because  harsh  and  unreasonable,  and  those  traits  of  Christian  cha- 
racter that  give  offence,  and  they  will  all  rush  into  the  fellowship 
of  the  gospel,  and  be  good  and  harmless  Christians  ! 

This  point  the  history  of  the  Church  shall  answer.  Judas  gain- 
ed admission  into  the  fold,  had  access  to  the  Lord  of  glory,  and 
won  the  confidence  of  the  unsuspecting  disciples.  But  Judas  was 
still  a  thief  and  a  devil,  and  became  the  leader  of  that  band,  that 
broke  in  upon  the  retreat  of  prayer,  and  arrested  and  bore  away 
to  the  judgment  seat  the  Son  of  God.  There  probably  was  not 
another  wretch  in  Israel,  who  could  have  pocketed  the  price  of 
oloo  1,  and  gone  as  he  did,  to  seize,  and  bind,  and  sacrifice  the  Lamb 
of  God.  The  foe  had  to  wait,  after  he  had  whetted  his  teeth  for 
the  prey,  till  one,  placed  in  the  very  presence  of  truth  itself, 
should  become  sufficiently  hardened,  through  its  perverted  influ- 
ence, to  administer  the  betraying  kiss,  and  sell  his  holy  Master. 
So  Julian  had  done  the  Chttrch  far  less  injury,  had  he  not  been 
nursed  in  her  bosom.  It  was  there  his  heart  acquired  that  hard- 
ness, and  his  conscience  that  obduracy,  thai  qualified  him  to  be 
the  patron  of  that  gross,  and  God-provoking  idolatry,  which  kin- 
dled its  fires  so  zealously  about  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  God, 
and  sent  many  from  the  stake  and  cross  to  heaven. 

Ah,  and  before  we  leave  this  bloody  spot,  in  search  ol  other 
facts,  all  establishing  the  same  truth,  I  would  point  you  up  to  hea- 
ven, and  tell  you,  that  devils  could  be  made,  only  in  that  pure  and 


440  THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED. 

happy  world !  !  It  was  there,  right  where  God  and  the  Lamb  are 
unceasingly  adored,  that  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the 
spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience,  was 
schooled,  and  disciplined,  and  equipped  ; — for  what  1  for  the  great- 
est usefulness,  and  the  highest  honors,  like  that  of  Gabriel,  had 
he  proved  obedient ;  but  becoming  a  rebel,  and  carrying  all  his 
heaven-taught  science  with  him  down  to  hell,  he  was  prepared  to 
display  a  cunning,  and  a  prowess,  in  deeds  of  wrong,  that  have 
justly  drawn  upon  him  the  epithet  of  the  old  serpent. 

You  may  now  pass  down,  from  the  empyreal  apostate,  through 
the  whole  catalogue  of  baptized  worldlings,  and  tell  me  if  one  of 
them  was  restrained  by  his  profession,  from  doing  mischief  to  the 
Church  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  know  that  their  initiation 
into  her  mysteries,  and  their  unwarranted  touch  of  her  consecrated 
things,  have  led  them  to  change  their  mode  of  warfare,  and  to 
attack  her  interests  and  her  honors,  in  a  covert  and  disguised 
assault,  made  in  the  night  time,  while  men  slept.  There  have 
been  few  open  and  avowed  infidels,  who  have  held  their  place 
within  the  enclosures  of  the  Church.  But  they  have  done  none 
the  less  mischief,  but  the  more,  because  they  lurked  in  ambush 
The  foe  who  meets  you  in  open  day,  you  may  vanquish  far  more 
easily,  than  he  who  comes  under  the  covert  of  the  black  and  dark 
night. 

The  thought  I  venture  to  urge  is,  that  the  superior  growth  of 
depravity,  acquired  under  the  touch  of  sealing  ordinances  through 
the  perversions  of  a  deceived  heart,  have  made  men  the  more 
inimical  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  the  more  desperate  in  their 
attacks  upon  her  interests  and  her  honors.  Hence  some  of  the 
worst  of  men  have  come  from  the  house  of  prayer,  where  they  had 
been  familiar  with  all  the  hallowed  objects  of  piety.  No  young 
men  have  sworn  more  profanely,  or  gambled  more  desperately,  or 
abused  the  Scriptures  more  wantonly,  or  sneered  at  piety  more 
contemptuously,  than  the  wayward  youth,  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  bow  at  the  family  altar.  Not  that  such  cases  are  so 
common  as  the  contrary  ;  for  a  pious  education  is  the  most  pro- 
mising path  to  heaven  ;  but  when  they  do  happen,  they  are  noticed, 
and  afford  us  awful  proof  that  truth  perverted,  is  more  deadly  in 
its  effects  than  error. 

Tell  me  if  God  has  ever  directed,  that  the  Church  should  tame 
hi  r  enemies,  by  placing  them  in  her  bosom  1  Is  it  thus  that  we 
rune  the  viper  and  the  asp  1  If  such  would  be  the  course  of  wis- 
dom, we  have  not  done  half  enough.     The  Church  should  have  no 


THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED.  44  J 

enclosures,  no  creed,  no  covenant,  no  watch,  no  discipline,  no  bar- 
rier that  should  operate  to  keep  the  vilest  of  men  from  entering 
her  holiest  places.  Let  us  spread  at  once  the  net  of  a  loose  and 
superficial  discipleship  over  the  whole  multitude  of  the  ungodly, 
and  thus,  by  a  single  effort,  put  a  period  to  the  Church's  long  pro- 
tracted conflicts,  and  save  men  the  pain  and  the  danger  of  doino- 
mischief.  But  there  is  yet  room  to  doubt  whether  God  has  pre- 
scribed any  such  means  for  taming  depravity,  or  terminating  the 
conflicts  of  his  people ;  and  whether  the  Church  has  not  by  this 
time-serving  policy,  multiplied  her  wars  and  her  dangers. 

Why  will  we  not  look  about  us,  and  see  what  testimony  our  eyes 
will  furnish  us.  Who  are  the  enemies  of  the  Church  in  the  pre- 
sent day  \  who  lead  in  the  attacks  upon  her  1  who  unsettle  her 
ministry]  who  dilute  her  creed  1  who  abridge  her  rights'!  who 
rob  her  of  her  interests  1  who,  by  setting  at  defiance  her  laws,  and 
drawing  upon  themselves  her  tardy  and  hesitating  anathemn,  dis- 
tract her  peace  \  Ah,  look  once  into  the  churches  that  are  rent 
with  division,  and  party,  and  strife  ;  and  tell  me,  if  in  each  case 
there  is  not  some  son  of  Belial  whom,  like  the  serpent  in  the  fable, 
the  Church  had  warmed  in  her  bosom,  but  now  has  to  feel  the 
effects  of  his  venom  1  Where  in  the  churches  is  there  division, 
and  strife,  and  hatred,  and  there  is  no  professor  warm  in  the  quar- 
rel \  A  single  man,  can  go  out  infuriated  from  the  sacramental 
cup,  and  spread  a  wider  ruin  than  a  score  of  abler  men,  about 
whom  there  have  never  been  cast  the  sacred  enclosures  of  the 
covenant.  0,  I  wish  I  had  not  half  the  evidence  I  have,  that  I 
announce  a  solemn  and  sacred  truth  that  ought  to  have  been  pub- 
licly announced  far  sooner.  Whatever,  then,  a  profession  of  god- 
liness may  do  for  unregenerate  men,  it  does  not  curtail  their  power 
or  disposition  for  doing  mischief.     I  remark, 

2.  An  amalgamation  of  unregenerate  men,  with  the  Church,  does 
not  increase  their  means  of  becoming  holy  and  happy.  No  plea  has 
been  so  popular,  with  those  who  have  wished  to  push  unregenerate. 
men  into  a  closer  contact  with  sacred  things,  than  that  they  are 
thus  furnished  with  better  means,  and  a  fairer  prospect  of  obtain- 
ing salvation.  It  has  been  the  boast  of  some  modern  preachers, 
that  under  their  ministrations,  ungodly  men  are  induced  to  quit 
the  ranks  of  infidelity,  and  become  Christians.  They  have  skill, 
it  seems,  in  rendering  the  gospel  palatable,  and  men  will  receive 
it  from  them,  who  would  have  perished,  before  they  would  have 
received  it  at  the  lips  of  a  harsh,  and  homely,  and  unfeeling  ortho- 
''»xy  !  Not  to  stop  now,  to  inquire  whether  these  converts  are 
f>;i 


442 


THE    MAM    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED. 


not  rendered  tenfold  more  the  children  of  hell,  than  previously  to 
their  having  been  discipled  ;  let  me  ask  whether  the  means  of 
grace  used  with  them,  are  thus  increased  1  and  whether  their  pros- 
pects of  heaven  are  thus  brightened  1 

That  same  gospel,  which  would  induce  the  unsanctified,  without 
being  renewed,  to  avow  themselves  believers,  and  thus  teach  them 
in  the  outset  to  utter  a  lie  ;  would  not  be  very  likely  to  teach,  them 
much  truth,  after  their  being  drawn  within  the  covenant.  And 
moreover,  if  an  impression  contrary  to  truth  must  be  made  to 
bring  them  to  the  house  of  God,  or  within  the  enclosures  of  a 
Christian  church,  it  is  very  doubtful,  whether  they  would  after- 
ward listen  seriously  to  the  truth.  The  same  pleasant  song  that 
charmed  them  at  the  first,  must  continue  to  hold  them,  or  they 
would  escape  like  the  bird  from  the  grasp  of  the  charmer.  They 
must  have  a  gospel  as  false  throughout,  as  was  that  first  lesson, 
that  induced  them  to  quit  visibly  the  fellowship  of  infidelity.  And 
if  so,  they  remain  in  all  the  darkness  of  their  former  state,  with  no 
more  chance  of  being  enlightened,  than  under  the  ministration  of 
a  Bramin,  or  a  Mufti.  Or  suppose  your  polished  and  soothing 
preacher  has  done  his  part,  and  induced  the  infidel  to  abandon  his 
creed,  for  some  general  confession  of  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  its 
doctrines  having  been  frittered  down  till  he  is  satisfied  ;  and  he 
has  exchanged  the  school  of  infidelity  for  the  Church  of  Christ ; — ■ 
suppose  this  done,  and  the  child  thus  born  delivered  over  to  be 
nursed,  and  reared,  under  a  better  gospel ;  let  me  ask,  if  that  on.e 
fatal  error,  which  he  has  adopted,  will  not  operate  like  a  corrupt 
leaven,  to  poison  the  whole  system  of  truth.  You  may  bring  the 
man  to  the  sanctuary,  where  is  taught  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints,  and  chain  him  to  his  pew,  and  pour  in  truth  upon  his 
car  for  half  a  century,  and  still  you  will  never  reach  his  conscience, 
till  you  make  him  feel,  and  he  becomes  willing  to  learn,  that  his 
heart  is  alienated  from  God,  and  that  the  profession  he  has  made 
is  a  lie.  You  must  teach  him  that  the  whole  head  is  sick,  and  the 
whole  heart  faint;  that  he  is  an  alien  from  the  commonwealth  of 
Israel,  and  is  not,  and  never  has  been,  in  covenant  with  God  ;  and 
thus  at  the  very  first  push  of  truth,  thrust  him  from  his  strong 
hold,  or  he  stands  shielded  against  any  attack  that  can  be  made 
upon  him  by  the  true  gospel.  Thus  in  order  to  make  him  listen 
to  the  truth,  or  in  other  words,  to  furnish  him  better  means  of 
grace,  you  bring  him  up  to  the  communion  table,  and  when  there 
you  can  make  him  feel  DOthing,  till  you  show  him,  that  the  incense 
nnd  the  sacrifice  he  offers  is  abomination  to  the  Lord. 


THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED  443 

It  docs  seem  to  me  that  when  you  have  made  the  unrenewed 
man  a  professor  of  godliness,  you  have  placed  him  where  he  can- 
not be  taught  the  gospel.  You  have  prepared  him  a  shield  for  his 
conscience  and  his  heart,  that  will  effectually  protect  him,  against 
any  thrust  that  truth  can  make.  It  is  then  doubted,  whether  seal- 
ing ordinances  are  at  all  likely  to  become  means  of  grace,  to  wick- 
ed men,  who  are  admitted  to  those  ordinances,  while  in  impeni- 
tence and  unhelief. 

I  take  it  for  granted,  what  is  too  evident  to -admit  a  doubt,  that 
a  mere  profession  does  not  alter  the  man's  moral  character  in  the 
least.  He  believes  no  truth  that  he  did  not  believe  before,  is  as 
much  an  infidel  as  ever,  and  does  no  duty  that  he  did  not ;  unless 
you  please  to  say  that  coming  to  the  communion  is  a  duty,  and 
this  we  deny.  To  do  so  is  duty,  if  the  heart  be  right  with  God, 
not  otherwise.  Indeed  nothing  is  done,  that  deserves  the  name  of 
duty  while  God  is  not  feared  and  loved.  And  nothing  will  he  at- 
tempted to  be  done  in  this  case,  merely  because  God  commands 
it,  but  all  because  consistency  of  conduct  requires  it.  There  may 
be  some  attempt  at  prayer,  and  greater  punctuality  in  attending 
upon  a  preached  gospel,  but  it  must  all  be,  from  the  very  nature 
of  the  case,  a  show  of  piety.  The  profession  has  not  altered  the 
man,  either  in  heart  or  conduct,  enough  to  give  him  another  cha- 
racter, either  in  the  view  of  God  or  man.  How  then  are  his 
means  of  holiness,  or  his  chance  of  heaven  at  all  altered  for  the 
better  \ 

Beside  there  is  produced  by  attending  upon  ordinances,  when 
there  is  no  piety,  a  positive  hardness  of  heart,  and  obtuseness  of 
conscience,  which  tends  to  remove  the  man  farther  than  ever  from 
God.  It  is  trifling  with  the  most  holy  things,  and  the  man  who 
shall  do  this,  must  rise  to  a  pitch  of  profanity  and  of  daring,  that 
cannot  fail  to  beget  an  abiding  insensibility.  It  is  like  the  deed 
of  Uzziah,  king  of  Judah,  who,  for  daring  to  assume  the  priest's 
office,  was  made  a  leper,  and  continued  so  all  his  life.  God  will 
be  sanctified  in  them  that  draw  near  to  him.  Thus  are  we  driven 
to  the  conclusion,  that  when  the  ungodly  come  to  the  consecrated 
elements,  their  means  of  grace  are  not  increased,  while  their  pros- 
pects of  heaven  are  greatly  darkened.     I  close  with  one  general 

REMARK. 

How  above  all  price  is  an  honest  and  distinguishing  gospel. 
In  the 

1.  Place,  such  a  gospel  is  the  only  true  gospel.     My  audience,  I 


444"  THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED. 

hope,  are  persuaded,  that  we  have  a  distinguishing  Bibta.  God 
intended,  when  he  inspired  his  word,  to  give  us,  not  the  means  of 
guessing  at  the  truth,  but  of  knowing  it.  "  Ye  shall  know  the 
truth  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free."  Hence  he  has  made  his 
word  plain,  so  that  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  shall  not  err. 
Now  we  should  depart  from  honesty,  to  either  teach,  or  suffer  our- 
selves to  be  taught,  indistinctly,  from  this  plain  Bible.  There 
must  be  some  base  design,  when  the  truth  of  God,  that  stands  in- 
telligible on  the  record,  is  rendered  obscure  and  confused  in  the 
lips  of  the  publisher.  The  doctrines  clearly  taught  in  the  Bible, 
must  be  made  evident  by  the  preacher ;  and  the  characters,  there 
distinctly  marked,  not  be  by  him  blended  and  confounded  :  else 
we  can  easily  be  sure,  that  we  have  not  before  us  the  honest  legate 
of  the  skies. 

2.  It  is  only  an  honest  and  distinguishing  gospel,  that  does  honor 
to  the  Savior.  Its  grand  object  is  to  redeem  men  from  all  iniquity, 
and  purify  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of 
o-ood  works.  The  Church  it  gathers,  and  feeds,  and  comforts,  has 
on  the  image  of  her  Lord,  stands  out  from  the  world,  an  illustrious 
monument  of  his  sanctifying  power,  and  tells  all  the  generations 
that  pass  by,  how  holy,  and  how  glorious,  and  how  mighty,  is  her 
Redeemer.  Christ  has  declared  that  his  people  are  like  him,  he  is 
formed  in  them  the  hope  of  glory.  But  if  you  mix  up  the  Church 
with  the  world,  and  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  can- 
not be  known  from  the  multitudes  with  whom  they  are  amalga- 
mated, and  you  call  this  whole  mass  the  Church,  which  is  expect- 
ed to  wear  the  image  of  her  Lord,  then  you  grossly  libel  his  cha- 
racter. 

If  the  ungodly,  as  they  look  upon  this  Church,  are  to  learn  from 
its  character,  what  is  the  character  of  the  Savior;  and  from  its 
conduct,  what  is  the  life  and  conversation  he  would  approve  ;  and 
from  its  temper,  what  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ;  then  is  the  Savior 
degraded  and  abused  by  such  a  Church,  and  the  whole  design  of 
lis  mission  covered  with  reproach.  He  came  to  save  his  people 
from  their  sins.  Arc  these,  then,  the  people  he  has  saved  !  these 
worldlings  I  these  profane  men  \  these  gamblers  1  these  covetous 
men  7.  these  ambitious  men  !  these  proud,  litigious,  thoughtless, 
prayerless  men  1  Are  all  these  the  saved  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  this  the 
multitude  that  he  has  washed  from  their  sins  in  his  blood!  ! 

Thus  an  indistinct  gospel  builds  up  a  worldly  Church,  and  that 
Church  by  its  open,  and  barefaced,  and  abounding  iniquities,  brings 
reproach  and  contempt  upon  its  Redeemer.     But   let   the   Church 


THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED  44-5 

be  pure  as  he  would  have  it,  be  composed  of  only  such  as  will  put 
on  his  image  and  glory  in  being  like  him  ;  then  the  world  will  take 
knowledge  of  them  that  they  have  been  with  Jesus,  and  he  will  be 
honored  in  the  house  of  his  friends. 

3.  It  is  only  an  honest  and  distinguishing  gospel  that  will  be 
useful. 

It  gives  tbe  means  of  knowing  their  own  character.  Its  very 
first  object  is  to  distinguish  between  the  clean  and  the  unclean,  be- 
tween him  that  serveth  God,  and  him  that  serveth  him  not.  Then 
the  Christian  discovers  that  he  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  takes  the 
comfort  of  it ;  and  the  unregenerate  learn  that  they  are  in  the  gall 
of  bitterness,  and  under  the  bonds  of  iniquity,  and  feel  the  pain 
of  it,  and  apprehend  the  danger  of  it.  He  will  have  many  a  song, 
and  they  feel  many  a  pang  under  such  a  gospel;  he  may  have  high 
hopes  of  future  blessedness,  and  they  many  strong  anticipations 
of  the  wrath  to  come. 

A  gospel  that  is  not  distinguishing,  by  building  up  a  worldly 
Church,  withholds  from  sinners  one  of  the  mightiest  means  of 
grace.  There  is  nothing  that  so  much  affects  men,  as  to  see  reli- 
gion embodied,  and  acted  out  by  the  people  of  God.  The  gospel 
then  presents  itself  to  their  consciences  in  a  living  shape,  and  carries 
with  it  an  influence  that  is  irresistible.  There  the  law  is,  and  there 
the  gospel  is,  right  before  their  eyes  all  day  in  their  houses,  and  in 
their  streets ;  and  they  must  die  or  embrace  it.  But  under  a  loose 
and  indistinct  gospel,  there  is  no  such  example,  and  of  course  no 
such  influence  exerted.  If  there  should  be  some  few  in  the 
Church,  who  honor  the  religion  they  profess,  which  is  not  very 
likely  under  a  gospel  that  does  not  feed  them  with  the  truth,  still 
their  influence  will  not  be  felt.  They  will  be  nicknamed,  and  des- 
pised, and  cast  out,  as  sour,  unsocial  and  austere  beings,  of  whom 
none  may  speak  kindly,  and  with  whom  none  will  associate.  Thus 
the  ungodly  under  such  a  gospel,  lack  one  of  the  most  efficacious 
means  of  grace. 

Hence  under  such  a  gospel  there  is  no  reason  to  hope,  that  sin 
ners  will  repent  and  turn  to  God,  and  live.  Men  will  not  be 
alarmed  till  they  know  their  danger,  nor  will  know  their  danger 
till  they  learn  their  true  character.  Hence  under  a  gospel,  that 
does  not  distinguish,  that  rears  not  a  pious  Christian  Church,  that 
mixes  up  the  Lord's  people  with  the  world,  calls  the  whole  con- 
gregation brethren,  and  deals  out  the  promises  without  discrimina- 
tion ;  sinners  cannot  be  said  to  enjoy  the  means  of  grace,  will  never 


446  THE    MAN    OF    GOD    DEVELOPED. 

become  alarmed,  and  will  never  repent,  and  will  die  in  their  sins 
and  where  Christ  is  they  can  never  come. 

To  the  people  of  God,  who  are  under  a  process  of  sanctifica- 
tion  through  the  truth,  it  is  of  unspeakable  importance  that  thev 
enjoy  a  distinguishing  gospel.  Else  they  will  ripen  but  slowly  for 
heaven,  will  not  enjoy  the  comforts  of  religion,  nor  be  extensively 
useful.  To  place  them  under  a  tame  and  temporizing  gospel,  is  like 
the  attempt  to  grow  plants  in  the  shade.  They  may  just  live,  but  they 
can  neither  be  vigorous  nor  healthful.  Place  the  men  of  heavenly 
birth,  where  they  can  have  the  whole  truth,  and  feel  its  influence. 
Then  they  "  spring  up,  as  willows  by  their  water-courses."  Every 
day  advances  them  in  the  Divine  life.  Their  religion  is  healthful 
and  vigorous,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  they  will  feel  the 
blessed  effects  for  ever.  They  will  be,  when  they  die,  better  pre- 
pared for  heaven,  will  take  a  higher  station,  and  shine  more  illus- 
triously in  the  celestial  firmament. 

O,  then,  suffer  not  a  Christian  for  a  icorld,  to  spend  his  days  un- 
der a  loose  and  indiscriminating  gospel.  Advise  him  to  sell  all  he 
has  and  buy  a  better  gospel,  or  go  where  the  truth  is  proclaimed, 
that  they  may  daily  feel  its  influence,  "till  we  all  come  in  the 
unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto 
a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness,  ot 
Christ."     Amen. 


SERMON    XXXIX. 

MAN  HIS  BROTHER'S  KEEPER.— No.  I. 

GENESIS    IV.    9. 

Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ? 

Thus  early  did  the  apostacy  of  the  human  family  display  itself 
in  murder,  in  falsehood,  in  supreme  selfishness,  and  in  gross  and 
daring  impudence.  Cain,  you  know,  had  murdered  his  brother, 
and  he  now  lies  in  the  hope  to  conceal  it  from  God,  and  impudent- 
ly repels  the  insinuation  that  it  was  at  all  his  business  to  he  his 
brother's  guardian.  He  would  have  no  care  of  his  brother;  he 
might  die  or  live,  it  was  no  matter  that  concerned  him.  His  own 
interest  was  care  enough  for  him ;  his  brother  must  be  his  own 
keeper.  This  same  principle  of  depravity,  supreme  selfishness,  has 
ever  predominated  in  the  breast  of  the  human  family,  and  may  be 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  causes  that  operate  to  make  and  keep 
the  world  miserable.  Yet  the  question  put  to  Cain  implies  that 
God  will  govern  us  by  another  law.  We  are  to  know  what  has  be- 
come of  our  brother.  His  life  and  health  and  happiness  is  to  be 
the  object  of  our  care,  and  that  by  the  authority  of  God  himself. 
As  he  would  not  suffer  Cain,  so  neither  will  he  suffer  us  to  throw 
off  this  obligation.  And  what  then  becomes  of  the  argument  by 
which  men  quiet  their  consciences,  while  they  make  no  exertion 
to  bless  or  save  the  human  family  ?  When  God  shall  make  inqui- 
sition for  blood,  and  shall  inquire  of  us  as  he  did  of  the  first  mur- 
derer, Where  are  all  those  millions  of  heathen  that  lived  in  your 
day  '•  what  reply  shall  we  make  1  When  he  inquires,  Where  are 
all  those  profane  men  and  Sabbath-breakers  that  lived  in  your  time  ! 
Where  are  all  those  intemperate  men  that  came  under  your  notice, 
and  formed  a  character  for  perdition  with  your  connivance  I  Shall 
we  be  able  to  wield  successfully  that  argument  of  Cain,  >v  Am  [ 
my  brother's  keeper  I"  Or  is  there  some  other  law  like  this, 
"Let  no  man  seek"  his  own,  but  every  man  another's.'"  W  ealth  is 
here  added  by  the  translators,  but  it  applies  as  well  to  other  things 
as  to  wealth.  We  are  to  seek  another's  health,  and  happiness,  and 
salvation,  as  well  as  our  own.  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  others 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them." 


448  man  ins  brother's  keeper. 

Perhaps  by  some  such  law  God  will  at  last  deal  with  us,  and  not 
by  that  contracted  self-love  which  Cain  made  his  only  law  of  life 
and  action.  And  if  so,  why  should  men  act  on  a  principle  now, 
that  must  be  abandoned  in  the  day  of  retribution  1  One  would  not 
like  to  enter  upon  some  litigated  case,  having  planned  his  defence 
on  a  principle  totally  different  from  that  on  which  alone  his  cause 
can  stand.  Wisdom  would  dictate  a  far  other  course.  We  are 
all  looking  forward  to  the  judgment  of  the  great  day,  and  it  will 
come  whether  we  look  for  it  or  not,  and  God  has  given  us  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  he  will  proceed.  By  these,  then  let  us  prejudge 
ourselves,  that  in  the  great  day  we  may  stand. 

On  application  to  the  law  and  the  testimony  we  shall  find  that 
God  has  made  us  all  our  brother's  keeper.  And  would  we  know 
who  is  our  brother,  the  same  book  will  bring  within  the  circle  of 
our  brotherhood  the  whole  human  family.  Hence  the  obligation  to 
do  good  to  all  men  as  we  have  opportunity,  will  come  down  a 
mighty  burden  if  you  please,  upon  all  our  shoulders.  Cain  de- 
fended himself  on  a  spurious  principle,  and  the  judgment  of  God 
overthrew  it.  There  is  not,  then,  a  man  in  our  streets  but  is  obli- 
gated to  look  so  far  into  his  neighbor's  concerns,  as  to  know,  if 
possible,  whether  there  is  not  some  good  he  should  do  him.  God 
will  not  consider  it  a  wanton  interference,  an  abridgement  of  our 
neighbor's  liberty,  if  we  so  far  interest  ourselves  as  to  settle  the 
question  that  there  is  no  point  in  which  we  can  bless  him.  Did 
we  see  his  house  on  fire  in  the  night  time,  we  should  haste  to  it, 
and  burst  open  his  door,  and  if  he  slept  too  soundly  to  be  waked, 
should  throw  him  out  of  his  house,  and  none  would  consider  it  a 
gratuitous  intermeddling  in  another  man's  matters.  But  the  law 
of  God  does  not  say  that  we  may  interfere  merely  to  promote  his 
wealth.  Can  we  in  any  point  do  him  good  ?  If  so,  the  obligation 
rests  on  us. 

Now  apply  this  principle  to  the  case  of  that  multitude  who  are 
scorching  up  their  vitals  by  intemperance.  Is  it  abridging  their 
liberties  if  we  interpose  1  Can  it  be  viewed  as  wanton  officious- 
ness  if  we  snatch  the  cup  from  their  lips  1  Suppose  it  a  quicker 
poison  that  would  take  life  in  an  hour,  might  we  then  dash  the 
cup  away  1  Suppose  the  father  drinking  it  would  poison  and  kill 
his  whole  family  ;  might  we  then  be  so  officious  as  to  pity  his 
wife  and  children,  and  rudely  force  the  potion  away  from  him  1 
Suppose  it  a  razor  or  a  halter,  instead  of  the  cup,  and  you  must 
become  officious  or  his  wife  is  a  widow  in  an  hour,  and  his 
children  orphans  ;  may  you  act  in  that  case  !     Will  one  oppose 


MAN    HIS    BROTHER'S    KEEPER.  449 

the  man  who  is  opening  his  jugulars,  and  must  be  a  corpse  in 
an  hour,  and  at  the  same  time  furnish  the  instrument  to  another 
with  which  he  opens  a  vein  that  will  dispatch  him  in  a  week  1  By 
what  kind  of  consistency  do  men  sustain  this  mode  of  reasoning  1 
Does  God  see  any  difference  in  these  cases  1  Or  has  mere  human 
sophistry  separated  what  God  hath  joined  together  1 

Let  us  look  a  little  while  at  the  right  we  have,  and  the  obligation 
we  are  under,  to  interfere  in  the  case  before  us,  and.  dam,  divert,  or 
dry  up  that  flood  of  intemperance  that  is  pouring  desolation  upon 
society.  On  this  subject  we  claim  in  our  favor  every  law  of  na- 
ture, of  God,  and  of  man.  We  claim  the  obligation  of  every  law 
of  kindness,  humanity,  self-preservation,  and  necessity.  And  we 
know  of  no  law  that  bears  in  any  shape  upon  our  case,  that  does 
not  declare  most  unequivocally  our  duty  in  this  matter.  Let  us 
look, 

I.  At  the  law  of  God.  Whether  the  divine  law  will  be  felt  on 
this  subject  or  not,  its  authority  should  be  read.  Many  will  plead 
that  it  principally  enjoins  abstaining  from  injuring  our  fellow  men. 
We  assert  that  it  enjoins  more,  and  renders  duty  positive  exertion 
to  do  them  good.  "  Thou  shalt  in  any  wise  rebuke  thy  neighbor, 
and  not  suffer  sin  upon  him."  Here  is  authorized  and  even  en- 
joined the  very  attack  we  would  make  upon  this  vice.  And  we 
have  here  the  rule  of  our  perseverance  ;  we  are  not  to  cease  while 
sin  is  upon  him.  "  Them  that  sin  rebuke  before  all,  that  others 
may  fear."  Here  we  are  authorized,  if  the  case  requires,  to  make 
our  rebuke  loud  and  public.  Good  magistrates  are  represented 
as  being  a  terror  to  evil  doers,  as  enjoined  of  God  to  use  coercion 
to  keep  men  back  from  sin.  The  discipline  of  Christ's  church  is 
founded  in  the  principle  that  it  is  right  to  hold  men  back  from 
doing  wrong  by  all  the  moral  force  that  can  be  applied.  The  laws 
of  Israel  required  even  that  men  be  held  back  from  sin  by  the  ap- 
prehended punishment  of  death.  The  parent  must  inform  against 
his  disobedient  child,  even  when  the  issue  must  be  that  his  child 
be  stoned  to  death.  The  sacrednessof  the  Sabbath  was  by  divine 
direction  guarded  by  the  sanction  of  death.  Thus  we  sufficiently 
see  that  the  law  of  God  enjoins  more  upon  men  than  merely  ab- 
staining from  injuring  their  fellow-men,  enjoins  also  the  duty  of 
keeping  them  back  from  sin.  Not  merely  may  I  not  kill,  but  1 
must  hinder  one  from  killing  himself.  Not  merely  may  I  not 
steal,  but  I  must  hold  back  my  neighbor  from  theft.  Not  merely 
may  1  not,  by  any  possible  construction,  put  the  cup  to  my  neigh- 
57 


450  MAN    HIS    BROTHER'S    KEEPER 

bor's  mouth,  but  must,  if  possible,  prevent  him  from  putting  the 
cup  to  his  own  mouth.  The  law  of  God  is  not  that  tame  negative, 
spiritless  code  that  some  would  render  it,  but  is  exceeding  broad, 
and  hinds  to  all  those  actions  that  comport  with  its  spirit.  There 
is  no  fear,  then,  that  by  any  moral  power  we  shall  put  forth  m 
reclaiming  the  world  from  its  beastly  indulgences,  we  shall  not  be 
sustained  by  the  law  of  God.  We  shall  be  condemned  if  we  do 
not  put  forth  such  power  by  that  very  law.      1  remark, 

II.  That  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  embodies,  as  one  of  its  first 
principles,  the  duty  of  restraining  men  from  sin.  It  is  difficult  to 
view  the  operations  of  this  religion  as  distinct  from  the  operations 
of  the  law  of  God.  Its  uniform  aim  is,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  men, 
to  render  them  holy  and  happy.  To  do  this  it  would  enlighten 
the  world  ;  warn  them  of  the  coming  judgment ;  exert  all  possible 
restraining  moral  influence  over  the  wicked  passions,  and  place 
before  men  every  fascinating  motive  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come.  The  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  characterizes  this  religion.  He 
came  from  heaven  purposely  that  he  might  throw  himself  between 
the  sinner  and  the  misery  he  earns,  and  thus  block  up  the  way  of 
death  with  his  own  body  and  blood.  And  he  stands  and  pleads 
with  wretched  men.  "  0  that  thou  hadst  hearkened  to  my  com- 
mandments, then  had  thy  peace  been  as  a  river,  and  thy  right- 
eousness like  the  waves  of  the  sea."  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that 
labor  and  are-  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  "  Turn  ye, 
turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die." 

The  religion  of  the  gospel  is  a  benevolent  religion.  Its  posses- 
sor is  not  content  to  be  happy  alone,  but  would  extend  his  own 
enjoyment  to  the  whole  race  of  the  apostacy  ;  would  rouse  a  dor- 
mant world  from  the  sleep  of  death,  and  break  them  off  from  the 
habits  that  are  destroying  them.  He  has  read  in  the  sacred  book 
that  no  drunkard  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  hence  he  sees 
heaven  shut  for  ever  against  the  whole  multitude,  and  nothing  be- 
fore them  but  weeping  and  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Here 
piety  becomes  tenderly  and  laboriously  compassionate.  It  cares 
for  the  sufferings  of  the  body,  bul  holds  it  to  he  an  infinitely  more 
important  object  to  save  the  soul  from  death. 

And  there  is  one  thought  on  this  subject  that  has  amazing  weight. 
Intemperance  excludes  men,  if  not  wholly  from  the  house  of  God, 
yet  very  lamentably  from  the  means  of  grace.  Where  is  the  in- 
temperate man  that  has  not  vacated  his  sn:1t  in  the  church  meet- 
in?,  in  the  conference  room,  and   in  the   place  of  prayer  \     Who 


MAX    HIS    BROTHER'S    KEEPER.  4-51 

of  them  attend  regularly  the  means  of  grace,  as  those  who  hope 
to  be  sanctified  through  the  truth  ]  And  they  will  be  found  to 
have  commenced  a  very  loose  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  family 
and  the  closet,  if  indeed  these  duties  are  not  wholly  abandoned  ' 
The  Bible  is  rend  but  little,  and  very  few  of  its  precious  truths  are 
treasured  up,  and  reflected  on  and  prayed  over.  The  time  that 
all  these  require  is  lost  in  unprofitable  talk  in  the  place  of  idle 
concourse.  Thus  all  hope  of  heaven  is  cut  off.  The  Sabbath  be- 
comes a  perverted  institution,  and  furnishes,  instead  of  leisure  to 
seek  and  serve  the  Lord,  opportuniiy  to  drink  and  perish.  Could 
you  know  the  true  reason  in  every  case  why  men  desert  the  sane- 
tuary,  you  would  find  in  many  cases,  that  the  insidious  practice 
of  mingling  strong  drink,  and  the  temptation  offered  of  thus  de- 
voting the  sacred  day  of  the  Lord  unobserved  by  men,  are  gene- 
rating this  habit.  That  day  when  the  last  and  best  excuse  that 
tipplers  have  for  the  practice,  will  not  apply  that  it  renders  them 
strong  to  labor,  is  spent  in  beastly  indulgences.  Thus  God  is 
twice  insulted,  nay,  three  times.  The  body  that  should  be  the 
temple  of  the  living  God  is  polluted  ;  and  he  that  pollutes  the 
vemple  of  God,  him  shall  God  destroy.  The  fruits  of  the  earth, 
tfrown  by  the  divine  agency,  are  perverted  from  their  benevolent 
designation.  And  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord,  made  for  man,  to  in- 
-truct  him  and  fit  him  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  is  abused  to  a  pur- 
pose more  vile  than  any  day  of  the  seven.  How  God  will  feel 
while  men  thus  employ  the  very  hours  he  consecrated,  in  selling 
their  souls  into  bondage  to  the  devil,  it  can  be  easily  conceived. 

Now  the  heart  of  piety  bleeds  over  the  miseries  that  are  coming 
upon  this  infatuated  multitude,  and  all  the  laws  of  piety  urge  the 
believer  to  step  in  and  stay  the  plague.     I  remark, 

III  That  the  laws  of  humanity  give  us  the  right,  and  impress 
the  obligation  to  be  active  in  putting  a  period  to  the  preval 
of  this  destructive  vice.  The  intemperate  man,  beast  as  he  has 
made  himself,  is  still  a  brother.  He  descended  with  us  from  the 
same  common  parent,  nor  can  we  by  any  process  of  reasoning 
throw  off  the  relationship  he  sustains  to  us.  Could  he  be  meta- 
morphosed into  a  brute,  and  all  the  relationships  that  tie  him  to 
men  he  dissolved,  when  he  becomes  intemperate,  the  case  would 
alter.  Then  humanity  would  make  upon  us  its  smaller  claim  as 
when  a  beasl  sutlers,  or  as  when  a  serpent  dies.  Till  then  the 
claim  of  kindred  calls  for  pity. 

How  ruined  is  the  man  who  has  accustomed  hi  nself  to  the  arti- 


4  52  MAN    HIS    BROTHER  S    KEENER 

ficial  stimulus  till  the  habit  is  fixed  !  The  money  that  should  buy 
him  food  and  raiment,  buys  him  disease  and  pain,  and  desponden- 
cy. That  labor  that  should  earn  his  family  reputation  and  plea- 
sure, and  health,  and  science,  goes  to  pull  down  their  habitation, 
and  cover  them  with  rags,  and  feed  them  coarsely  and  scantily, 
and  plunge  them  from  respectable  life  into  poverty  and  wretched- 
ness. The  man  himself  is  ruined  ;  his  health,  his  ambition,  his 
intellect,  and  more  and  worse  than  all  he  can  have  no  part  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.  And  down  toward  the  same  ruin  he  drags,  with 
all  the  power  he  has,  his  hapless  family.  Suppose  him  to  have  a 
wife  how  altered  is  her  prospect.  She  married  a  man  ;  his  face 
was  human,  his  breath  was  sweet,  his  heart  was  affectionate,  his 
countenance  spoke  the  kindest  emotions.  He  promised  her  his 
heart  for  life,  and  she  gave  him  hers.  But  she  now  embraces  a 
savage,  and  must  wither  under  his  insults  if  not  his  blows,  and 
must  sue  a  bill  from  him,  or  wear  out  life  in  the  den  of  a  tiger. 
And  must  see  her  children,  the  pledges  of  an  honest  affection, 
under  the  training  of  a  brute  :  must  know  that  little  short  of  a 
miracle  can  rear  them  to  comfort,  or  knowledge,  or  character. 
Her  high  hopes  for  them  are  sunk,  and  she  becomes  thankful  if 
she  may  but  keep  them  with  her  and  furnish  a  rag  to  cover  them, 
and  a  piece  of  bread  to  feed  them.  She  must  see  her  comforts  all 
torn  from  her,  the  very  bed  she  brought  to  him,  and  the  conve- 
niences her  father  gave  her.  She  had  begun  to  move  in  circles  oi 
high  character,  and  had  taken  an  elevation  from  which  she  must 
now  come  down.  She  was  the  mistress  of  her  house,  but  is  now 
a  menial.  And  all  this,  were  it  all,  would  be  comparatively  nothing. 
She  must  see  her   companion   come   down  from  independence  to 

ary,  from  reputation  to  neglect,  from  health  and  promise  to 
disease  and  gloominess,  and  death  and  hell.  Once,  perhaps,  she 
hoped  to  live  with  him  in  heaven,  but  as  no  drunkard  shall  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God,  she  abandons  this  hope,  and  tries  now  to 
save  her  children.  Here  again  her  burden  is  a  world.  How  can 
she  hope  to  counteract  the  influence  of  a  father's  example,  and  un- 
teach  a  father's  precepts,  and  neutralize  a  father's  influence.     She 

tlways  told  her  children  to  obey  their  father,  but  if  they  obey 
him  now  they  must  die  with  him  and  be  damned  with  him. 

Thus  she  surveys  her  household  with  despair  and  sees  not  but 
that  every  star  of  her  night  must  be  covered  with  a  deep  and  dark 
cloud.  She  was  the  mother  of  a  promising  family,  and  dwelt  in  a 
comfortable  habitation.  But  her  miserable  associate  involved  his 
interest,  and  mortgaged  his  dwelling,  and  sold  his  lands,  and  gave 


MAN    HIS    BROTHER  S    KEEPER.  453 

up  his  business,  and  she  must  now  try  to  keep  herself  warm  in 
that  darksome  hovel.  T  see  her,  on  some  cold  December's  even- 
ing, returning  from  the  wood  with  her  fagots,  that  she  may  keep 
the  life-hlood  flowing  warm  in  the  veins  of  her  infant.  And  I  see 
her  little  bare-foot  lads  trying  to  repair  their  father's  wron?,  bear- 
ing on  behind  her  some  brushes  for  the  fire.  Poor  lads,  they  hope 
their  father  will  come  directly  and  bring  them  home  some  bread. 
Ah,  he  comes  yonder,  but  has  spent  the  shilling  to  glut  his  appe- 
tite, and  another  is  leading  him  home.  Go  now  and  meet  that 
abused  wife  at  her  door,  and  enter  with  her  and  take  the  inventory 
of  her  table,  and  if  your  heart  does  not  ache,  it  is  made  of  marble. 
There  is  nothing  there  to  eat  :  if  there  is,  the  mother  earned  it 
last  night  when  she  should  have  been  allowed  to  sleep. 

Go  now  and  visit  her  father's  house,  and  see  how  many  comforts 
lay  around  her  cradle  ;  how  overflowing  is  the  table  where  she 
Mras  reared  ;  how  full  of  all  life's  dainties  that  house  where  she,  in 
an  evil  hour,  committed  her  person  to  that  being  who  now  holds 
her  as  with  the  paw  of  a  panther;  and  then  if  there  is  anything 
you  will  not  do  that  can  be  done  to  stay  other  wives  from  such  a 
destiny,  and  other  children  from  such  a  famine,  then  feel  that  you 
lack  the  common  sympathies  of  humanity.  What  can  possibly 
give  us  a  right  to  interfere,  and  save  a  fellow  creature,  if  we  have 
none  in  this  case  1  Where  can  the  laws  of  humanity  operate  1 
Might  I  tear  that  imploring  female  from  the  jaws  of  a  wolf,  or  the 
mouth  of  a  crocodile,  or  the  rush  of  a  cataract  1  And  by  what 
law?  The  law  of  humanity  1  And  is  this  law  so  binding  that  I 
must  even  risk  my  life  ?  Well,  she  may  die  a  slower  death,  by 
the  abuses  of  an  intemperate  husband,  but  not  a  surer  one  ;  and 
her  children  may  not  as  certainty  perish  as  if  already  in  the  em- 
brace of  a  bear,  but  the  danger,  if  they  are  young  when  the  father 
becomes  a  brute,  is  not  much  less  imminent. 

When,  then,  may  the  laws  of  compassion  operate — when  are 
they  binding  as  the  very  law  itself  of  God,  if  not  in  this  case  1  To 
publish  the  tippler,  or  dash  in  pieces  his  bottle,  or  refuse  him  a 
shelter  in  your  house,  or  employ  in  your  service,  are  deeds  direct 
of  compassion,  if  by  such  means  we  may  have  the  remotest  hope 
of  forcing  him  to  the  necessity  of  abandoning  his  cups.  If  we 
may  not  do  this  without  intrusion  upon  his  rights,  then  we  may 
not  cut  the  halter  he  is  hanging  on  ;  may  not  dull  the  blade  he  has 
whetted  to  butcher  himself;  may  not  extinguish  the  brand  with 
which  he  intends  to  set  his  house  or  a  world  on  fire  ;  may  not 
seize  the  maniac  and  put  a  chain  on  him  ;  may  not  hunt  down  the 


454  MAN    HIS    BROTHER'S    KF.ErEh. 

tiger  who  is  lurking  in  our  village  for  some  haple&s  lad  whom  he 
may  tlevour.  To  deprive  him  of  citizenship,  and  put  a  guardian 
over  him,  and  a  prison  wall  around  him,  are  the  kindest  deeds,  i[ 
his  beastly  appetite  has  deprived  him  of  the  power  of  self-govern- 
ment. We  should  pray  that  the  very  same  deeds  may  be  done  to 
us  when  we  shall  have  unmanned  ourselves,  and  rendered  coercive 
measures  of  restraint  indispensable.  To  all  these  measures  the 
laws  of  humanity  propel  us. 

Why  have  a  prison  for  the  thief,  and  none  for  the  inebriate'? 
The  thief  is  the  less  dangerous  man.  He  will  do  his  deeds  in  the 
dark,  and  will  not  contaminate  our  children  by  his  example.  Why 
incarcerate  the  robber  ?  He  but  causes  property  to  change  own- 
ers, while  the  drunkard  breaks  in  upon  the  more  sacred  compact 
of  marriage,  sunders  the  parental  and  filial  relationships,  and  robs 
the  domestic  circle  of  its  comforts.  The  highwayman  robs  the 
si  ranger,  the  drunkard  his  own  family.  The  former  takes  the 
booty  and  is  gone ;  the  drunkard  stays  to  rob  again  and  again  of 
every  shilling  that  is  earned  by  his  family,  or  given  them  in  cha- 
rity, till  he  has  stripped  the  bed  from  under  them,  and  the  clothes 
from  off  them,  and  the  bread  from  their  mouths,  and  stays  not  till, 
if  possible,  he  has  rifled  them  of  home,  and  character,  and  hope, 
and  salvation.  Where  then  is  the  robber  with  whom  humanity 
requires  us  to  wage  war  rather  than  with  the  man  who  is  thus 
spoiling  his  own  house  1  I  know  not  where  that  compassion  has 
originated  that  will  tolerate  a  man  in  plundering  his  own  house, 
but  will  hang  him  if  he  forcibly  take  a  dollar  from  the  stranger  on 
the  highway;  that  will  suffer  him  to  totally  destroy  the  reputation 
of  his  family,  but  will  imprison  him  and  fme  him  till  he  is  a  beg- 
gar, if  he  slander  the  reputation  of  your  daughter;  that  will  per- 
mit him  to  wield  day  after  day  the  weapon  of  death  over  his  own 
poor  wife  and  hapless  children,  but  will  fasten  him  up  with  iron 
bars  and  bolts  if  he  once  thrust  the  knife  at  your  bosom. 

I  believe  our  apathy  on  this  subject  a  sin  that  the  whole  sober 
community  will  have  to  answer  for  in  the  day  of  retribution.  God 
has  constituted  us  our  brother's  keeper,  and  will  ask  us  directly, 
Where  is  Abel,  thy  brother  I  in  a  tone  of  remonstrance  that  will 
shake  a  thousand  worlds.  I  will  hint  at  one  other  law  that  binds 
us  to  assume  this  guardianship  of  our  fellow-men. 

IV.  I  refer  to  the  law  of  self-preservation.  I  name  this  last,  not 
because  the  most  binding,  but  as  that  law  which  all  men  are  least 
reluctant  to  obey.     While  we  suffer  the  sin  of  inebriation  to  pre- 


MAN    HIS    BROTHER'S    KEEPER.  -lOD 

vail,  we  are  filling  the  land  with  paupers.  Who  are  they  that  be- 
come a  public  charge !  Why,  perhaps  nine  times  in  ten,  the 
intemperate,  or  their  families,  or  their  descendants,  to  whom  this 
vice  has  bequeathed  penury.  And  who  must  be  taxed  to  support 
them  1  Why  the  sober,  civil  community.  From  their  table  must 
go  the  bread  to  feed  them,  and  from  their  forests  the  fuel  to  warm 
them,  and  from  their  earnings  the  raiment  to  cover  them,  and  from 
their  hearts  the  pity  that  relieves  them  in  sickness,  sorrow,  and 
death.  And  the  burden  is  increasing  daily.  Our  children,  if  we 
train  them  soberly,  may  have  to  labor  one  day  in  seven  to  save 
from  starvation  the  descendants  of  that  mass  of  drunkards  who 
now  reel  through  our  streets,  and  disturb  the  quiet  of  our  even- 
ings with  their  oaths  and  imprecations. 

Ah,  and  more  yet,  our  supineness  is  multiplying  crimes  and 
criminals.  Whence  the  murders  that  so  increase  in  our  land,  till 
they  have  tenfolded  since  our  recollection  1  Whence  the  grow- 
ing insecurity  to  travelers,  and  the  frequency  of  mail  robberies  \ 
Whence  that  amount  of  theft  around  us,  till  every  door  must  be 
barred,  and  property  watched  with  a  sleepless  eye  \  Whence  the 
petty  frau .Is  in  commerce  1  Whence  the  multiplied  litigations, 
till  some  towns  are  about  bankrupt  through  their  influence  1 
3f  ninety-nine-lumdredths  of  all  this  be  imputed  to  the  unnatural 
and  monstrous  use  of  ardent  spirits,  it  would  not  come  far  short 
of  the  truth. 

Hence  the  tax  upon  the  civil  community  to  prosecute  and  im- 
prison that  army  of  convicts  which  we  do  not  assign  to  the  halter. 
May  we  not  then  try  to  save  our  property  1  Must  we  levy  a  per- 
petual assessment  upon  our  children's  children,  down  to  the  end 
of  time,  for  the  support  of  every  child  whose  miserable  father  shall 
please,  by  his  vices,  to  place  upon  our  charity.  We  have  pitied 
the  English  nation  while  their  poor  tax  has  covered  at  length  the 
whole  produce  of  their  soil ;  but  intemperance  is  doing  the  same 
deed  for  us.  And  if  we  are  not  wise  enough,  I  hope  our  child- 
ren will  be,  to  exclude  this  canker-worm  from  our  entire  territory. 

In  the  mean  time,  intemperance  is  opening  hard  by  our  house  a 
deep  and  dark  gulf  for  our  offspring.  We  intend  to  educate  them 
respectably,  and  to  hold  them  distant  from  the  drunken  ami  mis- 
erable community  around  us.  But  how  know  we  that  some  inci- 
dent may  not  throw  down  our  children  into  this  community  I 
How  know  we  that  some  son  of  ours,  while  in  the  field  with  a 
tippler,  may  not  learn  to  taste  the  cup,  and  at  length  scorch  up 
his  vitals  with  the  liquid  fire  1     How  know  we  that  some  daughter 


456  MAW  his  brother's  keeper. 

of  ours,  now  sweet  and  lovely,  may  not  at  length  come  under  the 
paw  of  some  tiger-like  inebriate  j  be  lashed  like  a  slave,  and 
starved  like  a  criminal,  and  thrown  naked  and  exposed  to  the  cold 
of  winter  by  her  inhuman  husband  1  How  know  we  that  some 
large  branch  of  our  family  may  not  become  sunken  down  to  pro- 
verbial meanness  and  degradation  by  this  iniquity  1  and  our  very 
name  be  used,  as  we  know  other  names  to  be,  as  expressions  of 
all  that  is  degraded  and  vicious,  and  improvident,  and  mean  in 
human  nature.  In  view  of  such  possibilities,  shall  we  still  adhere 
to  the  plea  of  that  first  murderer,  "Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  1" 
What  concern  of  mine  is  it  1 

And  who  will  say  I  have  exaggerated.  Have  you  not  known 
some  family  that  was  promising  to  thus  sink  and  rise  no  more  1 
This  subject  presents  the  retailer  of  ardent  spirits  in  a  painful  and 
distressingly  interesting  attitude.  I  address  him  in  the  next  dis- 
course. 


SERMON    XL.» 

MAN  HIS  BROTHER'S  KEEPER.— No.  II. 

EZEKIEL    III.    20. 
His  blood  will  I  require  at  thy  hand. 

Is  it  lawful  in  the  sight  of  conscience  and  of  God,  to  vend  ardent 
spirits  ? 

Every  man  should  be  able  to  justify  himself  in  the  business  he 
pursues,  and  when  he  cannot,  by  good  and  substantial  arguments, 
should  abandon  it.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  persevere  in  any  course 
that  conscience  disapproves.  There  can  be  in  such  a  case,  neither 
peace  with  ourselves  nor  fellowship  with  God.  Darkness,  deep 
and  ominous,  must  shroud  our  path  till  it  is  illuminated  by  the  law 
of  the  Lord. 

Can  the  vender  of  ardent  spirits  justify  his  employment  \  If  he 
surveys  the  ground  on  which  he  stands,  will  he  not  become  con- 
vinced that  very  soon  it  must  sink  under  him  \ 

Dear  fellow-men,  the  Christian  public  has  treated  your  case  and 
character  with  great  forbearance,  because  perhaps  we  had  all  been 
measurably  in  the  same  condemnation.  You  vended  the  poison, 
and  too  many  of  us  suffered  our  money  to  buy  it,  and  our  families 
to  use  it.  We  approved  of  your  offering  it  for  sale,  and  you  ap- 
proved of  our  drinking  it.  Thus  we  fostered  the  sin  between  us, 
as  in  that  noted  case  in  Scripture  applying  to  a  somewhat  different 
subject,  "  That  they  may  do  evil  with  both  hands  earnestly,  the 
prince  asketh  and  the  judge  asketh  for  a  reward  ;  and  the  great 
man,  he  uttereth  his  mischievous  desire  ;  so  they  wrap  it  up."  The 
importer  and  the  distiller,  and  the  retailer,  asked  a  reward,  and  the 
mistaken  community  of  purchasers  uttered  their  mischievous  de- 
sire, and  so  we  wrapped  it  up. 

When  at  length  we  began  to  wake  to  the  subject,  we  could  not 

immediately  require  you,  at  perhaps  a  great   pecuniary  loss,  to  quit 

the  trade,  till  we  had  begun  to  practice  some  self-denial,  and   had 

abandoned  the  use.     But  if  we  are  all  under  the  same  obligation  to 

elevate  public  sentiment,  the  dealer  must  not  continue  in  the  trade 

till  there  is  no  one  to  buy,  and  then  quit  from  neces-ity,  else  nei- 

*  This  Berraon  was  written  at  a  time  when  many  conscientious  i pie  were  engaged  'n  the  traf- 
fic of  ardent  spi  -us,  and  at  about  tii"  commencement  of  the  temperance  reformation. 

58 


4-5S  MA.\    HIS    BROTHER'S    KEEPER. 

ther  God,  nor  man,  nor  his  own  conscience,  will  allow  him  any 
credit.  The  reformation  must  feel  somewhere,  and  at  some  time, 
your  influence,  or  we  shall  fear  that  the  enterprise  was  effected 
against  your  wishes.  If  you  will  sell  the  last  gill  you  can,  and 
make  the  lasl  man  drunk  that  will  give  you  opportunity,  and  put 
in  your  purse  the  last  penny  that  you  can  make  the  trade  earn  you, 
we  shall  doubt  whether,  if  God  had  left  it  to  you,  the  world  would 
ever  have  been  reformed.  Part  of  the  community,  and  we  hope, 
by  this  time,  the  large  part,  are  mourning  that  you  have  not  aban- 
doned the  trade  long  since  ;  the  residue  may  possibly  hope  you 
never  will.  In  which  of  these  divisions  is  there  the  most  prayer  1 
I  think  there  can  be  little  doubt.  And  you  are  choosing  to  which 
of  these  very  opposite  communities  you  will  belong.  Every  prayer 
offered  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Church  is  against  you,  and  so  is 
every  desire  that  the  world  may  be  peaceful,  and  industrious,  and 
happy,  and  holy.  And  it  would  seem  as  if  one  would  hate  to 
pocket  his  earnings  in  the  face  of  so  much  prayer. 

You  are  aware  that  very  few  good  men  are  now  your  customers 
in  this  article,  and  that  the  number  is  still  diminishing.  But  this, 
it  would  seem,  must  give  you  rather  a  direful  view  of  your  calling. 
The  godly  may  not  come  around  you.  It  has  been  whispered  to 
them  from  heaven,  that  they  may  not  come  into  your  secrets,  nor 
join  their  honor  to  your  tippling  and  drunken  assemblies.  You 
are  employed,  it  seems,  on  the  dark  side  of  that  line,  that  separates 
the  children  of  light  from  the  children  of  darkness.  Your  stand  is 
at  the  trip,  where  you  draw  off,  and  deal  out  to  the  most  ruined 
part  of  your  race,  poverty,  and  pain,  and  decrepitude,  and  blind- 
ness, and  infamy,  and  despair,  and  shame,  and  death. 

And  nil  this  is  not  all,  for  in  addition  to  the  present  plagues 
which  your  trade  inflicts  upon  men,  it  promises,  assuredly,  to  undo 
them  for  ever.  It  seals  them  over  to  the  adversary,  and  confirms 
them  the  enemies  of  all  righteousness,  through  all  the  future  pe- 
riods of  their  being.  And  what  a  horrid  occupation  must  that  be 
that  so  mars  and  spoils  the  works  of  God.  What  if  the  light  of 
the  last  day  should  break  in  upon  you  with  the  cup  of  lirpiid  fire 
in  your  hand,  reaching  it  out  to  one  who  i>  at  that  instant  hurried 
away  to  the  judgment,  to  answer  for  the  sin  of  making  himself  a 
beasl  at  your  bar,  must  you  not  follow  on  or  go  befoie  him,  and 
answer  for  the  sin  of  vending  the  fire.  Are  you  not  the  very  man 
whom  the  Scriptures  reprobate  for  putting  the  cup  to  your  neigh- 
bor's mouth.  If  you  will  attend  awhile,  we  will  review  the  argu- 
ments by  which  you  arc  sustained  in  the  practice. 


MAN    HIS    BROTHER'S    KEEPER.  459 

!.  A  vender  of  ardent  spirits,  on  being  asked  why  he  continued 
m  the  traffic,  responded,  /  am  sustained  by  the  public  authorities. 
They  have  licensed  the  trade,  and  I  pay  over  to  them  a  certain  part  of 
the  profits.     I  can  show  you  their  hand  and  seal. 

But  have  they  pledged  themselves  to  answer  for  you  when  God 
shall  come  and  make  inquisition  for  blood  1  and  when  the  vaga- 
bond husband  with  his  haggard  wife  and  beggared  offspring,  shall 
cry  to  heaven  for  vengeance  on  the  man  that  pilfered  them  of 
bread,  and  clothed  them  with  rags,  and  covered  them  with  infamy  1 

I  know  they  may  have  then  gone  out  of  office,  and  others  may 
occupy  their  seats.  Corporations,  I  know  have  their  life 
time,  and  their  office  is  temporary,  and  their  account  will  be  sum- 
med up  in  eternity.  But  do  they  incur  any  moral  responsibility 
for  the  correctness  of  this  enterprise  1  Will  they  stand  between 
you  and  harm,  in  the  great  day  of  account  ]  I  know  they  have 
underwritten  for  your  honesty  and  integrity,  and  for  your  good 
moral  character,  and  have  made  oath  to  all  these  points,  but  as  to 
the  lawfulness  of  the  enterprise  in  the  sight  of  God,  have  they  under- 
written here  1  Or  have  they  left  you  to  settle  this  matter  with 
God. 

And  besides  it  is  said  corporate  bodies  have  no  souls.  Of  course 
they  have  no  conscience,  and  will  not  come  into  the  judgment,  and 
will  not  be  present  to  respond  for  you  when  you  shall  be  charged 
with  pouring  a  stream  of  death  through  the  streets  and  lanes 
of  our  beloved  country.  They  will  have  sunk  down  into  common 
men,  and  will  be  judged  not  as  public  men,  but  as  private  citizens. 

But  to  be  serious,  0  what  a  day  the  last  day  will  lie  when  every 
one  must  answer  for  the  sins  done  in  the  body.  But  if  the  men 
who  signed  your  papers  shall  be  condemned  with  you,  as  guilty 
accomplices  in  your  work  of  death,  what  then  1  Can  you  apply 
any  remedy  to  the  fatal  and  final  mistake  in  that  evil  hour  !  I 
would  certainly  handle  your  conscience  kindly,  but  I  would  do  it 
honestly,  because  I  shall  be  at  the  court  on  that  day,  and  must  be 
condemned  with  you,  if  I  handle  deceitfully  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
or  cry  peace  ami  safety  when  sudden  destruction  comes  upon  you. 
I  would  rather  become  security  for  every  demand  and  every  claim 
that  may  come  against  you  in  these  minor  courts,  than  answer  for 
the  charge  of  making  one  drunkard,  or  one  homeless  and  hopeless 
and  vagabond  child,  or  one  broken-hearted  mother.  I  had  rather 
he  your  city  scavenger  than  your  mayor  and  your  alderman  on 
t"rms  like  these.  If  the  license  you  have,  will  be  current  onlv  i» 
a  humop  court,  und  heaven's  King  will  despise  it,  I  would  go  and 


460  man  his  brother's  keeper 

throw  it  down  on  the  table  of  the  corporation,  and  would  go  net, 
and  before  I  commenced  the  sale,  would  demand  a  new  revelation 
from  heaven,  that  should  contain  at  least  a  clause  like  this — Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  They  who  license  others  to  commit  sin  are  answerable 
for  the  sin,  and  they  alone,  and  let  all  the  people  say  Amen 

II.  Another,  on  being  asked  why  he  continued  the  trade,  made 
answer,  That  it  was  profitable,  and  that  he  chose  to  reap  the,  profits. 
Or  as  one  might  honestly  interpret  his  language,  he  cared  not 
whether  it  was  right  or  wrong.  He  would  have  been  willing  if  he 
might  have  been  paid  for  his  labor,  to  have  manned  the  guillotine, 
or  to  have  kindled  the  fires  of  the  auto-de-fe.  If  he  could  make 
a  afood  trade  of  it,  would  buy  in  the  fagots,  that  were  destined  to 
be  used  in  burning  a  world.  But  it  is  believed  there  are  very  few 
such  men  so  lost  from  reason,  hope  and  heaven.  And  with  this 
few  we  will  not  spend  our  time  at  present. 

III.  Another,  on  being  asked,  replied,  The  trade  supports  my  fam- 
ily, and  propped  his  argument  by  Scripture  :  "  If  any  provide  not 
for  his  own,  and  especially  for  those  of  his  own  house,  he  hath 
denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel."  He  faltered  as  he 
uttered  the  text,  seeming  to  doubt  whether  God  inspired  it  to  fos- 
ter the  crime  of  drunkenness.  A  very  simple  comment  would 
say,  It  surely  must  be  of  some  consequence,  how  we  provide. 
May  a  man  steal  his  bread,  and  purloin  the  garment  that  warms  his 
children!  One  may  not  provide  for  his  family  by  gambling,  nor 
by  extortion,  nor  by  robbery,  nor  by  usury.  By  none  of  these 
means,  is  it  believed  that  one  could  lawfully  make  the  provision 
enjoined  in  the  text.  Thus  the  argument  goes  for  nothing,  if  we 
are  required  to  use  Christian  discretion  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
this  provision  shall  be  made.  We  may  not  do  evil  that  good  may 
come,  unless  we  would  have  our  damnation  just.  The  end  will  not 
sanctify  the  means.  That  end  which  is  not  achieved  by  mea- 
sures of  righteousness,  is  not  pursued  with  regard  to  the  authority 
of  God. 

IV.  Another  trader  replied,  This  is  the  business  I  was  hred  to.  So 
King  Alexander  and  the  man  of  Elba,  and  Cesar  and  Sennacherib, 
were  practised,  if  not  bred,  to  the  art  of  blotting  out  nations,  and 
nouring  out  human  gore,  and  must  he  sustained  in  the  trade  01' 
blood,  because  they  were  bred  to  it.  And  Alexander  the  copper- 
smith,  must  oppose  thn   p-ospel,  because  else   he  should  have  no 


MAN    HIS    BROTHERS    KEEPER.  46] 

shrines  to  make  for  Diana.     Did   he   reason  well,  or  did  he  proba- 
bly lose  his  soul  1 

That  you  was  bred  to  the  business  of  making  or  vending  ardent 
spirits,  may  involve  your  parents  in  guilt,  but  it  cannot  exonerate 
you  from  the  guilt  of  doing  what  you  know  is  wrong.  It  surely 
is  your  business  to  inquire  whether  your  calling  involves  the  orood 
or  the  injury  of  the  world,  whether  you  promote  its  health,  its 
character  and  comfort,  or  its  undoing.  Whether  you  aid  its  popu- 
lation on  to  heaven  or  perdition.  Are  you  exonerated  from  any 
such  inquiry  1  You  give  us  then  the  very  answer  that  the  high- 
wayman will,  I  pursue  the  business  I  was  bred  to.  And  when  you 
have  answered  his  argument  and  persuaded  him  to  be  an  honest 
man,  I  will  use  your  reasons,  and  convince  you  that  you  ought  im- 
mediately to  attempt  some  other  business. 

V.  Another  retailer  when  inquired  of  why  he  continued  in  the 
trade  made  answer,  There  is  no  other  business  I  can  do.  My  trade 
in  this  article  is  my  only  path  to  competency.  We  may  then 
surely  ask  you,  whether  you  have  tried,  and  settled  the  question 
beyond  controversy,  that  you  must  sell  rum  or  starve,  that  is,  you 
must  do  what  God  forbids  or  die  1 

Here  I  would  remark  that  one  should  not  come  to  this  conclusion 
till  he  has  made  an  effort.  It  surely  seldom  happens  under  the 
government  of  God,  that  men  can  adopt  no  legitimate  means  of 
earning  their  bread.  Should  the  gambler,  and  the  actor,  and  the 
slave-dealer,  and  the  privateers-man  become  convinced  that  their 
calling  is  mischievous,  and  ask  God  to  direct  them  to  an  honest 
livelihood,  would  there  be  nothing  they  could  do  but  die!  Would 
he  leave  to  bejorary  or  starvation,  the  man  who  was  devoutly  pray- 
ing— "Give  us  in  a  lawful  and  proper  manner,  day  by  day  our  dai- 
ly bread  \  Why,  this  question  is  answered  in  a  moment.  And 
were  we  obliged  lo  answer  in  the  negative,  and  duty  was  certainly 
associated  with  death,  then  we  should  say  die.  That  man  blesses 
the  world  and  dies  at  a  good  old  age  who  dies  rather  than  sin. 
And  as  martyrdom  has  advanced  many  a  cause  it  may  possibly 
advance  yet  the  cause  of  temperance. 

VI.  One  brandy  merchant  made  answer,  when  asked  why  he 
continued  the  trade,  That  good  men  had  employed  themselves  in  ma- 
nufacturing and  vending  ardent  spirit,  and  still  had  gone  to  heaven. 
That  is,  he  would  continue  in  what  might  be  forbidden  of  God, 
provided  it  would  be  possible  to  reach  heaven  at  hist.  Now  we 
admit  the   possibility  you   plead,  b  it  we    must   tell   you  that  good 


462  man  his  brother's  keeper. 

men  in  days  past  had  less  light  on  this  subject  than  we  have,  and 
may  have  done  in  a  measure  harmlessly,  what  you  may  do  unpar- 
donably.  What  is  comparative  innocence  in  some  circumstances 
may  be  the  deadliest  guilt  in  others.  Had  Paul  done,  after  he 
was  enlightened,  the  same  things  that  he  had  done  before,  he  had 
done  them  to  his  own  undoing.  And  he  assures  us,  under  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  lie  obtained  mercy  because  he 
did  it  ignorantly  in  unbelief.  Had  John  Newton,  when  engaged 
in  the  slave  trade,  been  enlightened  as  he  was  afterward,  he  pro- 
bably had  never  lived  to  sing  as  he  did  of  the  grace  and  mercy  of 
God. 

Moreover,  no  man  in  his  right  reason,  would  act  on  the  prin- 
ciple here  avowed.  He  would  not  commit  theft,  and  robbery,  and 
murder  and  adultery,  because  men  may  have  committed  these  dark 
deeds,  and  still,  perhaps,  have  gone  to  heaven.  The  very  men  I 
reason  with,  would  turn  pale  to  hear  these  crimes  palliated  by  the 
same  arguments  that  sustain  the  practice  of  vending  this  article  of 
death.  One  may  have  done  in  his  ignorance,  even  conscientiously, 
what  to  do  now  would  cost  him  his  soul.  "  The  times  of  this 
ignorance  God  winked  at,  but  now  commandeth  all  men  every 
where  to  repent." 

Be  it  that  there  may  be  some  good  men  even  yet  in  the  trade, 
one  would  hardly  dare  to  sin,  because  good  men  will  sin  with  him. 
I  would  not  engage  in  unlawful  commerce,  were  it  possible  that 
an  angel  would  share  the  profits  with  me.  The  rich  man  in  the 
gospel  had  accomplished  associates  till  the  day  he  perished.  The 
argument  proves,  merely,  that  good  men  may  have  mistaken  their 
duty,  or  may  have  known  their  duty,  and  for  a  time,  had  not  suf- 
ficient moral  courage  to  do  it.  Could  we  know  the  views  that, 
such  men  will  have  of  the  traffic,  when  they  shall  see  the  world 
on  fire,  their  views  then  might  decide  our  duty. 

VII.  Another  merchant  was  heard  to  say,  If  I  should  pour  upon 
the  ground  the  store  of  this  article,  that  I  have  on  hand,  I  should 
wrong  my  creilitors. 

Let  me  just  ask  that  man  a  question  or  two.  Did  yon  purchase 
that  store  of  provisions  since  you  doubted  whether  the  trade  was 
right  \  And  did  you  determine  that  you  would  sell  it  right  or 
wrong.  How  then  can  you  answer  to  Cod  rnd  your  own  con- 
science, for  the  sin  of  buying  it  I  A  mighty  sin  may  have  beer, 
committed  before  you  come  to  the  question  of  selling,  I  mean  tbe 
sin  of  buying.     If  your  own  conscience   met  you,  and  the  law  of 


MAN    HIS    BROTHER  S    KEEPER.  463 

God,  and  poured  their  rebukes  upon  you  for  the  sin  of  buying, 
you  may  so  heighten  the  iniquity  by  selling,  that  God  shall  never 
grant  you  forgiveness. 

And  God  may  punish  you  in  the  very  aet,  and  cause  the  trade 
which  you  pursue  with  hesitancy  and  doubt,  to  conduct  you  speed- 
ily to  bankruptcy.  God  will  not,  I  think,  if  he  intends  your  sal- 
vation, prosper  you  in  a  business  that  is  keeping  the  world 
depraved.  Is  not  such  the  character  of  your  present  customers, 
that  you  must  needs  be  afraid  of  failure  if  you  trust  them  1  And 
then  to  be  closeted  with  such  men,  as  your  business  now  brings 
about  you,  how  degrading,  even  Were  you  in  no  danger  from  them. 
But  should  it  be,  that  you  have  greatly  offended  God  already  by 
the  traffic,  the  sale  of  the  stock  you  have  on  hand  in  spite  of  a 
disapproving  conscience,  may  remove  you  beyond  the  hope  of 
forgiveness.  At  the  most,  you  cannot  calculate  with  any  certainty 
that  another  month's  continuance  in  the  trade,  may  not  undo  you 
for  eternity. 

I  knew  the  following  affecting  case,  most  intimately.  A  mer- 
chant had  come  to  the  resolve  to  make  no  further  purchase  when 
he  had  sold  out  the  stock  of  spirit  that  he  had  on  hand.  But 
while  he  was  doing  this,  his  largest  customer  in  this  article  be- 
came by  the  too  free  use  of  it,  a  blind  man,  and  must  now  go 
sightless,  groping  his  gloomy  way  to  the  grave,  if  indeed  with 
the  loss  of  his  eyes,  he  does  not  part  with  his  life  too,  and  go 
down  at  last  to  perdition.  Ah  !  what  you  ought  to  do  with  the 
stock  on  hand,  would  be  a  question  easily  settled  were  the  world 
on  fire,  or  could  you  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven.  If  the  loss  of  it  would  render  you  a  bankrupt,  I  know 
not  that  the  case  is  altered  the  dust  of  the  balance.  Arc  you  not 
your  brother's  keeper < i 

Money  is  not  to  be  placed  in  the  scale  against  duty,  a  moment. 
If  the  loss  would  not  render  you  a  bankrupt,  pour  it  out  ;  if  other- 
wise, give  it  up  to  your  creditors,  and  advise  them  to  pour  it  out. 
And  let  it  be  at  no  hour  of  the  day,  nor  day  of  the  week,  nor 
week  of  the  year,  nor  year  of  time,  when  you  ever  embark  in 
another  recruit,  and  our  prayer  shall  be  that  God  will  bless  you. 

VIII.  But  another  dealer  was  heard  to  say,  If  I  <h  not  supply 
the  drunkard  with  the  means  of  his  own  undoing,  another  will,  and  I 
may  as  well  have  the  prof's  as  any  one. 

And  would  you  add,  I  may  as  well  be  condemned  for  it  as  ano- 
ther 1     The  dictate  of  wisdom  is,  If  it  would  be   wrong    to   do  it, 


1,6<1  MAN    HIS    BROTHER'S    KEEPER. 

don't  you  do  it.  It  is  fearfully  hazardous  to  commit  sin,  because 
it  will  be  committed.  Let  them  do  it  that  dare  do  it,  but  let  no 
one  rush  upon  destruction  with  his  eyes  open.  No  argument  has 
done  more  mischief  than  this,  and  yet  none  is  more  weak.  Must 
1  be  willing  to  sin,  and  risk  my  soul,  because  somebody  will  sin  if 
I  do  not  1  May  I  keep  a  gambling  house  because  there  are  a 
great  many  people  who  will  be  inconsiderate,  and  become  mad  on 
the  game,  and  will  gamble,  and  if  I  do  not  provide  them  the  means 
of  their  undoing,  and  have  the  profits  of  it,  others  will  1  Shall  I 
go  farther  still,  and  keep  that  house  which  the  wise  man  calls  the 
way  to  hell,  because  if  I  do  not  another  will  1  Shall  I  furnish 
daggers  and  firebrands,  because  men  will  be  so  depraved  that  they 
will  burn  houses,  and  I  may  as  well  have  the  profits  of  furnishing 
them  the  means  as  any  one  1  Men  will  practice  forgery  ;  and 
hence  the  worthless  Burrows,  who  sells  well  executed  bank  notes 
as  pictures,  to  which  any  villain  who  has  skill  in  penmanship  can 
affix  the  signature,  can  offer  a  plea  as  good  as  yours  in  support  of 
his  calling.  Somebody  will  print,  and  furnish  notes  for  counter- 
feiters, if  he  does  not.  Ah  !  the  argument  proves  too  much,  and 
so  proves  nothing.  Will  not  God  ask  you  in  the  last  day  the 
fearful  question,  where  is  Abel  thy  brother  ? 

IX.  I  knew  one  merchant  who  sustained  himself  in  the  practice 
by  the  plea,  That  good  men  should  be  the  only  venders  of  ardent  spi- 
rits, as  they  will  keep  the  most  decent  houses,  and  sell  the  poison  most 
discreetly. 

It  frio-htens  one  to  bring  up  the  conclusions  that  can  be  sustained 
by  this  argument.  It  would  go  to  prove  that  every  gateway  to 
hell  should  be  kept  by  an  angel,  not  indeed  to  keep  men  from  en- 
tering ami  passing  that  way,  but  to  make  men  pass  on  to  perdition 
decently.  No  !  no  !  Highly  as  we  respect  and  esteem  some  of 
the  men  who  have  been  formerly  employed  in  the  traffic,  we  would, 
if  possible,  from  this  time,  disassociate  it  for  ever  from  character 
and  decency.  If  the  article  must  be  sold  for  the  use,  and  ruin,  and 
utter  damnation  of  men,  I  would  place  at  the  tap  the  same  lying  ser- 
pent that  ha  win!  Ere  the  apple,  that  it  might  appear  the  very  infernal 
commerce  that  it  is.  The  prince  of  hell  would  thus  have  opportunity 
to  separate  from  his  kingdom  all  that  is  moral,  and  decent  and 
healthful,  and  his  empire  be  dark  and  dreary  as  he  would  have  it. 
But  you  will  say  I  am  too  severe.  No  matter,  if  I  am  only  on  the 
side  of  truth. 


MAN    HIS    BROTHER'S    KEEPER  46F 

X.  But  a  retailer  says,  The  importers  and  distillers  are  in  fault 
and  should  not  furnish  the  temptation. 

Ah  !  it  would,  indeed,  be  very  convenient  for  us,  if  other  men 
would  darn  up  the  currents  of  death,  and  leave  us  nothing-  to 
do.  It  would  indeed  be  a  blessing  incalculable,  if  the  distillers  and 
importers  would  stop  their  business,  and  thus  quench  the  stream 
of  liquid  fire  at  the  very  foot  of  its  iEtna.  But  can  we  not,  and 
will  we  not  quit  sinning,  unless  the  means  of  sinning  are  put  out 
of  our  reach  1  Dare  you  not  disoblige  that  portion  of  the  com 
munity  that  ask  you  to  kill  them,  and  damn  them  1  Do  they  so 
hold  your  destiny  in  their  hands,  that  you  may  not  hope  to  prosper 
without  their  friendship  1  Suppose  our  rich  importers  should 
bring  in  whole  ship  loads  of  poignards,  and  place  them  on  the  side 
walks  of  our  city,  and  you  should  seize  one,  and  plunge  it  into 
some  human  heart,  would  the  court  lay  the  sin,  or  any  part  of  it, 
at  the  door  of  the  importer,  or  would  it  sentence  you  to  be  hanged  1 

I  know  it  would  be  very  convenient,  if  we  could  persuade  other 
men  to  do  our  duty,  and  stop  us,  when  we  will  not  stop  ourselves, 
in  the  paths  of  unrighteousness.  But  we  have  no  right  to  expect 
that  reform  will  begin  at  this  end.  Men  will  stop  manufacturing 
and  importing,  only  when  the  trade  is  no  longer  profitable.  While 
the  trade  is  in  the  way  to  gain  and  wealth,  there  are  men  who 
would  not  abandon  it,  hardly  if  they  saw  the  world  on  fire.  No  ! 
public  sentiment  must  be  urged  up,  till  there  shall  be  none  to  drink, 
and  then  there  will  be  none  to  retail,  and  then  there  will  be  none 
to  import  or  manufacture.  This  is  the  order  and  the  process  by 
which  all  the  good  has  been  accomplished  that  ever  has  been  done 
in  the  world. 

XI.  There  is  another  reply  that  we  have  heard  from  venders 
that  should  not  pass  unnoticed.  They  say,  Legislators  should,  by 
heavy  impost?  and  taxation,  stay  the  influx  and  the  creation  of  the  arti- 
cle, and  thus  cure  the  evil,  by  drying  up  the  fountain. 

All  this  is  visionary.  Till  the  people  are  willing  to  quit  the  use 
of  it,  and  venders  to  dispense  with  the  gains  of  it,  our  rulers  know 
well  that  they  shall  lose  their  office  if  they  meddle  with  it.  It 
would  be  both  convenient  and  desirable,  and  more  yet,  duty,  that 
our  civil  authorities  remove  the  temptation  by  legislative  aits,  and 
thus  save  us  the  labor  and  toil,  of  boosting  public  sentiment  to 
accomplish  the  matter  in  another  way.  But  a  corrupt  community 
under  a  <_>overnment  like  ours,  will  always  have  a  legislature  that 
live  at  peace  with  its  corruptions  The  men  in  office  will  duly 
59 


466  MAM    HIS    BROTHER  S    KEEPEB. 

represent  their  constituents,  and  wear,  at  least,  all  the  vices  pre- 
valent among  the  people.  Hence  a  good  influence  must  travel 
upward,  and  reach  the  legislature  by  individual  impulse. 

As  said  already,  men  have  consciences,  legislative  and  corporate 
bodies  have  none.  Men,  too,  expect  a  future  judgment,  but  cor- 
porate and  legislative  bodies  fear  only  a  loss  of  their  influence, 
office  and  salary.  Vice  may  flow  down,  therefore,  but  virtue  must 
climb.  When  far  more  than  a  moiety  of  our  population  are 
strictly  temperate,  and  have  no  interest  to  serve  by  conniving  at 
lust,  especially  when  the  better  part  shall  feel  that  their  interest 
would  be  served  by  having  the  community  temperate,  then,  it  will 
be  popular  to  legislate  on  this  subject,  and  the  authorities  of  our 
land  will  make  whatever  enactments  we  pray  for. 

Only  let  the  people  quit  drinking,  and  the  venders  quit  selling, 
and  then,  w)ien  we  stand  in  no  need  of  their  help,  our  legislative 
bodies  will  be  the  perfect  sycophants  of  the  temperate,  as  they  are, 
and  long  have  been,  of  the  drunken  community.  Thus  the  de- 
strover  will  be  strangled  in  his  dotage,  but  every  man  of  discern- 
ment must  see  that  the  power  and  influence  that  shall  do  the  work, 
must  be  individual,  and  not  legislative. 

XII.  But  said  one,  (not  the  last  by  ten  thousand,)  my  property 
is  my  <>wn,  and  1  will  not  permit  my  enjoyment  of  it  to  be  abridged 
by  your  hypocritical  and  fanatical  opinions. 

Your  property  your  own  I !  You  do  not  mean  that  you  created 
it,  nor  yet  that  independently  of  God  you  earned  it,  or  gained  it. 
If  your  wealth  was  throuofh  the  products  of  the  earth,  it  was  God 
that  sent  the  showers,  and  shaped  the  seasons,  and  tempered  the 
atmosphere,  and  grew  your  wheat  for  you.  If  it  was  through  suc- 
cess in  trade,  it  was  God  that  lifted  you  up,  that  furnished  you 
with  the  mind  you  used,  and  directed  the  gale  that  blew  your 
commerce  home,  and  stayed  the  storm  that  might  have  wrecked 
your  fortune  in  a  moment.  If  gotten  by  toil,  then  it  was  God  that 
nerved  the  arm  to  labor,  and  built,  and  sustained  every  muscle  and 
sinew  thai  went  to  the  work,  and  made  the  heart  beat,  and  the 
lungs  heave,  and  forced  the  life  stream  along  in  its  dark  and  mys- 
terious channel. 

If  you  mean  any  thing  that  contradicts  all  this,  your  property  is 
not  your  own,  but  the  Lord's.  The  silver  and  gold  are  His.  His 
are  all  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand 
hills.  If  we  are  God's  stewards,  and  our  wealth  is  his,  we  may 
not  use  it  in  contravention   of  his   authority    and.  still  expect  that 


man  ins  brother's  keeper.  46*3 

he  will  give  us  day  by  day  our  daily  bread.  He  will  rather  blast 
us  with  the  breath  of  his  mouth,  and  destroy  us  with  the  bright- 
ness of  his  coming.  Oh!  how  terrible  is  that  account,  which  we 
must  give  at  last  of  the  manner  in  which  we  have  squandered  the 
Lord's  money,  in  trying  to  undo  a  world  that  God  would  render 
blessed.  It  seems  to  me,  that  there  is  an  inference,  plainly  de- 
ducible  from  the  word  of  the  Lord,  like  this  :  "  If  God  spared  not 
his  own  Son,  but  freely  gave  him  up  for  us  all,"'  in  what  light  will 
he  regard  the  man  whose  whole  powers  are  bent  to  counteract  by 
every  possible  means  in  his  power,  the  purposes  of  his  mercy. 
When  he  shall  make  inquisition  for  blood,  will  not  the  whole  cata- 
logue of  venders  stand  out  in  bold  relief,  on  the  tablet  of  the  judg- 
ment. 

[  think  1  see  a  reason,  why  the  very  men  who  have  incn 
their  estate  by  this  traffic,  should  be,  now  the  light  has  broken  in, 
among  the  first  to  see,  and  cure  the  plague.  If  the  subject  should 
press  any  consciences  in  our  land,  it  should  be  the  consciences  of 
the  men  who  are  living  at  ease  on  the  gains  of  this  trade.  Their 
motives  to  feel,  and  act,  it  would  seem,  must  be  weighty  as  a 
world.     Let  me  present  a  few  of  these  motives. 

Retailers  !  Ye  know  not  what  ye  do.  You  cannot  fully  estimate 
the  amount  of  mischief  you  may  have  done  to  families,  and  to 
souls  already.  You  must  live,  if  God  will  let  you,  and  your  of}'- 
spring,  in  the  society  which  your  traffic  is  corrupting.  The  plague 
may  reach  some  child  or  friend  of  yours,  and  he  may  quit  lift-  in 
the  cabin  of  the  debauched,  and  moulder  in  a  drunkard's  grave. 
This  world  belongs  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  while  your  trade  is  increas- 
ing its  alienation  from  him.  The  misery  produced  by  ardent  spir- 
its is  causing  a  thousand  hearts  to  ache,  and  we  wish  some  evi- 
dence that  yours  ache.  The  retailer  brings  about  him  a  commu- 
nity in  which  his  soul  cannot  live,  and  be  in  health.  An  estate 
gotten  by  a  traffic  that  is  cursing  the  world,  cannot  go  down  to 
posterity  with  the  blessing  of  God.  Many  things  indicate  thai  the 
entire  world  will  soon  be  subdued  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  but  this  can- 
not he,  and  the  trade  in  alcohol  continue.  The  dying  groans  ol 
the  thirty  thousand  drunkards,  who  perish  annually  in  our  land. 
should  move  you.  The  moans  of  their  widows  and  orphans 
move  you.  That  "  drunkards  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  should  move  you.  "  Wo  to  him  that  giveth  his  neighbor 
drink,"   should  move   you. 

God  will  make  you  your  brother's  keeper.      I  have  learned  that  a 
poor  woman  went  to  a   neighboring  grog  shop,  and  requested  the 


46S  man  his  brother's  keeper. 

dealer  not  to  sell  any  more  rum  to  her  husband,  as  it  sometimes 
rendered  him  a  madman.  A  few  days  afterward  in  a  rum  excited 
frenzy,  he  plunged  the  knife  into  her  throat.  She  stayed  the  blood 
with  her  hand,  and  ran  to  the  shop,  and  there  poured  out  her  life- 
stream  at  the  feet  of  the  wretch  who  had  just  pocketed  the  price 
of  her  blood. 

Not  long  since  the  following  tragedy  was  acted  over  in  New 
York.  One  of  our  builders  was  suddenly  called  to  the  death-bed 
of  his  child.  A  man  in  his  service,  supposing  that  his  employer 
would  naturally  return  no  more  to  the  building  during  that  day, 
determined  to  spend  it  in  the  pleasures  of  a  debauch.  When  men 
have  made  up  their  minds  to  be  drunkards,  they  will  not  stick  at 
all  at  a  lie.  He  hasted  off  to  one  of  our  good  moral  characters, 
whom  the  authorities  of  the  city  have  licensed  to  sell  ardent  spir- 
its, and  in  his  employer's  name  asked  for  a  quart  of  rum.  I  do 
not  know  that  he  offered,  as  the  reason  for  getting  it,  that  his  em- 
ployer's child  was  at.  the  point  of  death,  a  very  common  subter-. 
fuge  in  these  days,  but  he  was  denied  the  rum  because  he  had  no 
order  to  this  effect.  He  went,  however,  to  .another  dealer  and 
procured  the  quart,  and  drank  it,  I  know  not  whether  at  one  draught 
or  four,  and  immediately  sunk  into  an  apoplectic  slumber,  pro- 
found as  the  sleep  of  death,  and  came  not  back  again  to  reason, 
till  he  awoke  in  the  world  of  wo.  This  remark  is  made  in  the 
firm  belief  of  that  section  in  the  book  of  God  which  declares  that 
no  drunkard  hath  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  miser- 
able man  seems  to  have  been  mad  on  his  own  destruction.  I!e 
did  the  deed  in  the  very  face  of  death.  He  would  have  feared 
to  play  the  fool,  had  not  his  employer  been  called  to  the  death- 
bed. If  he  had  feared  death  as  much,  or  had  any  fear  of  God  be- 
fore his  eyes,  he  might  have  escaped  perdition  at  that  time.  Or 
had  he  been  a  man  of  truth,  then  he  had  lived,  or  had  the  man,  or 
rather  the  woman,  that  sold  him  the  quart,  for  it  was  a  woman, 
had  there  been  the  fear  of  God  in  her  heart,  then  he  had  lived. 
Poor  soul  !  he  had  several  chances  of  living,  but  they  all  failed. 

And  let  me  say  here— though  I  am  quite  ashamed  to  suppose 
that  a  woman  would  encourage  that  sin  that  is  binding  her  sex  in 
chains  of  iron — the  woman  who  sold  him  the  potion  that  brought 
him  to  a  premature  grave,  had  lived  with  an  intemperate  husband, 
who  in  a  lit  of  intoxication,  had  burned  the  building  that  stood  on 
the  very  ground  where  she  sold  the  rum.  .  Thus  men  and  women 
too,  it  seems,  can  sport  with  lire-brands,  arrows,  and  death.  It 
would  seem  that  otto  had  had  tin?  means  of  being  warned  and  wak« 


MAN  HIS  BROTHER'S  KEEPER.  469 

ened,  if  any  warning  would  render  woman  wise.  But  s.ie  took 
up  her  husband  and  buried  him,  and  then  went  to  selling  rum.  I 
sincerely  hope  she  will  not  follow  him  to  the  drunkard's  orave. 
When  her  bed  was  on  fire  first,  and  then  her  house,  and  she  at 
length  a  widow,  who  would  have  dreamed  that  she  would  hai 
ployed  herself  in  selling  liquid  fire!  0  temporal  0  more-!  I 
passed  it  a  few  evenings  since,  the  evening  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
saw  at  her  door  two  sturdy  sons  of  Erin  fisting  and  biting  each 
other,  like  sons  of  Belial,  and  screaming  at  each  bite,  and  pounce 
like  panthers  on  some  craggy  rocks  of  the  Alps.  We  called  the 
watch,  and  had  them  put  where  they  would  get  sober,  and  where 
they  would  have  opportunity  to  meet  the  police,  all  breakfasted 
and  warm,  and  answer  to  the  board,  who  gave  them  license  to  be 
riotous,  for  the  tumult  of  the  Sabbath  evening. 

0,  how  it  sickens  the  heart  to  know  one  such  case  all  through  ! 
I  remember  that  it  was  a  law  in  Israel,  that  in  an  extreme  case, 
when  a  house  had  the  leprosy,  it  should  be  cleansed  by  beino-  burnt 
to  ashes.  But  it  seems  that  even  burning  does  not  cleanse  the 
modern  leprosy.  The  disease  outlives  the  fire,  and  comes  up  from 
the  ashes  like  the  fabled  Phcenix,  all  fledged  for  a  renewed  occu- 
pancy. I  suppose  it  finds  a  covert  in  the  crumbling  walls  and 
burning  timbers,  and  comes  out  again  to  infect  the  timbers  and 
walls  that  are  used  in  repairing  the  ruins.  I  fear  nothing  will  cure 
it  but  the  heat  of  that  pit,  "  the  pile  whereof  is  fire  and  much 
wood,  and  the  breath  of  the  Lord  like  a  stream  of  brimstone  doth 
kindle  it." 

In  a  town  at  the  north,  where  the  cause  of  temperance  gained 
a  few  years  since  a  sudden  and  powerful  ascendancy  in  the  public 
mind,  there  died  arum-seller,  in  circumstances  that  made  a  power- 
ful impression  on  many  minds.  Another  family  lived  in  the  house 
with  him,  and  one  day  the  lad}''  of  that  family,  perceiving  by  what 
she  heard  and  saw,  that  something  was  going  on  that  was  wrong, 
burst  suddenly  into  his  apartment,  and  found  him  hanging  by  the 
neck.  She  called  her  husband,  who  immediately  cut  him  down. 
But  as  as  it  was  his  purpose  to  die  as  soon  as  he  could  recover 
strength,  he  broke  from  the  embrace  that  held  him,  ran  to  a  shelf, 
seized  a  razor,  and  hastily  opened  a  jugular  vein,  and  died  in  a 
few  seconds. 

The  history  of  the  transaction  is  short.  The  man  had  begun  to 
be  intemperate,  was  a  customer  at  his  own  bar,  and  very  soon  per- 
ceived that  he  must  feel  the  pressure  of  the  hard  times,  which  tip- 
pling always  produces,  especially  when  one  becomes  an  inebriate 


+70  MAN   HIS    BROTHER'S    KEEPER 

at  his  own  bar.  He  had  been  observed  to  be  gloomy,  but  I  do  nwt 
remember  that  any  apprehensions  as  to  such  a  result  had  been  en- 
tertained till  the  fatal  moment  when  he  was  found  hanging  by  the 
neck.  How  long  he  had  been  in  the  trade  I  do  not  remember,  nor 
can  I  judge  to  what  extent  he  had  offended  the  Lord,  by  the  ruin 
he  had  brought  upon  other  families.  He  was  a  dealer  in  the  arti- 
cle: and  I  remember  that  the  society  afterwards  formed  in  that 
town,  calculated,  that  every  trader  in  the  town  manufactured,  at 
the  least  calculation,  one  confirmed  drunkard  every  three  years, 
and  sent  one  family  down  into  the  vale  of  beggary  and  rags  and 
wretchedness.  If,  then,  unless  this  calculation  was  erratic  and 
wild,  he  had  been  a  dealer  in  the  article  three  years,  and  I  know 
not  but  he  had  twenty,  he  had  probably  ruined  one  family,  and  God 
in  righteous  indignation  made  him  a  victim  to  his  own  traffic.  I 
would  willingly  have  thrown  a  veil  over  this  scene,  and  saved  his 
widow,  who  has  married  honorably,  and  his  children,  who,  for 
might  I  know,  are  doing  well,  the  pain  of  applying  this  scrap  of 
history  to  their  own  case,  were  it  not  that  we  have  been  silent  too 
long  already,  and  indulged  our  sense  of  delicacy  till  we  have  al- 
lowed the  plague  to  spread  through  every  limb  of  our  rising  and 
otherwise  happy  republic.  But  we  must  be  no  longer  so  much 
afraid  of  wounding  the  sensibility  of  the  living,  as  not  to  expose 
the  speaking  facts  which  have  transpired  in  the  madness  and  ruin 
that  men  have  brought  upon  themselves  and  others  by  the  sale  of 
strong  drink.  If  we  had  only  courage  enough  to  dig  through  the 
wall,  and  lay  open  the  chamber  of  imagery,  as  the  prophet  was 
directed  to  do,  and  see  the  train  of  misery  and  death  that  moves 
in  the  wake  of  every  rum-dealer  in  the  land,  the  tale  would  make 
the  ears  of  every  one  who  heard  it  tingle.  Oh  !  he  has  the  heart 
of  a  tiger,  and  blood  is  his  legitimate  prey.  When  we  see  how 
with  a  spirit  of  cold  moneyed  calculation,  he  can  take  the  lovely 
woman  and  the  beloved  wife  and  crucify  her  husband,  and  turn  her 
from  her  home,  to  starve  and  freeze,  and  make  her  children  beg- 
gars  and  homeless  and  fatherless  at  a  price  at  which  one  would 
hardly  cut  off  the  head  of  a  dog,  we  are  amazed  at  the  long-suf- 
fering patience  of  God.  And  I  know  not  whether  he  even  weeps 
at  the  outrages  he  commits.  Were  1  not  the  subject  of  feelings 
too  strong  to  trust  myself,  I  would  stop  and  address  him  if  I  might 
in  a  voice  loud  enough  to  reach  the  two  oceans.  I  would  say, 
that  the  man  who  is  destined  to  such  a  business,  ought  to  have 
been  whelped  by  a  wolf  and  destined  to  wear  his  teeth  and  his  ap- 
petite, that  his  personal  equipments  might   agree   with  his   office, 


MAN    HIS    BROTHER  S    KEEPER.  471 

and  herd  him  with  his  kind.  I  would  train  him  to  his  work  in  the 
business  of  a  blood-hound,  that  he  might  scent  his  prey  afar  off.  1 
would  at  least  have  liiin  bred  a  hangman,  and  spend  the  whole  foun- 
tain of  his  tears  before  he  should  be  placed  at  the  tap.  Then  his 
employment  and  his  soul  would  be  in  unholy  symphony. 

But  I  must  return  from  my  impassioned  feeling,  or  you  will  say 
I  rail.  In  our  country  every  man  must  be  free.  True,  but  the 
term  is  abused.  One  ought  not  to  free  to  make  disastrous  inroads 
upon  every  family  that  he  may  have  it  in  his  power  to  destroy. 
He  ought  not  to  be  free  to  do  this  even  if  the  father  of  that 
family  is  willing  that  it  should  be  done.  If  one  had  power  sud- 
denly to  convert  men  into  panthers,  and  could  obtain  license  so 
to  do,  he  ought  not  to  feel  himself  at  liberty  to  do  it,  till  the  whole 
community  around  him  are  consulted  on  the  question  whether  it 
would  be  safe  to  have  a  panther  run  at  large.  To  be  free  is  not 
to  be  free  to  destroy,  and  he  has  not  this  kind  of  freedom  even 
with  regard  to  the  soil  he  owns.  He  may  not  so  use  it  as  to  in- 
jure his  neighbor,  lie  may  not  dig  a  deep  pit  and  leave  it  open. 
He  may  not  overthrow  a  building,  even  if  he  will,  and  can  operate 
only  on  his  own  premises.  He  may  not  incautiously  blast  the  pon- 
derous rock  that  may  lie  in  his  own  territory.  He  may  not  be 
•  Tree  to  remove  some  natural  embankment  that  wards  off  a  stream 
which,  when  turned  upon  his  neighbor's  habitation,  would  endan- 
ger the  life  of  his  family.  One  may  not  have  the  freedom  to  set 
fire  to  his  own  house.  He  may  not  fall  the  tree  that  may  even 
throw  down  his  neighbor's  enclosures.  Free  as  we  are  in  this 
country,  we  are  free  only  to  use  our  own  things  so  as  not  to  injure 
our  neighbor.  And  on  this  principle  it  is  easy  to  show  the  extent 
to  which  men  are  free  to  sell  ardent  spirits. 

Having  finished  my  rhapsody  last  evening  at  rather  a  late  hour, 
under  strongly  excited  feelings,  I  retired  to  my  bed,  and  fancied 
myself  employed  in  advocating  the  cause  of  an  injured  man.  He 
had  been  prosecuted  for  a  libel  by  one  of  our  retailers  who  would 
impede  the  cause  of  reform  by  bringing  odium  upon  the  man  who 
ventured  to  rebuke  his  iniquitous  traffic.  It  ran  as  follows,  as 
nearly  as  I  can  remember. 

May  it  please  the  court.  I  have  risen  to  advocate  the  cause  of 
an  injured  man.  You  have  heard  the  testimony,  and  the  wretch 
stands  before  you.  What  has  his  history  been  but  that  of  a  miser, 
a  swindler,  a  calumniator,  a  robber,  and  a  bear.  I  know  the  court 
feel  clement  while  I  name  that  man  after  the  blackest  prowler  of 
the  desert.     He  has  lived  to   counteract  the  benevolence  of  God, 


472  MAN    HIS    BROTHEIl's    KEEPER. 

and  send  want  and  misery,  and  infamy  and  death,  into  habitations, 
otherwise  the  abode  of  comfort  and  hope.  It  has  been  his  employ- 
ment, the  work  he  delights  in,  and  what  his  soul  is  shaped  to,  to 
barter  disease,  and  famine,  and  riot,  and  ruin,  for  farms,  and  dwell- 
ings, and  moneys,  to  hoard  up,  and  boast  of,  and  buy  a  name  with, 
and  friendship,  and  influence.  1  will  not  name  his  calling,  for  he 
disgraces  even  that,  and  there  are  men  in  it  whose  shoe  latchet  he 
may  not  unloose.  The  power  of  calculating  his  own  interest  is 
the  only  one  of  his  soul  that  he  has  cultivated.  He  would  depopu- 
late the  world,  if  he  could  hold  in  fee  simple  the  whole  territory. 
Principle  he  has  none.  What  is  right,  or  virtuous,  or  decent — he 
never  once  asks  himself,  when  money  can  be  had. 

He  would  ruin  his  family  to  gain  pelf,  would  school  his  offspring 
in  his  own  house  with  the  tippler,  the  lewd,  and  the  lost,  and  then 
wonder  why  he  has  not  better  children.  All  the  degraded  pay 
court  to  him,  will  serve  him  because  he  feeds  their  appetites,  and 
blunts  their  reason,  and  kills  the  keenness  of  their  consciences,  and 
smiles  on  their  deeds  of  darkness  and  desperation.  A  friend  he 
has  not,  nor  cares  to  have,  unless  that  friend  will  help  him  heap 
up  gold. 

His  very  advocate  is  bought  over  to  him  by  the  fee,  and  has 
cursed  his  client  as  he  passed  him  a  thousand  times,  loudly  and 
fearlessly.  If  you  would  kill  the  charm  that  his  money  has,  his 
cringing  advocate  would  rise,  and  put  ofFhis  hypocritical  face,  and 
shout  a  loud  and  long  amen  to  every  execration  I  can  dash  upon 
him. 

How  has  he  treated  my  client,  and  why  1  hated  him,  insulted 
him,  belied  him,  excited  others  to  do  the  like  deeds,  and  all  the 
while  be  buying  eulogies  for  himself  by  his  drams. 

And  for  what  all  this !  For  knowing  him  too  well,  for  rebuking 
him  too  sharply,  for  holding  out  no  Bible  hope  to  him,  for  unbaring 
perdition  to  him,  for  hurting  his  fraudulent  gains,  by  advocating  a 
virtue  that  will  not  be  duped  by  his  money,  and  forming  a  public 
opinion  that  desecrates  him,  and  last  and  most  of  all,  by  exhibiting 
a  manliness  of  deportment,  and  a  rigidness  of  morals,  that  casts 
upon  him  a  shade  dark  as  the  sulphurous  smoke  of  the  pit. 

The  court  will  not  rebuke  me.  They  ought  so  to  do,  were  I 
speaking  of  a  man.  But  they  know,  and  the  jury  know,  that  my 
client  has  encountered  a  bear,  who  cannot  be  made  more  black, 
nor  mischievous,  nor  deformed,  than  he  really  is. 

I  submit  the  case.  I  need  not  have  said  any  thing.  The  jury 
will  stay  in  their  box  and  write  their  verdict.     They  will  rescue 


MAN    HIS    BROTHER'S    KEEPER.  473 

my  client  from  the  claws  of  the  Ursus,  and  beat  him  off  to  go  and 
hunt  other  prey,  with  his  teeth  blunted,  and  his  nails  shortened, 
and  his  track  scented,  as  he  traces  his  future  midnight  routes. 

Justice  will  overtake  him  now  and  hereafter.  Now,  by  your  ver- 
dict, and  hereafter,  by  the  storra  of  rebuke  that  will  brood  over 
him.  His  ill-gotten  estate  will  go  to  the  winds.  Some  heir  of  his 
will  squander  it  as  fast  as  he  obtained  it,  and  send  his  father's 
name  with  it  into  oblivion. 

Ah !  but  1  just  now  remember  that  he  will  be  tried  by  a  higher 
court,  and  have  a  being  when  the  moon  is  turned  to  blood  Let 
me  say  to  him,  Poor  man,  think  of  that  last  day  Will  your  abuse 
of  my  client  ease  your  expiring  pillow  X  Will  it  stay  the  rage  of 
the  fever  (  Will  it  cool  your  burning  tongue  I  Will  it  .ight  up 
your  dying  chamber  1  Will  it  bribe  off  death,  and  hold  at  bay  his 
angels  1  Will  it  illumine  your  avenue  to  the  dark  world,  or  up- 
ward to  a  better!     No. 

60 


SERMON    XL  I. 
TRUE  PIETY  PEACEFULLY  PLEASANT. 

ROMANS    VIII.  6. 
Hut  to  be  spiritually  minded  is  life  and  peace. 

We  have  here  precisely  the  contrast  of  the  dark  picture  con- 
tained in  the  former  clause.  That  we  may  not  mistake  the  cha- 
racter drawn  in  this  clause  of  the  text,  we  have  the  description  in 
the  verse  preceding  :  "  While  they  that  are  after  the  flesh  mind  the 
things  of  the  flesh,  they  that  are  after  the  spirit  mind  the  things 
of  the  spirit."  They  dwell  with  delight  on  the  character  o^  God, 
the  plan  of  mercy,  and  the  glories  of  heaven.  Their  thoughts  and 
their  affections  are  spiritual.  They  are  frequently  conversant  with 
the  things  unseen,  and  find  a  real  substance  in  all  the  objects  of 
faith.  With  them,  the  body,  with  all  its  wants  and  cares,  is  a 
minor  consideration,  while  the  amazing  interests  of  the  soul  are 
paramount  to  all  other  interests.  To  them  the  duties  of  religion 
are  pleasant,  and  the  cares  and  vexations  of  this  life  unpleasant. 
when  they  intrude  upon  the  thoughts  and  cares  of  a  better. 

To  be  thus  spiritually  minded  is  life  and  peace  j  or  the  life  of 
true  piety  is  a  life  of  peaceful  pleasure.  This  sentiment  we  shall 
illustrate. 

1.  A  life  of  holiness  is  calculated  to  fill  the  mind  with  the  rich- 
est enjoyment,  and  raise  it  to  its  highest  state  of  improvement. 
The  objects  of  contemplation  that  lie  before  the  believing  mind 
are  dignified,  and  worthy  its  occupancy.  The  mind  was  made 
capable  of  dwelling  with  interest  and  profit  on  nobler  objects  than 
we  can  see  or  handle —objects  thai  can  be  seen  only  by  the  eye 
of  faith.  Hence  the  mind  connected  with  a  heart  that  is  holy, 
rises  above  all  that  is  created,  and  employs  its  powers  in  contem- 
plating; the  glory  of  God,  and  the  emanations  of  that  glory  which 
are  spread  over  other  beings.  Some  object  of  sense  may  be  the 
vehicle  that  conveys  the  mind  to  God  ;  and  when  there  it  finds 
an  infinite  resource  of  all  that  is  grand  and  rich.  His  attributes 
have  each  their  attractive  charms.  To  gaze  upon  but  one  would 
he  all  the  heaven  that  a  finite  creature  wouh'  need.     But  the  whole 


TRUE  PIETY  PEACEFULLY  PLEASANT.  17 j 

combined  become  a  cluster  whose  brightness  entrances  every 
power  of  the  mind,  and  oblige  it  to  forget  itself — lost  in  a  gran- 
deur, a  greatness,  and  a  glory  which  no  language  can  describe. 
The  plan  of  redemption  which  discloses  the  doctrine  of  a  Trinity, 
and  raises  a  hope  in  the  breast  of  sinners,  opens  before  the  be- 
lieving mind  a  scene  which  it  would  love  to  linger  through  all 
the  ages  of  its  duration.  Here  the  spiritual  mind  feasts,  and  grows, 
and  lives.  It  is  an  atmosphere  far  above  that  which  breathes  about 
the  carnal  mind.  It  is  true  that  the  good  man  has  too  many 
thoughts  that  are  earthly,  sensual,  and  grovelling.  He  is  too 
often  conscious  of  starving  a  heavenly  mind  by  detaining  it  on 
earth,  and  filling  it  with  sublunary  cares. 

But,  habitually,  the  good  man  has  some  rich  and  noble  thoughts 
every  day,  and  grieves  when  they  do  not  return  every  hour.  He  has 
laid  up  his  treasure  in  heaven,  a  treasure  to  which  his  earthly  good 
things  will  not  compare,  and  about  that  treasure  his  mind  loves  to 
hover  and  play.  Now  who  does  not  see  that  a  mind  thus  occu- 
pied, has  a  more  dignified  employ  than  one  that  exhausts  all  its 
energies  in  the  contemplation  of  what  can  moulder  and  rot.  W  hilt 
the  one  may  be  said  to  live,  the  other  is  subjected  to  death.  In 
these  sublime  contemplations  the  reasoning  powers  find  a  profita 
ble  employment,  calculated  to  give  them  life  and  vigor.  No  man 
reasons  correctly,  who  does  not  give  to  unseen  things  a  paramount 
value.  Nor  has  any  man  a  subject  worthy  to  employ  his  powers  of 
research,  who  has  always  dwelt  upon  the  objects  of  a  created  world 
It  is  the  Christian  who  can  the  sooner  mature  his  mental  energies. 
When  the  great  Newton  was  wandering  about  among  the  stars, 
had  he  not  been  the  friend  of  God,  and  seen  his  hand  in  every  law 
lie  discovered,  he  would  still  have  died  as  a  child,  and  would  have 
carried  an  infant  mind  to  the  judgment.  But  every  tiling  he  saw 
bore  the  impress  of  an  unseen  agency,  and  led  his  mind  up  to  the 
Author.  The  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  the  duties  and  the  destinies 
of  men,  employ  to  advantage  the  energies  of  a  spiritual  mind 
When  it  can  there  trace  the  history  of  Providence,  or  force  its 
way  down  through  the  dark  track  of  prophesy,  it  finds  all  its  pow- 
ers put  in  requisition  to  vindicate  the  ways  of  God,  to  discover  the 
designs  of  his  mercy,  and  date  the  period  of  his  forbearance,  and 
its  own  deliverance.  Thus  to  be  spiritually  minded  is  life,  inas- 
rauch  as  it  gives  the  intellect  a  proper  employ,  and  best  promotes 
the  improvement  of  this  noble  power  of  the  man. 

•2.    A  life  of  piety  furnishes  the  heart  with  those  affections  which 
give  it  the    highest   pleasure,   and  best  promote   its  improvement. 


*7G  TRUE    PIETY   PEACEFULLY    PLEASANT. 

There  is  no  small  object  in  God's  kingdom.  If  he  is  not  the  im- 
mediate object  of  the  affections  of  his  people,  still  they  have  a  no- 
ble object.  If  they  love  his  law,  bis  gospel,  his  government,  his 
Church,  or  even  the  humblest  individual  in  his  household,  tliere  is 
no  one  of  these  affections  of  which  angels  would  be  ashamed. 
"  There  is  joy  in  tbe  presence  of  the  angels  of  God,  over  one  sin- 
ner that  repenteth."  The  objects  of  Christian  affection  are  all 
of  that  nature  that  God  highly  approves,  and  to  which  heaven  is 
closely  assimilated. 

How  altered  is  the  man,  who,  from  having  placed  his  warmest 
regards  on  the  dying  objects  of  time  and  sense,  is  brought  by  the 
grace  of  God  to  love  these  higher,  better  objects ;  who,  having 
long  employed  his  heart  in  exercises  of  pride,  envy,  covetousness, 
wrath,  malice,  lust,  and  every  other  base  and  sordid  affection,  is 
brought  to  the  exercise  of  love,  joy,  and  peace  ;  who  having  in- 
dulged unbelief  and  all  the  catalogue  of  wrong  affections  that  fol- 
low in  the  tram,  is  now  adding  "  to  his  faith,  virtue  ;  and  to  virtue, 
knowledge ;  and  to  knowledge,  temperance;  and  to  temperance, 
patience;  and  to  patience,  godliness ;  and  to  godliness,  brotherly 
kindness  ;  and  to  brotherly  kindness,  charity."  It  is  impossible 
not  to  see  that  such  a  heart  is  more  at  rest,  has  a  nobler  employ- 
ment, breathes  a  higher,  purer  atmosphere,  and  enjoys  a  better 
peace,  than  tbe  man  who  suffers  his  affections  to  linger  about  the 
objects  of  sense. 

Occasionally  his  enjoyment  bears  a  very  near  relation  to  heaven 
itself.  God  is  pleased  to  disclose  his  character,  and  grant  a 
glimpse  of  his  glory,  and  before  it  every  object  that  was  ever 
loved  disappears,  as  the  stars  are  hid  by  the  beams  of  the  sun. 
But  these  seasons  are  too  short,  and  cannot  be  mentioned  as  the 
habitual  condition  of  a  believer.  Still  in  the  darkest  hour,  tbe  be 
lievei  bas  heavenly  affections,  and  may  be  said  to  live,  while  the 
unbeliever,  in  his  happiest  hours,  is  the  prey  of  spiritual  death. 

3.  Piety  cultivates  a  better  conscience  than  can  be  found  in  the 
carnally  minded.  The  Christian  is  the  only  man  who  considers 
conscience  his  friend,  who  esteems  it  a  blessing  that  God  has 
placed  this  monitor  in  his  bosom,  and  who  expects  with  pleasure 
its  admonitions.  He  aims  to  have  his  conscience  enlightened. 
lakes  proper  pains  to  acquaint  himself  with  duty,  treasures  up  the 
truth,  and  with  a  moral  sense  thus  illuminated,  guides  himself  by 
its  dictates.  It  becomes  his  habit  to  submit  every  moral  act  to 
,*.!('  decisions  of  this  internal  court.  Thus  preserving  a  pure  con 
ice,  it  often  approves  of  his  deeds,  and  when  polluted  is  sprin 


TRUE  PIETY  PEACEFULLY  PLEASANT.  477 

kled  again  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God  By  latch  a 
course,  thin  power  of  the  soul  is  honored  and  improved,  till  the 
man  carries  the  law  with  him,  and  is  enabled,  in  a  good  degree, 
to  square  his  life  by  its  precepts.  You  will  perceive  that  it  is  my 
aim  to  describe  the  thing  as  it  should  be.  Too  often,  however, 
the  good  man  does  not  cultivate  that  tenderness  of  conscience, 
which  his  comfort  requires  should  exist.  It  was  so  polluted  be- 
fore his  conversion,  and  has  even  now  so  little  light,  that  it  may 
almost  be  said  the  light  that  is  in  him  is  darkness.  The  Christian, 
however,  has  one  happy  resort.  When  he  has  defiled  his  con- 
science, he  applies  afresh  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  is  forgiven, 
and  has  peace  of  conscience.  Probably  Christians  greatly  differ 
in  this  respect,  and  no  doubt  they  differ  as  widely  in  this  aggre- 
gate of  their  joy.  Other  things  being  equal,  he  is  far  the  happiest 
man  who  has  the  purest  conscience,  who  most  promptly  applies 
for  its  decision,  and  most  cheerfully  obeys  its  dictates.  Still,  in 
every  good  man,  conscience  is  more  or  less  honored  and  culti- 
vated, while  in  the  opposite  character,  it  is  hated  and  neglected, 
as  heaven's  unwelcome  sentinel. 

4.  A  life  of  piety  promotes  happiness.  To  be  spiritually  minded 
is  life  and  peace.  This  is  a  point  that  will  be  generally  conceded. 
It  is  said,  however,  that  there  are  some  whom  religion  has  made 
unhappy.  They  are  cut  off*  from  the  pleasures  of  sense,  while 
their  hopes  of  glory,  and  their  enjoyment  of  God  are  too  inoperat- 
ive to  render  them  happy.  That  in  many  cases  this  appears  to  be 
true,  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  but  there  can  be  as  little  doubt  that 
the  failure  is  chargeable,  not  to  religion,  but  to  its  absence.  Great 
peace  have  they  that  love  thy  law,  and  nothing  shall  offend  them. 
Said  our  Lord  to  his  disciples,  "Peace  I  leave  with  you  ;  my  peace 
I  o-ive  unto  you."  And  of  all  believers  it  is  said,  that  they  have 
peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Now  it  would  be 
infidelity  to  doubt  whether  God  will  fulfil  his  promises.  In  Christ 
they  are  all  yea  and  amen. 

In  these  doubtful  cases,  then,  we  are  to  fear,  either  that  the 
heart  is  not  yet  renewed,  or  that  sin  is  still  indulged,  for  which 
God  in  righteousness  withholds  his  comforts. 

There  is  opened  before  the  believer  a  vast  resource,  of  comfort. 
He  has  joy  in  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whom  having 
not  seen  we  love,  and  in  whom  though  now  we  see  him  not,  yet 
believing  we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  He 
has  fellowship  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  He 
finds  a  friend  and  a  brother  in  every  follower  of  the    Lord    Jesus. 


478  TRUE  PIETY  PEACEFULLY  PLEASANT. 

He  enjoys  the  ministry  of  angels.  He  is  conscious  of  penitence, 
and  has  ordinarily  a  hope  of  forgiveness.  He  is  permitted  through 
rich  grace  to  cast  an  eye  forward  toward  heaven  as  his  everlasting 
home.  He  may  have  many  trials  in  the  present  life;  but  the  pro- 
mise is, — and  on  this  promise  he  lives, — that  all  things  shall  work- 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God.  Darkness  may  endure 
for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning.  He  will  be  likely  to 
have  his  enemies,  but  no  weapon  formed  against  him  shall  prosper 
He  will  be  tempted,  but  with  every  temptation  God  will  make  a 
way  of  escape.  In  a  little  wrath  God  may  hide  his  face  from  him 
for  a  moment,  but  with  everlasting  kindness  will  he  have  mercy 
upon  him.  His  shoes  shall  be  iron  and  brass,  and  as  his  day  is  so 
shall  his  strength  be.  God  will  be  with  him  in  six  troubles,  and 
in  seven  he  will  not  forsake  him.  This  charter  reads,  "  When 
thou  passest  through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee,  and  through 
the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee  ;  when  thou  walkest  through 
the  fire,  thou  shalt  not  be  burnt — neither  shall  the  flames  kindle 
upon  thee.  For  he  shall  give  his  angels  charge  over  thee,  to 
keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways  :  they  shall  bear  thee  up  in  their  hands, 
lest  t lion  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone.'1  "  Therefore  let  no  man 
glory  in  men,  for  all  things  are  yours,  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or 
Cephas,  or  the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or  tilings 
to  come  ;  all  are  yours,  and  ye  are  Christ's  and  Christ  is  God's." 
The  promise  and  the  persuasion  is,  that  "  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor 
angels  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things 
to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature  shall  be 
able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord." 

The  covenant  that  binds  him  to  his  Lord  is  an  everlasting  cove- 
nant, well  ordered  in  all  things,  and  sure.  Hence,  while  he  is  as- 
sured that  to  live  is  Christ,  he  is  equally  confident  that  to  die  would 
be  train.  What  he  shall  be  it  does  not  yet  appear.  He  has  about 
him  a  body  of  sin  and  death,  has  many  fears  that  he  may  perish  at 
last,  and  often,  perhaps,  refuses  the  comforts  o  fie  red  him,  because 
his  prospects  of  heaven  are  so  clouded  that  he  dares  not  to  rejoice. 
Could  he  know  that  when  the  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  is 
dissolved,  he  has  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens,  this  would  fill  up  the  catalogue  of  his  com- 
forts. As  things  are,  hr  would  not  quit  his  hold  of  heaven  for  a 
thousand  worlds.  And  if  he  must  wade  them  in  his  own  tears,  if 
to  save  his  soul  he  must  let  every  creature  comfort  go,  still  the 
hope  of  heaven  can  make  amends. 


TRUE    PIETY    PEACEFULLY    PLEASANT.  479 

If,  in  this  shaded  description  of  the  good  man,  any  of  you  sup- 
pose that  I  have  made  him,  and  left  him  unhappy,  then  is  there  a 
doubt  whether  you  are  of  the  character  I  have  described.  In  ihe 
midst  of  his  tears  the  good  man  is  happy.  He  weeps  because  he 
is  a  sinner,  and  because  he  hopes  he  is  forgiven.  He  is  troubled 
on  every  side,  but  not  distressed  ,  lie  is  perplexed,  but  not  in  de- 
spair; persecuted,  but  not  forsaken;  cast  down,  but  not  destroy- 
ed. His  light  afflictions  are  but  for  a  moment,  and  will  work  out 
for  him  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory.  Thus, 
to  be  spiritually  minded,  is  life  and  peace.     I  close  with  one 

REMARK. 

If  thus  abundant  are  the  joys  of  the  spiritually  minded  in  this 
life,  how  unspeakable  must  be  the  glory  of  the  life  to  come.  The 
Christian,  when  he  escapes  from  this  dark  world,  will  leave  behind 
him  this  dying  body.  It  is  now  a  clog  and  a  vexation  to  his  hea- 
venly mind.  When  the  spirit  may  be  willing,  the  flesh  is  weak. 
But  the  long  expected  moment  arrives  soon,  when  this  mortal  shall 
put  on  immortality,  and  death  be  swallowed  up  in  victory.  This 
weary  head,  as  said  the  dying  Harriet,*  will  soon  rest  sweetly  on 
the  bosom  of  Jesus.  We  read,  They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither 
thirst  any  more.  The  inhabitants  of  the  heavenly  world  shall  no 
more  say  they  are  sick.  The  weary  are  to  be  at  rest.  Every  tear 
shall  be  dry. 

The  disembodied  mind  will  be  greatly  enlightened.  There  will 
not  hang  over  it  those  dark  mists  that  now  becloud  every  prospect. 
The  ways  of  God  will  be  illuminated,  and  the  wisdom  of  all  his 
purposes  appear.  No  more  shall  it  be  said  that  clouds  and  dark- 
ness are  round  about  him,  or  be  doubted  whether  righteousness 
and  judgment  are  the  habitations  of  his  throne.  The  believer  will 
no  longer  see  through  a  glass  darkly,  but  face  to  face.  He  will 
then  be  satisfied,  having  awaked  from  death  in  the  likeness  of  his 
Redeemer. 

Which  leads  me  to  say  farther,  he  will  be  free  from  sin.  He 
will  no  longer  tire  under  the  body  of  this  death.  I  shall  be  like  him, 
said  one  of  his  holy  family,  for  I  shall  see  him  as  he  is.  What  un- 
utterable joy  must  this  thought  create.  There  can  be  no  hope 
so  rich  as  thai  ihe  day  is  coming  when  I  shall  no  more  oflfend  my 
Savior  by  sin,  when  my  conscience  will  be  no  more  polluted,  and 
my  peace   destroyed   by  disobedience.     One  might   wish   all   the 

*  Harriet  Newell. 


4<80  TRUE    PIETY    PEACEFULLY    PLEASANT. 

years  annihilated  that  separate  him  from  that  happy  hour.  How 
does  the  animated  soul  leap  forward  to  embrace  the  pleasures  of 
that  lovely  moment.  Yes,  my  brother,  you  may  hope  that  one 
day  sin  will  no  more  have  dominion  over  you.  If  it  seems  a  bles- 
sing too  rich  for  such  a  worm  as  you,  then  you  have  only  to  adore 
the  grace  thnt  issued  this  doom.  Just  so  kind  are  the  designs  of 
God.  And  if  his  grace  does  not  draw  forth  our  warmest  gratitude 
the  very  stones  of  the  street  will  cry  out. 

Here  when  the  Christian  quits  the  body  he  will  leave  behind 
him  all  his  fears.  The  fear  that  he  may  yet  perish  sometimes  fills 
him  with  agony.  He  would  give  a  world  to  have  this  one  ques- 
tion settled.  Conceive,  brethren,  how  you  must  feel  if  one  day 
you  shall  find  yourselves  in  heaven.  You  will  look  back,  and  the 
danger  is  all  over.  It  was  night  about  you,  but  the  true  light  has 
come.  You  passed  close  by  the  margin  of  the  pit,  but  God  cover- 
ed it  with  his  hand.  You  was  condemned,  but  the  Lord  Jesus 
rjave  his  life  for  your  ransom.  You  grieved  the  Spirit,  but  he  did 
not  utterly  forsake  you.  You  became  cold,  and  he  revived  you  ; 
you  wandered,  and  he  brought  you  back  with  stripes.  Of  all  the 
wonders  of  heaven,  you  will  say,  this  is  the  greatest,  That  1  am 
here.  They  went  to  perdition  from  my  neighborhood,  some  of  my 
own  mother's  children  have  perished,  and  I  in  heaven.  And  why, 
Lord  Jesus,  why  me.  Why  was  I  pressed  on  to  this  abode  of  joy, 
while  my  own  brother  is  lost,  and  my  father  is  lost,  and  she  that 
be?  r  me,  and  bent  over  me  and  heard  my  dying  lips,  have  missed 
th<  way,  and  can  never  mingle  their  song  with  mine.  Blesse 
Je'is,  thou  hast  been  my  deliverer. 


SERMON  XLII. 

THE  ENEMIES  OF  THE   CHURCH  MADE   TO  PROMOTE   HER 

INTERESTS. 

ISAIAH  X.  5 — 12. 
O  Assyrian,  the  rod  of  mine  anger,  and  the  staff  in  their  hand  is  mine  indignation.  I  will  send 
him  against  an  hypocritical  nation,  and  against  the  people  of  my  wrath  will  I  give  hiin  a  charge,  to 
take  the  spoil,  and  to  take  the  prey,  and  to  tread  them  down  like  the  mire  of  the  streets.  How- 
beit  he  meaneth  not  so,  neither  doth  his  heart  think  so;  but  it  is  in  his  heart  to  destroy  and  cut  off 
nations  not  a  few.  For  he  saith,  are  not  my  princes  altogether  kings  ?  Is  not  Calno  as  Carche- 
mish  ?  ia  not  Hamath  as  Arpad  1  is  not  Samaria  as  Damascus'?  As  my  hand  hath  found  the 
kingdoms  of  the  Idols,  and  whose  graven  images  did  excel  them  of  Jerusalem  and  of  Samaria  ;  shall 
I  not,  as  t  have  done  unto  Samaria  and  her  idols,  so  do  to  Jerusalem  and  her  idols'?  Winn  lore 
it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  when  the  Lord  hath  performed  his  whole  work  upon  Mount  Zion,  and 
on  Jerusalem,  I  will  punish  the  fruit  of  the  stout  heart  of  the  king  of  Assyria,  and  the  glory  of  his 
high  looks. 

We  sometimes  discover,  in  a  scrap  of  sacred  story,  a  rich  and 
lucid  comment  upon  the  essential  doctrines  of  revelation.  The 
simple  statements  of  facts,  dissipates  the  darkness  that  obscured 
the  ways  of  God,  and  removes  the  cloud  behind  which  rolls  the 
wheels  of  Providence.  Let  us  only  read  of  what  God,  by  his  im 
mediate  agency,  or  by  the  agency  of  others,  has  done,  and  wc  shall 
find  very  little  mystery  in  all  he  has  said.  The  doctrines  are  noth- 
ing more  than  the  general  principles  of  the  Divine  administration. 
The  moment  men  put  themselves  in  the  attitude  of  quarrel  with 
what  God  has  said,  they  invariably  tax  themselves  with  the  neces- 
sity of  denying  what  he  has  done.  The  father  who  returns  to  his 
house,  and  finds  his  beloved  child  a  corpse,  and  still  denies  the 
sovereignty  of  God,  proves  himself  a  pitiable  reasoner.  A  doc- 
trine so  pointedly  illustrated,  can  no  longer  be  matter  of  doubt, 
unless  he  choose  to  believe  a  lie. 


■182  THE    ENEMIES    OF    THE    CHURCH 

The  lustory  of  the  Assyrian  invasion,  foreseen  and  described  by 
the  prophet  in  the  text  and  context,  is  one  of  those  expository 
Scriptures,  which  illustrate  and  confirm,  what  are  erroneously 
termed  the  hard  doctrines  of  revelation.  <  !od  is  here  seen  in  the 
attitude  of  administering  correction  to  his  people,  and  using  wick- 
ed men  as  the  staff,  destined  like  any  other  rod  to  be  committed 
to  the  fire,  when  the  children  are  reduced  to  obedience.  If  instead 
of  intending  to  bless  the  people  of  God,  they  mean  not  so,  mean 
no  service  to  their  .Maker,  but  their  own  elevation,  intend  to  in- 
jure whom  they  hate,  all  this  does  not  disqualify  them  to  be  the 
sword  of  the  Lord.  There  is  something  fearfully  interesting  in 
the  Divine  sovereignty,  thus  illustrated  by  the  very  finger  of  God 
himself.  We  must  either  believe  what  God  has  spoken  on  this 
subject,  or  deny  what  he  has  done,  and  what  he  is  doing  daily 
before  our  very  eyes. 

I  must  detain  you  a  few  moments,  on  the  historical  facts  in  the 
case,  and  then  notice  more  largely  the  doctrines  they  inculcate. 

I.  We  attend  to  the  historical  facts,  God  had  a  church  in  the 
family  of  Abraham,  but  they  were  so  wicked,  that  he  styles  them 
in  the  text  a  hypocritical  nation.  He  would  correct  them  for  their 
sins,  and  would  employ  for  this  purpose  Sennacherib  the  king  of 
Assyria,  the  very  staff  they  had  leaned  on.  But  that  prince  would 
intend  no  such  good  to  the  covenant  people  of  God  ;  his  object 
would  be  devastation  and  plunder.  It  was  in  his  heart  to  destroy 
and  cut  off  nations  not  a  few.  He  boasted,  and  heaven  knew  his 
impudence,  that  his  power  was  great,  his  victories  numerous  and 
splendid,  his  princes,  monarchs,  and  the  gods  all  too  weak  to  re- 
sist him.  And  the  worst  is  yet  to  be  spoken,  he  threatened  that 
he  would  do  to  Jerusalem's  God  as  he  had  done  to  the  deities 
around  him.  How  contemptible  must  he  have  appeared  to  him 
who  sitteth  in  the  heavens.  Thus  the  axe  boasted  itself  against 
him  that  hewed  with  it,  the  saw  against  him  that  shook  it,  and  the 
rod  threatened  him  who  lifted  it  up. 

God  now  resolved  that  when  lie  had  chastised  Israel  for  their 
idolatry,  and  their  waywardness,  he  would  curse  tin1  Assyrian  for 
his  pride.  He  might  live  till  he  had  performed  all  the  Divine  will 
upon  Mount  Zion,  and  upon  Jerusalem,  then  God  would  punish  the 
fruit  of  his  stout  heart,  and  bring  down  the  glory  of  his  high 
looks. 

God  would  make  him  Know  that  he  was  a  mere  worm,  that  an 
Almighty  arm,  and  not  his  own,  had  gotten  him  his  victories,  and 


MADE  TO  PROMOTE  HER  INTERESTS.  483 

that  all  his  wrath  toward  the  people  of  God,  must  meet  a  final  and 
a  fearful  judgment. 

When  God  speaks  in  the  text  of  sending  that  proud  and  impious 
man,  to  chastise  his  people,  we  are  not  to  understand  that  God 
would  command  him  to  go,  or  justify  the  motives  by  which  he 
would  be  actuated.  God  does  not  punish  as  zcrime,  the  very  dee  1 
which  his  injunction  renders  duty.  It  is  believed  that  nothing 
more  is  meant,  than  that  God  would  so  order  events,  that  the  \  - 
syiian  should  hope  to  gratify  his  avarice  and  his  pride  in  hum- 
bling Jerusalem.  The  history  tells  for  itself,  that  the  king  had  onrj 
purpose,  and  the  King  of  kings  another,  and  that  God  kept  his  own 
purpose  a  secret  from  the  miscreant  whom  he  used  as  his  rod. 

Why  was  he  not  sent  of  God,  precisely  in  the  same  sense  as 
God  hardened  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  \  by  the  concurrence  of  events, 
that  should  have  produced  a  contrary  resolve.  The  Egyptian's 
heart  was  hardened  by  means  that  should  have  softened  it :  by  al- 
ternate judgments  and  mercies,  that  should  have  rendered  him  one 
of  the  holiest  men  that  has  lived.  So  the  Assyrian  was  sent,  by 
an  agency  that  should  have  rendered  him  Jerusalem's  warmest 
friend.  God  had  given  him  victory  over  the  idols  whose  shrines 
he  had  assaulted,  and  made  him  rich  with  the  spoil.  He  should 
then  have  honored  the  God  of  battles,  and  should  have  come  to 
Jerusalem  to  worship  his  Benefactor.  He  should  have  been  con- 
tent, when  he  had  been  suffered  to  spoil  the  temples  of   idolatry. 

But  these  very  successes  made  him  covet  the  treasures  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  thus  had  the  very  opposite  effect  which  they  should  and 
would  have  had,  upon  a  benevolent  and  holy  mind.  There  is  a 
parallel  case  in  Jeremiah.  The  Church  had  forfeited  the  favor  of 
God,  and  must  go  into  captivity.  Babylon  must  lead  them  captive, 
and  when  Israel  should  be  humbled,  must  be  punished  for  making 
war  with  the  people  of  God.  Read  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of 
Jeremiah,  and  you  will  have  the  facts  in  a  shape  more  interesting, 
than  that  in  which  any  comment  can  place  them. 

Thus  God  employs  wicked  men  in  the  service  of  his  people, 
while  they  mean  far  otherwise,  and  are  in  fact  the  agents  of  anoth- 
er prince.  Still  God  holds  them  accountable,  restrains  their  wrath 
when  it  will  not  praise  him,  and  finally  does  his  whole  pleasure, 
precisely  as  though  the  agents  he  employed  were  his  trusty  and 
devoted  servants.  How  calculated  are  such  facts  to  begel  respect 
for  the  character  and  ways  of  God!  How  do  they  corrob 
the  doctrines  of  revelation,  and  humble  the  pride  of  man! 

It  is  a  solemn  and  bitter  reflection,  that  the  people  of  (I<»d  must 


4S4 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


be  so  frequently  and  severely  chastised.  That  God  should  terra 
them  a  hypocritical  nation,  and  the  people  of  his  wrath,  and  let 
loose  upon  them  the  armies  of  idolatry,  to  scatter  and  peal  them. 
But  God  will  assuredly  take  care  of  his  own  people,  and  though 
many  may  perish  who  profess  his  name  :  still  where  he  has  begun 
a  good  work,  he  will  not  fail  to  employ  the  best  means  and  the 
best  agents,  till  the  work  be  consummated,  and  the  happy  subjects 
are  brought  home  to  his   kingdom. 

II.  There  are  several  doctrines  that  these  facts  inculcate,  which  now 
claim  our  particular  attention  ;  each  prominently  suggested  in  the 
text.  There  is  an  important  sense  in  which  unregenerate  men  are 
the  servants  of  the  most  high  God.  He  employs  them  to  bless 
his  people.  They  mean  not  so.  While  they  are  doing  their  work, 
God  restrains  them.  When  their  work  is  done,  as  God  intended 
it  should  be,  he  will  punish  them  for  not  doing  his  pleasure  from 
right  motives. 

1.  There  is  an  important  sense  in  which  unregenerate  men  are  the 
servants  of  the  most  high  God.  This  general  truth  is  seen  distinct- 
ly in  the  service  done  by  the  Assyrian  for  backsliding  Israel.  God 
would  send  him,  and  would  give  him  a  charge,  to  take  the  spoil, 
and  to  take  the  prey,  and  to  tread  them  down  like  the  mire  of  the 
streets. 

In  support  of  the  proposition,  that  ungodly  men  are  the  servants 
of  the  Lord,  we  say,  He  gave  them  being.  He  made  all  things  for 
himself,  yea  even  the  wicked  for  the  day  of  evil.  If  men  have 
become  alienated  in  their  hearts,  still  God  is  their  rightful  Sover- 
eign. His  propriety  in  them  is  original  and  unalienable.  If  they 
have  entered  into  the  employ  of  the  adversary,  still  God  has  given 
them  no  discharge  from  his  service.  His  right  to  them  as  his 
creatures  can  admit  of  no  question. 

And  it  will  not  be  denied  that  men,  however  offensive  their  cha- 
racter in  the  sight  of  God,  are  dependant  on  him  as  their  Pre- 
server and  Benefactor.  "  In  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our 
being."  Said  the  Psalmist,  "The  eyes  of  all  wait  on  thee,  and 
thou  givest  them  their  meat  in  due  season.  Thou  openest  thine 
hand,  ami  satis fi est  the  desire  of  every  living  thing."  Thus  wicked 
men  are  the  property  of  God,  and  are  preserved  by  him,  two  essen- 
tial relationships  between  the  master  and  his  servants. 

And  he  has  occasionally  styled  them  his  servants.  "  I  will  send 
ami  t.nce  al.  the  families  of  the  north,  saith  the  Lord,  and  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, the  king  of  Babylon,  my  .servant   and  I  will  bring  them 


MADE    TO    PROMOTE    HER    INTERESTS.  485 

against  this  land."  His  anointed,  and  his  shepherd,  are  terms  which 
God  applied  to  Cyrus.  And  he  commissioned  the  prophet  to  say 
to  Israel,  "  The  sons  of  strangers  shall  build  up  thy  wall,  and  their 
kings  shall  minister  unto  thee — For  the  nation  and  kingdom  that 
will  not  serve  thee  shall  perish."  Thus  the  world,  from  its  crowned 
heads  to  its  meanest  vassals,  are  constituted  the  servants  of  the 
Church  of  God. 

And  he  assigns  the  ungodly  their  work,  as  the  master  does  the 
servant.  The  law  of  God,  in  all  its  minute  detail,  is  the  rule  of 
duty  to  every  ungodly  man.  And  he  has  sometimes  specified  the 
service  which  he  required  of  individual  sinners,  still  withholding 
from  them  a  knowledge  of  his  purpose.  Sennacherib  must  scourge 
the  backsliding  Church,  Nebuchadnezzar  carry  them  to  Babylon, 
and  Cyrus  restore  them,  and  rebuild  their  city  and  their  temple. 
Nebuchadnezzar  was  sent  to  punish  the  iniquity  of  Tyre,  and  was 
then  directed  to  take  Egypt  as  a  prey.  Thus  have  the  enemies  of 
God  been  assigned  sometimes  a  specific  task,  as  the  master  de- 
cides in  what  field  each  servant  of  his  shall  toil. 

And  God  sits  in  judgment  upon  the  service  which  unregenerate  men 
do  for  him.  I  refer  now,  not  to  the  last  judgment,  but  to  decisions 
which  God  passes,  and  punishments  which  he  inflicts  in  the  pre- 
sent life.  Nor  yet  do  I  refer  to  judgments,  which  God  inflicts 
upon  the  wicked  generally,  but  to  those  instances  when  he  has  ter- 
ribly reproved  them,  for  not  doing  to  his  mind  the  very  work  as- 
signed them.  I  shall  notice  here  but  a  single  case — Nebuchadnez- 
zar, the  king-  of  Babylon,  was  the  Lord's  sword  to  punish  Israel, 
and  all  the  nations  bordering  upon  Israel.  So  eminently  was  he 
sustained  as  the  Lord's  servant,  to  scourge  the  nations,  that  de- 
struction was  threatened  to  every  nation  that  did  not  submit  to 
him.  And  still,  in  performing  the  very  service  for  which  he  was 
thus  made  great,  he  so  offended  God  as  to  render  his  overthrow 
as  conspicuous  as  had  been  his  pride,  his  insolence,  and  his 
oppressions. 

I  remark  once  more,  in  confirmation  of  the  fact  that  wicked  men 
are  God's  servants,  that  he  rewards  them  for  their  labors.  For  the 
hard  service  which  the  king  of  Babylon  performed  against  Tyre, 
in  which  every  head  was  made  bald,  and  every  shoulder  pealed,  lie 
was  commissioned  to  go  and  take  the  spoil  of  Egypt  as  his  reward. 
Indeed,  so  extensively  was  that  man  employed  by  the  God  of 
heaven,  to  scourge  the  enemies  of  Israel,  and  his  own  Church 
when  they  needed  chastisement,  that  there  went  out  in  his  behalf 
this  wonderful  edict :  "  I  have  given  all  these  lands  into  the  hands 


48G  l'HE    ENEMIES    OF    THE    CHURCH 

of  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king  of  Babylon,  my  servant,  and  the 
beasts  of  the  field  have  I  given  him  also,  to  serve  him ;  all  nations 
shall  serve  him,  and  his  son,  and  his  son's  son,  until  the  very  time 
of  his  land  come." — "  The  nations  that  bring  their  neck  under  the 
yoke  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  serve  him,  those  will  I  let  remain 
still  in  their  own  land,  saith  the  Lord  ;  and  they  shall  till  it  and 
•  luell  therein."  Even  Israel  was  commanded,  "Bring  your  necks 
under  the  yoke  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  serve  him,  and  his 
people,  and  live"  I  will  mention  only  one  other  case,  out  of 
scores  that  might  he  mentioned,  where  God  rewarded  a  wicked 
man,  for  services  done  him.  Jehu  seems  not  to  have  been  a  man 
of  God,  but  for  the  service  he  performed,  in  cutting  off  the  house 
of  Ahab,  and  destroying  idolatry,  his  children,  to  the  fourth  gene- 
ration, should  sit  upon  the  throne  of  Israel. 

It  is  believed  by  many,  that  .the  promise  contained  in  the  fifth 
commandment,  and  all  those  which  secure  present  prosperity  to 
the  liberal,  are  often  fulfilled  to  ungodly  men,  who  from  wrong 
motives,  have  honored  their  parents,  or  been  generous  to  the 
Church  and  people  of  God.  Perhaps  many  a  wealthy  man  in  our 
land,  who  yet  has  no  treasure  laid  up  in  heaven,  has  received  his 
wealth  of  the  Lord,  in  reward  for  deeds  of  kindness  done  his 
people,  or  exertions  made  to  extend  and  bless  his  kingdom.  With 
the  measure  they  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  them  aofain.  If, 
without  loving  God,  they  will  feed  his  children,  and  sustain  his 
ministers,  and  spread  his  gospel,  he  will,  without  loving  them,  fill 
their  barns  with  plenty,  and  cause  their  presses  to  burst  out  with 
new  wine.  It  was  perishable  treasure  that  they  loaned  to  him,  in 
perishable  materials  he  will  reward  them  a  thousand  fold.  But 
the  wealth  he  bestows,  since  they  gave  him  not  their  hearts,  can- 
not be  accounted  a  covenant  blpssing.  It  may  be  so  abused  in 
their  hands,  as  to  ripen  them  for  an  earlier  destruction.  May  the 
mercy  of  a  pardoning  God  prevent ! 

Thus  do  we  argue,  that  wicked  men  are  God's  servants.  He 
gave  them  being,  is  their  preserver,  and  benefactor ;  has  styled 
them  his  servants,  has  appointed  them  their  work,  sits  in  judg- 
ment upon  the  services  they  render  him,  and  rewards  them  for 
their  labors.  I  have  not  said  they  were  servants  in  the  same 
sense  in  which  his  people  receive  this  appellation.  Unhappily  it 
is  in  a  widely  different  sense.  The  one  accomplishes  his  purposes 
with  no  such  design,  and  is  rewarded  with  the  meat  that  perishes ; 
the  other  receives  the  law  at  his  mouth,  does  his  will  with  design, 


MADE  TO  PROMOTE  HER  INTERESTS.  487 

and  has  for  his  reward  the  meat  that  endure th  to  everlasting  life 
I  proceed  to  the 

2.  Prominent  suggestion  of  the  text,  God  employs  wicked  men  ta 
bless  his  people.  If  God  would  say  to  his  Church  once,  "  For  the 
nation  and  kingdom  that  will  not  serve  thee  shall  perish  ;"  why 
has  he  not  thus  published  to  the  world  a  permanent  and  established 
principle  of  his  government  !  And  if  nations  hold  their  being  and 
their  prosperity,  on  the  condition  that  they  subserve  the  interests 
of  God's  people,  why  do  we  not  infer  with  assurance,  that  indi- 
viduals are  under  the  same  law?  Hence  all  the  ungodly,  and 
especially  those  who  shall  die  in  their  sins,  live  to  serve  the 
Church  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Tbis  subject  is  illustrated  in  the  parable  of  the  tares  and  the 
wheat  ;  they  must  both  grow  together  till  the  harvest.  It  is  easy 
to  see  how  grieved  and  injured  would  be  many  of  the  people  of 
God,  were  not  his  enemies  permitted  to  live.  Remove  the  wicked 
husband,  and  the  pious  wife  is  a  widow,  poor,  and  dependant,  and 
exposed  to  temptation  and  reproach  ;  while  her  children,  the  seed 
of  the  covenant,  are  perhaps  removed  from  her,  must  be  unedu- 
cated, be  reared  without  the  means  of  grace,  and  in  a  world,  cold, 
and  inhospitable  like  this,  might  be  constrained  to  beg  their 
bread.     Thus  the  promise  of  God  would  come  to  the  ground. 

In  other  cases,  one  who  is  not  born  of  God  may  be,  as  it  re- 
gards temporalities,  the  support  of  a  Christian  Church.  His  death 
might  remove  its  faithful  pastor,  and  the  people  perish  for  lack  of 
vision.  On  the  exertions  of  one  wricked  man  may  depend,  in  a 
variety  of  ways,  the  instruction  of  a  vast  number  of  the  rising  ge- 
neration. God,  then,  will  sustain  him  in  life,  and  fill  his  store- 
house with  good  things,  and  bless  him,  that  he  may  bless  others, 
and  continue  him  down  to  the  extremest  old  age. 

It  may  happen  that  one  who  does  not  love  God  may  be  a  valu- 
ible  citizen  or  statesman.  The  pressure  of  government  may  be 
ipon  his  shoulders,  and  a  state  or  kingdom  be  greatly  injured  by 
his  death,  and  ultimately  the  church  suffer.  Let  both  then  <j  row- 
together  till  the  harvest.  God  has  laid  his  plan,  and  will  not  aban- 
don it,  in  which  he  has  secured  beyond  the  possibility  of  hazard, 
the  best  interests  of  his  people. 

We  should  have  some  difficulty  in  vindicating  the  ways  of  God, 
if  the  multitudes  of  the  ungodly,  especially  those  who  at  last  per- 
ish, had  no  profitable  employment  in  his  world.  A  wise  and  good 
man  would  not  make  provision  for  the  idle  and  the  vagrant.  He 
would    be   unwilling    to  foster    inaction,   or   waste   his   property 


488  THE    ENEMIES    OF   THE    CHI  RCH 

Hence  it  cannot  be  that  the  blessed  God,  who  makes  the  wants  of 
a  disloyal  world  his  care,  has  not  the  wisdom  to  find  them  employ- 
ment in  his  house.  Thus  his  known  character  gives  us  assurance, 
that  he  will  not  give  breath  and  bread  and  raiment  to  beings  for 
whom  he  has  no  service  in  his  kingdom,  and  whose  existence  and 
agency  in  that  case  would  but  cumber  and  curse  his  creation. 

Let  us  look  at  facts,  and  let  them  speak  in  behalf  of  God.  They 
were  doubtless  ungodly  men  who  built  the  ark  in  which  Noah  and 
all  his  were  saved  from  the  miseries  of  the  deluge.  Joseph's  un- 
godly brethren  raised  him  to  that  seat  of  honor  and  power  which 
he  filled  in  Egypt.  The  impious  Pharaoh  fed  the  Church  of  God 
during  a  long  protracted  famine.  The  blood-thirsty  Haman  ele- 
vated Mordecai  in  the  court  of  Persia.  The  princes  of  Babylon 
procured  Daniel  his  great  advancement  in  that  monarchy.  So  the 
Canaanites  lived  and  prospered,  till  they  had  cultivated  their  land, 
and  made  it  fertile  and  beautiful  for  the  comfort  of  Israel.  They 
built  cities,  and  planted  vineyards  and  olive  yards,  and  Israel  eat 
the  fruit  of  their  labors.  Cyrus  sent  back  the  Jewish  captives  to 
their  land,  and  Darius  contributed  from  his  own  purse  to  build  the 
house  of  God,  and  supply  the  daily  sacrifice.  Judas  marked  out 
the  Lamb,  and  the  impious  Sanhedrim,  and  the  Roman  soldiery 
put  forth  the  decree,  and  built  the  altar,  and  slew  the  sacrifice, 
that  atoned  for  sins,  and  procured  the  redemption  of  a  world. 
The  proud  Cassar  reduced  the  world  to  one  empire,  that  the  way 
might  be  prepared  to  promulgate  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed 
God.  Columbus  suffered  every  thing  but  death,  that  he  might 
search  out  a  place  for  the  pilgrims,  just  at  the  juncture  when  they 
must  flee  or  suffer. 

I  know  that  the  wicked  have  sometimes  persecuted  the  people 
of  God  even  unto  death.  But  this  is  still  the  same  service,  as 
faith  views  it.  When  believers  are  matured  for  heaven,  their 
death  is  precious  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord.  While  men  have  forged 
their  chains,  and  built  their  dungeons,  and  lighted  their  fagots, 
they  have  performed  a  service  as  necessary  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  grand  plan  of  redeeming  mercy,  as  when  they  have 
housed,  and  fed,  and  cherished,  and  comforted  them. 

Yes,  from  the  time  of  Cain  till  this  very  day,  wicked  men  have 
served  and  blessed  the  Church  of  God.  And  the  increase  and  the 
joy  of  his  kingdom  admits  now  a  foreign  agency,  as  readily  as 
when  Jerusalem  was  rebuilt,  and  the  second  temple  set  up.  Men 
pursue  their  own  inclinations,  and  do  what  they  please,  while  God 
directs  all  their  energies  into  the  same  channel,  and  renders  them 


MADE    TO    PROMOTE    HER    INTERESTS.  489 

subservient  to  the  interests  of  that  blessed  kingdom  which  he  ha« 
established  in  this  world.  Not  a  musele,  a  nerve,  a  passion,  or  a 
thought  exists  for  any  other  purpose  ;  or  worm  or  sparrow  per- 
ishes but  with  this  design. 

Many  a  foe  of  Zion,  many  who  finally  will  have  no  interest  in  a 
Savior's  love,  are  employed  in  accumulating  wealth,  clearing  for- 
ests, cultivating  farms,  and  building  habitations  to  accommodate 
the  friends  of  God,  in  that  day  when  the  knowledge  of  him  shall 
cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  Hence  we  read, 
"  the  wealth  of  the  sinner  is  laid  up  for  the  just."  And  we  read 
again,  "  Though  the  sinner  may  heap  up  silver  as  the  dust,  and 
prepare  raiment  as  the  clay  ;  he  may  prepare  it,  but  the  just  shall 
put  it  on,  and  the  innocent  shall  divide  the  silver. 

Every  storm  that  blows  has  its  commission  to  bless  the  Church, 
and  every  passion  that  raves  has  the  same  charge.  The  revolu- 
tions that  have  been  so  frequent  in  our  day,  so  disastrous  to  king- 
doms, ruinous  to  individual  fortune,  and  torturing  to  the  heart  of 
sensibility,  though  managed,  as  they  evidently  have  been,  almost 
exclusively  by  ungodly  men,  and  usually  with  the  basest  design, 
have  helped  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  heralds  of  salvation  to  carry 
glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  people. 

That  scourge  of  nations,  and  contemner  of  human  life  and  hu- 
man happiness,  who  lately  died  in  solitude  on  one  of  the  isles  of 
the  sea,  though  long  the  curse  of  Europe,  and  remembered  witli 
horrid  interest  by  the  millions  whom  his  ambition  bereaved,  and 
immortalized  by  the  rivers  of  blood  that  every  where  flowed  at 
his  feet,  still  wrought  for  the  Church  of  God.  He  gave  popery  a 
deadly  wound,  crushed  the  inquisition,  avenged  no  doubt  much  of 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs,  and  though  himself  a  tyrant,  was  the 
means  of  enkindling  a  spirit  of  freedom,  which  will,  not  long  first, 
result  in  the  downfall  of  every  despot  in  Europe,  and  through  the 
world. 

The  tract  system,  that  mighty  engine  by  which  God  is  now 
promulgating  the  honors  of  his  name,  was  the  invention  of  infidel- 
ity, and  was  first  used  in  corrupting  the  world  with  error. 

The  wise  and  discerning  can  see  evidence  in  the  events  of  every 
day,  that  wicked  men  are  employed  in  serving  God's  people. 
When  their  treatment  is  unkind,  it  renders  believers  humble, 
watchful,  prayerful,  and  heavenly-minded.  Thus  the  promise, 
"  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  persecute  you. 
and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my  sake  ;"  and 
•mother  promise  more  ample  yet,  "  All  things  are  yours  ;  whe'^er 


490  THE  ENEMIES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world,  or  lif  ,  or  death,  or 
things  present,  or  things  to  come  ;  all  are  yours ;  and  ye  are 
Christ's;  and  Christ  is  God's."  We  do  not  say  that  Christians 
could  not  he  sanctified  in  a  world  where  they  should  be  treated 
only  with  kindness  ;  but  we  apprehend  that  in  such  a  world  they 
would  ripen  for  heaven  more  slowly.  They  would  be  too  well 
satisfied,  and  wis!)  no  other  or  better  home. 

Even  the  buffetings  of  the  adversary  have  been  made  a  blessing. 
Job  was  thus  made  a  humbler  and  abetter  man.  And  Peter,  when 
Satan  had  sifted  him  as  wheat,  was  a  more  useful  apostle.  When 
John,  in  his  vision,  was  questioned  respecting  some  who  appeared 
to  be  approaching  heaven  from  this  world,  "  Who  are  these  ar- 
rayed in  white  robes  1  and  whence  came  theyl"  the  question 
being  referred,  was  answered,  "  These  are  they  which  came  out 
of  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  The  idea  distinctly  conveyed 
is,  that  tribulation  made  them  illustrious  spirits.  And  we  have  all 
noticed  in  our  walk  through  life,  instances  of  believers,  who  evi- 
dently were  making  great  advances  in  the  divine  life,  in  the  most 
adverse  circumstances  that  can  he  well  conceived  of.  When  they 
have  not  dared  to  pray,  nor  attend  a  place  of  worship,  nor  enter 
into  covenant  with  God,  it  has  seemed  as  if  every  lash  of  adversity 
pressed  them  on  toward  their  home  in  the  heavens.  We  have  ad- 
mired the  straight-forwardness  of  their  course,  when  they  have  wet 
every  foot  of  their  way  with  tears. 

Thus  since  the  revolt  in  heaven,  and  the  fall  in  paradise,  devils, 
and  those  whom  they  have  led  captive  at  their  will,  have  had  em- 
ploy in  the  service  of  God's  people.  Directly  and  intentionally, 
or  otherwise,  they  have  served  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  most 
high  God,  and  will  continue  in  the  service,  while  the  earth  shall 
remain,  and  there  shall  be  on  it  a  believer  ripening  for  heaven. 
And  God  is  so  sovereign  in  managing  the  afTairs  of  his  people, 
that  he  asks  not  the  consent  of  the  ungodly  to  be  thus  employed. 
They  pursue  their  own  plan,  and  he  his;  but  whether  they  love  or 
hate,  are  kind  or  hostile,  their  highest  love,  and  their  bitterest  re- 
bukes, achieve  for  the  people  of  God  the  same  object,  and  push 
them  on  toward  their  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens. 

3.  Theii  menu  not  so.  It  is  very  far  from  being  the  intention  of 
wicked  men  to  serve  the  people  of  (  iod.  So  much  maybe  asserted 
on  the  authority  of  facts,  and  what  is  more  yet,  on  the  authority 
of  God.     Sinners  have  one  purpose  which   they  intend  to  t.ccom- 


MADE    TO    PROMOTE    HER     INTERESTS.  491 

plish  in  every  enterprise  of  theirs,  and  God  another  in  the  decree 
that  assigned  them  that  service.  "  Ye  intended  evil  against  me," 
said  the  injured  Joseph,  "but  the  Lord  meant  it  for  good,  to  save 
much  people  alive."  Hainan  intended  the  ruin  of  Mordecai,  hut 
God  purposed  his  high  exaltation.  The  princes  of  Babylon  meant 
the  ruin  of  Daniel,  but  God  would  advance  him  to  the  highest  re- 
nown. The  infidels  of  France,  while  they  spilt  the  blood  of  the 
priests,  and  confiscated  their  funds,  purposed  the  overthrow  of  re- 
ligion, but  God  meant  a  deadly  blow  at  Antichrist.  Voltaire  con- 
trived the  tract  system,  to  proscribe  the  Scriptures,  but  God  de- 
signed the  dissemination  of  the  gospel  truth.  And  when  the 
wicked  intention  is  less  or  more  manifest,  still  the  case  does  not 
widely  differ. 

It  does  not  as  we  conceive  prejudice  at  all  the  position  we  main- 
tain, to  allow,  that  there  are  individuals  among  the  ungodly,  who 
wish  well  to  those  who  love  God,  and  are  daily  employed  in  doing 
them  kindnesses.  The  questions  to  be  asked  in  that  case  are,  do 
they  esteem  God's  people  any  the  more  because  of  their  piety, 
or  less  1  or  do  good  to  them  the  more  cordially,  or  the  less  so, 
because  they  love  God  1  Is  the  zeal  to  do  them  favors  increased 
or  diminished  because  they  are  partially  sanctified  1  Men 
may  continue  kind  to  them  notwithstanding  their  religion, 
and  still  be  the  farthest  possible  from  intending  to  bless  them  as 
the  friends  of  God.  The  most  selfish  motives  may  induce  them  to 
act  :  as  the  Christian  may  be  the  wife,  or  the  husband,  or  the 
brother,  or  the  child,  of  the  unregenerate  benefactor,  and  the  in- 
stinctive affections  do  all  we  see  done.  And  even  then  it  is  doubt- 
ful, whether  there  is  ever  a  wish  in  the  unrenewed  to  do  them 
spiritual  good,  to  advance  them  on  toward  heaven.  I  know  of  no 
authority,  either  from  Scripture  or  fact,  to  warrant  the  supposition, 
that  any  believer  ever  had  an  unregenerate  friend,  who  wished  him 
to  progress  in  putting  on  the  image  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
What  !  wish  a  wider  and  still  wider  separation,  and  finally  an 
eternal  remove  from  them  we  love  !  urge  them  to  depart  from  us, 
be  more  unlike  us,  and  have  less  fellowship  with  us  1  and  this  he- 
cause  we  love  them  !    There  would  be  something  strange  in  all  this. 

Nor  will  it  be  any  argument  against  the  position,  they  mean  not 
so,  that  meri  are  not  conscious  of  this  operation  of  their  hearts. 
The  same  heart  that  is. desperately  wicked,  is  deceitful  above  all 
things.  Very  few  are  conscious  of  hating  the  character  pf  God, 
or  his  law,  or  his  government.  You  may  go  to  the  careless,  stu- 
pid,  prayerless  multitude,  and  only  one  in  a  thousand  will  cot.fess 


492  THE  ENEMIES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

that  he  hates  God,  and  he  rather  because  of  his  orthodox  educa* 
tion,  than  his  consciousness,  and  the  residue  will  most  of  them  be 
angry,  that  you  should  presume  to  charge  them  with  a  crime  so 
monstrous.  You  may  accuse  them  in  the  very  language  that  God 
uses,  of  having  evil  hearts  of  unbelief,  of  being  carnally  minded, 
or  of  being  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  and  if  you  make  them  un- 
derstand that  all  this  implies,  that  they  do  not  love  their  Maker, 
and  his  people,  they  will  resist  the  imputation  in  the  very  face  of 
this  inspired  testimony.  If  no  charge  may  be  brought  against  the 
unregenerate,  but  such  as  they  are  ordinarily  conscious  is  true,  we 
must  either  find  them  in  a  state  of  conviction,  or  may  press  home 
upon  them  no  guilt  of  any  shape  or  hue. 

If  then  the  doctrine  may  stand,  it  is  but  what  every  believer  in 
divine  revelation  expects,  that  God  will  employ  his  power,  to  con- 
vert to  the  use  of  his  people,  what  is  or  is  not  done  with  this  view. 
He  would  not  leave  them  in  a  world  where,  our  doctrine  true, 
there  are  so  few  to  design  their  good,  without  some  sure  promise 
that  he  will  defend  them,  and  will  by  all  events,  promote  their 
present  sanctification,  and  their  ultimate  blessedness.  Hence  the 
broad  fields  of  promise.  "  The  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee." 
"He  made  a  pit  and  digged  it,  and  is  fallen  into  the  ditch  which 
he  made.  His  mischief  shall  return  upon  his  own  head,  and  his 
violent  dealings  come  down  upon  his  own  pate."  What  a  keen- 
ness is  there  in  that  divine  challenge  in  the  second  Psalm  ;  "  Why 
do  the  heathen  rage,  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing  1  The 
kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  to- 
gether, against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  anointed,  saying,  let  us 
break  their  bands  asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us.  He 
that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh  :  the  Lord  shall  have  them 
in  derision."  The  address  of  God  to  the  tempter  soon  after  the 
fall,  contains  the  very  sentiment  we  enforce,  "  I  will  put  enmity 
between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed." 
And  said  our  Lord  to  his  disciples,  "  I  came  not  to  send  peace  but 
sword.  Fori  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his  father, 
and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law 
against  her  mother-in-law.  And  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his 
own  household."  From  language  like  this,  with  which  the  Bible 
is  filled,  we  should  seem  to  be  justi^ed  in  supporting  the  position 
they  mean  not  so.  It  is  not  the  design  of  uriregenerate  men  to  bless, 
directly  or  indirectly,  the  people  of  God.     I  proceed  to  say, 

4.  While  God  employs  wicked  men    in    serving  his  people,  he 
holdi  them  under  close  restraint.     Look  at  the  fulfilment  of  the  pr^ 


MADE    TO    PROMOTE    HER    INTERESTS.  493 

diction  of  the  text  in  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  chapters  of 
the  second  book  of  Kings.  That  prince  was  sent  as  predicted  in 
the  text,  and  his  generals  with  a  great  army  encamped  under  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem.  There  Rabshakeh,  in  the  name  of  his  master 
insulted  God,  practised  perfidy  with  the  king  of  Israel,  abused  and 
ridiculed  the  people,  and  pretended  to  have  a  commission  from 
God  to  destroy  Jerusalem.  Hezekiah  committed  the  matter  to 
the  Lord,  and  in  sackcloth  appealed  to  him  to  defend  his  own 
great  name,  and  save  his  people.  And  God,  by  his  prophet,  sent 
him  an  answer  of  peace.  Said  Jehovah  of  the  proud  monarch, 
who  had  come  to  wage  war  with  his  honor,  "I  know  thy  abode, 
and  thy  going  out,  and  thy  coming  in,  and  thy  rage  against  me." 
It  was  a  moment  of  awful  interest.  Just  without  the  gates  of  the 
city  was  a  victorious  army,  of  nearly  two  hundred  thousand  men. 
Now  it  was  that  faith  only  could  penetrate  the  dark  cloud,  that 
hung  over  the  city  and  sanctuary  of  God. 

But  God  had  chained  that  impudent  blasphemer  to  the  foot  of 
his  throne,  and  he  had  now  gone  to  the  extent  of  his  limits.  When 
men,  in  abusing  God's  people,  have  enough  of  the  fiend  about 
them,  to  go  on  and  insult  God  himself,  then  his  people  are  safe, 
for  the  Divine  honor  must  be  vindicated,  and  God  will  do  that 
himself,  most  promptly.  I  should  be  afraid  of  no  man  who  would 
curse  me,  and  my  Maker  too.  I  have  then  only  to  stand  still,  and 
see  the  salvation  of  God. 

That  proud  man  was  in  the  hand  of  a  mighty  Conqueror,  and 
here  was  Israel's  safety.  "  1  will  put  my  hook  in  thy  nose,  and 
my  bridle  in  thy  lips,  and  I  will  turn  thee  back  by  the  way  which 
thou  earnest."  That  night  the  angel  of  the  Lord  entered  the 
Assyrian  camp,  and  slew  a  hundred  four-score  and  live  thousand. 
When  Sennacherib  awoke,  and  saw  his  whole  army  dead  corpses, 
he  returned  to  his  own  land,  and  went  to  worship  in  the  temple  of 
Nisroch,  his  god,  where  two  of  his  own  sons  imbued  their  hands 
in  his  blood.  When  men  have  blasphemed  God,  he  can  easily 
overtake  them,  and  slay  them.  "It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  living  God."  That  impious  man  perished  in  t he- 
very  temple  of  the  god  he  worshipped,  that  Jehovah  might  doubly 
avenge  the  insults  that  had  been  offered  him,  on  the  idols  to  whom 
he  had  been  compared,  and  the  wretch  who  had  defied  Ins  power. 
Thus  God,  while  he  had  that  blasphemer  in  his  employ,  was  care- 
ful to  hold  him  under  close  restraint. 

We   infer  the   same  doctrine  from  the    history   of  Balaam.     He 
would  have  cursed  Israel,  because  he  loved  the  wages  of  unright- 


494  THE    ENEMIES    OF    THE    CHURCH 

eousness.  And  lie  persevered  in  the  design,  while  conscience,  and 
the  dumb  ass  speaking,  reproved  his  madness.  But  God  loved  his 
people,  and  although  Balaam's  success  could  not  have  hurt  them, 
still  he  would  not  allow  his  impious  maledictions  to  contaminate 
the  atmosphere  that  breathed  through  the  camp  of  Israel.  After 
all  his  pompous  efforts,  he  pronounced  a  blessng  only,  and  the 
curse  lighted  upon  his  own  head.  He  perished  by  the  sword,  and 
went  to  his  own  place.  He  intended  one  thing,  and  God  another, 
and  he  failed  because  God  kept  a  bridle  upon  his  lips. 

So  Hammi  was  hanged  upon  the  gallows  he  had  erected  for 
Mordecai,  and  the  foes  of  Daniel  were  food  for  the  beasts  of  prey 
that  would  not  devour  him.  In  the  bloody  scenes  of  Bethlehem, 
the  very  child  escaped  whom  Herod  would  have  slain,  and  the 
curse  of  God  fell  on  him.  If  time  permitted,  I  could  swell  this 
catalogue  of  facts,  indefinitely,  all  going  to  show,  how  terrible,  as 
well  as  sure,  are  God's  restraints. 

But  his  restraints  are  sometimes  merciful.  Saul  of  Tarsus  is  a 
happy  case.  He  set  out  with  the  fury  of  a  beast  of  prey,  and 
dragged  to  prison  and  to  death  all  that  loved  the  Lord  Jesus.  At 
length  he  must  needs  go  to  Damascus,  and  try  his  zeal  upon  the 
Iambs  of  the  flock  in  that  region.  But  he  had  now  finished  his 
career  of  blood,  and  the  grace  of  God  arrested  him.  It  would  not 
longer  comport  with  the  Divine  purpose  to  permit  the  prowling 
wolf  to  range  among  the  sheep-folds. 

And  we  could  give  you,  had  we  time,  more  recent  facts,  of  both 
descriptions,  where  judgment  and  where  mercy  produced  restraint. 
Ask  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  who  notice  and  record  such  facts, 
and  they  will  tell  you  of  many  a  man,  who  raved  against  God  and 
his  truth,  like  a  mad  bull  in  a  net,  up  to  the  time  when  God  sub- 
dued him  by  his  grace.  Or  they  will  turn  over  the  darker  page, 
and  tell  you  of  the  sweeps  of  death,  among  the  enemies  of  the  gos- 
pel, till  all  your  blood  would  chill.  In  some  fearful  instances,  a 
whole  gang  of  gospel  opposers,  infidel,  and  hardened,  and  despe- 
rate in  character,  have  perished,  in  such  rapid  succession,  as  not 
to  leave  a  doubt  behind,  whether  God  did  it!  or  why  he  did  it  1 
Men  have  found  a  grave  on  the  very  day  when  some  impious  vow 
against  God  or  his  people  was  to  have  been  executed,  and  have 
roared  upon  their  beds,  when  they  have  learned,  too  late,  that  their 
sins  bad  found  them  out.  W  e  mighl  not  say  at  their  funeral,  that 
they  bad  gone  to  their  own  place,  but  verily  we  thought  so,  and 
trembled.  We  have  seen  them  stripped  ol'  their  property  and 
their  influence,  at  the  moment  when  it  was  too  evident    to   doubt 


MADE    TO    PROMOTE    HER    INTERESTS.  495 

that   the    interests   of  the  Church   required  that   they  should  bo 
brought  low. 

But  whether  the  divine  restraints  are  merciful  or  vindictive,  they 
are  sure.  Wicked  men  are  governed  by  the  same  voice  that  con- 
trols the  waves  of  the  sea.  "Hitherto  shah  thou  come,  and  no 
farther  ;  and  here  shall  thy  proud  waves  be  stayed."  Till  cove- 
nant love  consent,  the  children  of  God  cannot  be  hurt  in  their  per- 
son, their  interest,  or  their  character,  by  the  ungodly.  A  plan  to 
injure  them  may  be  all  ripe  for  execution,  and  is  still  as  perfectly 
under  the  Divine  control  as  at  any  previous  moment.  J\Ien  may 
gnash  their  teeth,  under  the  agonies  of  painful  disappointment,  and 
curse  the  hand  that  restrains  them,  but  God  will  not  be  moved 
from  his  purpose,  nor  abandon  one  of  his  little  ones,  if  he  must  de- 
stroy a  world  to  protect  him. 

5.  When  their  work  is  done,  as  God  intended  it  should  be,  he 
will  punish  them,  for  not  doing  his  pleasure  from  right  motives. 
This  doctrine  i-;  exhibited  with  the  greatest  distinctness  in  the 
history  of  Sennacherib.  When  the  Lord  had  performed  his  whole 
work  upon  Mount  Zion  and  on  Jerusalem,  he  would  punish  the 
fruit  of  the  stout  heart  of  the  king  of  Assyria,  and  the  glory  of 
his  high  looks.  So  it  was  threatened  Babylon  that  she  should  be 
brought  down  to  hell,  to  the  sides  of  the  pit.  And  all  the  other 
nations  which  were  the  rod  of  God's  anger  to  Israel,  and  accom- 
plished his  decrees,  perished  for  injuring  the  Church.  So  the  na- 
tions that  slew  the  martyrs,  although  they  fulfilled  the  purpose  of 
God,  are  yet  to  suffer,  and  perhaps  perish,  for  that  sin. 

And  all  the  finally  impenitent  will  go  on  accomplishing  the  de- 
crees of  God,  with  a  heart  that  meaneth  not  so,  and  when  their 
work  is  done  must  perish  because  all  their  motives  were  wrong. 
Devils  are  doing  the  same  thing,  accomplishing  God's  design 
without  intending  it.  And  now  the  question  is,  How  is  God  to  be 
vindicated  in  this  procedure  ?  We  have  facts  in  the  case  still,  by 
winch  this  question  can  be  settled. 

First,  "  he  meaneth  not  so.'1  There  was  no  design  in  that 
proud  monarch  to  do  the  divine  pleasure  ;  else  surely  he  would 
not  have  so  blasphemed  the  God  he  would  serve.  It  never  enters 
into  the  heart  of  the  ungodly  to  do,  what  ultimately  they  will  accom- 
plish. And  it  is  a  maxim  with  men,  and  why  not  with  God,  that 
we  deserve  neither  credit  nor  reward,  for  the  good  we  do  without 
intention.  Suppose  there  operate  no  very  evil  design  in  an  act  that 
works  our  good,  if  there  he  the  absence  of  a  design  to  do  us  a  kind  ■ 
ness,  we  fee!  under  no  obligation  for  the  goo  I  that  is  done. 


490  THE    ENEMIES    OF    THE    CIItJRCn 

In  a  dark  and  cold  night,  you  call  for  hospitality  at  the  door  of 
some  stranger,  but  you  are  denied  lodgings,  and  come  home,  and 
find  your  house  on  fire,  and  extinguish  the  flames,  and  save  your 
house,  and  your  family.  Do  you  thank  that  man,  for  the  kindness 
which  his  inhumanity  did  you  1  Does  he,  on  hearing  of  the  event, 
feel  that  you  are  obligated  to  him  1  Or  does  he  have  but  the 
deeper  sense  of  his  own  baseness  1  It  is  then  a  plain  case,  that 
God  can  give  his  creatures  no  credit,  if  they  serve  him  without  in- 
tention. 

2.  A  fact  in  the  case  must  be  noticed  ;  "  It  is  in  his  heart  to 
destroy  and  cut  of  nations  not  a  few."  Not  only  was  there  in  the 
heart  of  the  Assyrian,  no  good  motive,  but  there  was  a  motive 
positively  bad  ;  and  still  he  did  the  pleasure  of  God.  Hence,  why 
should  he  not  be  punished  1  And  why  should  not  all  ungodly  men 
be  punished,  though  it  shall  at  last  appear,  that  they  have  accom- 
plished the  divine  purposes'!  "  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart, 
so  is  he."  One  gives  you  poison  intending  to  kill  you,  but  you 
have  some  obstinate  disease  upon  you,  and  the  poison  cures  you  ; 
is  he  the  less  a  murderer  1  Was  Mordecai  indebted  to  Haman  for 
his  advancement,  or  Daniel  to  the  princes  of  Babylon,  or  Joseph 
to  his  brethren  1 

Will  it  be  denied  that  all  unregenerate  men  act  from  wrong 
motives  1  Then  assuredly  their  motives  are  neither  positively  good 
nor  bad.  But  a  moral  agent  cannot  be  wholly  indifferent  with  re- 
gard to  God  and  his  law.  There  is  no  such  being  among  all  the 
creatures  of  God.  Our  motives  in  every  action  that  may  be  con- 
sidered moral,  must  be  positively  bad  or  positively  good.  Hence 
if  you  acknowledge  that  unrenewed  men  do  not  act  from  good 
motives,  and  this  must  be  true  or  they  are  Christians,  then  they  act 
from  bad  motives.     "  The  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  full  of  evil." 

Thus  every  unregenerate  man  is  thrown  upon  the  very  ground, 
where  stood  the  proud  and  impious  Assyrian.  Not  that  every 
mnn  is  accustomed  to  sin  with  that  boldness,  or  has  so  thrown  off* 
restraint,  as  he  had  ;  but  there  is  in  his  heart,  while  God  is  ren- 
dering him  serviceable  to  his  people,  the  absence  of  a  good  motive, 
and  the  presence  of  a  motive  positively  bad.  And  if  we  allow 
this,  we  justify  God  in  his  dealings  with  the  Assyrian,  and  thus 
approve  of  the  principle  on  which  the  last  judgment  will  proceed. 
I  close  witli 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  sovereignty  of  GoJ,  am!  the  agency  anil  accountability  of  the 
sinner,  are  associate  truths.     In  the  passage  we  have  contemplated, 


MADE    TO    PROMOTE    HER    INTERESTS.  4'J7 

God  makes  a  very  bad  man  do  his  pleasure,  and  still  pronounces 
him  free,  accountable  and  punishable,  in  these  very  deeds.  Hence 
sovereignty,  agency,  and  accountability,  concentre  in  the  very 
same  act  ;  and  if  compatible  once,  then  are  they  kindred  truths 
for  ever;  and  what  God  has  thus  joined,  let  no  man  put  asunder. 
If  Sennacherib  could  do  what  God  intended  he  should,  and  yet  act 
freely,  and  deserve  punishment,  another  sinner  may,  and  every 
sinner  does.  I  will  give  you  one  parallel  text:  I  could  give  you 
many.  "  Him,  being  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands  have 
crucified  and  slain."  What,  did  God  determine  the  deed,  and 
still  their  hands  wicked  who  did  it  1  Just  so  ;  or  the  mind  of  God 
lias  been  very  unhappily  expressed. 

Do  sinners  still  ask,  "  Why  doth  he  yet  find  fault  1"  We  an- 
swer, not  because  sinners  do  not  accomplish  his  purpose.  He 
never  thought  of  bringing  a  complaint  against  them  on  this  ground. 
He  will  take  care  that  his  purposes  be  accomplished.  Bui  he  has 
still  this  charge  against  them  that  they  mean  not  so.  To  please  God, 
men  must  not  merely  do  what  he  purposes  they  shall,  but  do  it 
with  an  intention  to  serve  and  honor  him.  He  has  a  right  to  the 
allegiance  of  the  heart.  The  meanest  parent  demands  this,  and 
thinks  his  child  disobedient  until  he  serves  him  with  design. 

2.  Ho  to  wrong  is  that  ?iotion,  that  if  the  matter  of  an  action  be 
correct,  it  is  of  no  importance  what  is  the  motive.  In  the  scrap  of 
sacred  history  that  we  have  contemplated,  the  whole  result,  as 
bearing  upon  the  agent,  turns  on  the  motive.  The  Assyrian  cor- 
rected the  Lord's  people,  this  was  well ;  but  he  meant  not  so.  and 
this  was  the  source  of  his  ruin.  His  motive  was,  butchery,  spoil, 
and  dominion  ;  this  brought  the  curse  of  God  upon  him.  He 
might  have  corrected  the  Lord's  people,  as  he  did  ;  and  accom- 
plished his  purpose,  as  he  did  ;  and  been  now  in  heaven,  if  only 
he  had  meant  so. 

Thus  is  established  a  general  principle  of  the  divine  government  ; 
the  motive  is  the  whole  that  God  will  notice.  If  men  will  be  i 
ful  on  this  one  point,  God  will  provide  for  the  residue.  I  hey  need 
have  no  fears  that  his  decrees  will  not  be  done,  and  that  exactly 
as  he  determined  ;  but  the  motives  with  which  they  arc  Anwc,  will 
decide  the  destiny  of  every  agent  employed,  from  the  beginning 
of  the  creation  to  the  last  day. 

3.  God  did  not  create  intelligent  beings  merely  that  he  might  de- 
stroy them.  His  ministers  have  been  represented,  as  making  this 
assertion;  or   advancing  sentiments   that  musl  lead    to  'his  result. 


■498  THE    ENEMIES    OF    THE    CHURCH 

Now  the  sovereignty  of  God,  as  taught,  in  this  discourse,  leads  to 
a  directly  opposite  result.  Here  we  see  him  employing  men,  of 
the  very  worst  character,  in  doing  good  ;  makes  them  correct  his 
people,  and  feed  them,  and  clothe  them,  and  sanctify  them,  and 
bless  them.  And  if  God  can  oblige  bad  men,  who  do  not  love 
him,  to  do  him  a  service  like  this,  and  still  leave  them  free,  and 
perm  it  them  to  be  as  happy  as  they  can  be,  and  will  at  last  merely 
demand  of  them  that  their  motives  were  good,  none  but  devils, 
and  men  desperately  hardened,  will  complain. 

They  all  have  liberty  to  attach  themselves  to  his  family,  and  be 
his  people,  and  be  served,  and  be  happy.  But  if  they  will  not  quit 
their  sins,  will  not  love  the  Savior,  and  will  not  serve  voluntarily, 
so  good  a  Master,  they  must  either  do  nothing,  that  shall  turn  to 
any  good  account,  or  God  must  employ  his  wisdom  and  his  power 
to  turn  all  they  do  into  a  blessing  to  his  people  ;  and  is  this  a 
hardship  1  For  my  life  I  cannot  see,  that  in  all  this  God  does  the 
impenitent  any  wrong.  Or  would  it  make  them  happy  to  know, 
that  on  their  way  to  perdition,  they  had  done  mischief  that  God 
himself  could  not  repair  !  ! 

I  should  think  from  what  I  know  of  God,  that  he  would  do  just 
so.  It  is  spoken  very  much  to  the  praise  of  Cromwell,  that  he 
could  employ  to  advantage  the  vilest  man  in  England.  And  it 
seems  to  me  that  every  good  man  must  be  glad,  as  every  angel 
is,  that  God  has  this  power,  and  this  wisdom.  "  And  again  they 
said,  Alleluia.     And  her  smoke  rose  up  for  ever  and  ever." 

If  any  would  prefer  not  to  serve  as  the  ungodly  do,  while  they 
mean  not  so,  but  prefer  to  do  the  voluntary  service  of  a  child,  they 
may,  and  this  is  the  very  thing  we  wish  and  what  God  wishes. 
You  need  not  build  a  Jerusalem,  in  which  you  are  not  to  dwell,  or 
a  temple  in  which  you  are  not  to  worship,  unless  you  prefer  the 
condition  of  a  slave,  to  that  of  a  son  or  daughter.  You  have  but 
to  come  in  at  the  invitation  of  the  Gospel,  and  you  may  in  an 
hour  belong  to  the  family  of  Christ. 

God  lets  you  do  what  you  please.  And  if  he  turns  your  mis- 
chief into  good,  this  cannot  hurt  you.  Serve  him  willingly,  and 
he  will  reward  you,  and  love  you.  0,  can  there  be  a  fairer  offer '. 
can  there  be  a  kinder  God  than  this  1  I  should  think  devils  would 
be  ashamed  to  complain  of  this  doctrine.  1  know  it  exalts  God, 
but  I  cannot  see,  if  the  life  of  my  soul  depended  on  it.  what  there 
is  hard,  or  cruel, .  oi  oppressive,  or  discouraging,  in  the  divine 
sovereignty.  If  men  choose  to  say,  that  God  is  not  sincere  in 
offering  them  mercy,  and  that   he    always  meant   to  destroy  them, 


MADE    TO    PROMOTE    HER    INTERESTS.  49(J 

after  making  them  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  in  the 
camp  of  Israel,  and  that  they  have  only  to  serve  and  then  perish  ; — 
if  they  will  give  divine  truth  this  construction,  and  thus  pervert  it 
to  their  own  ruin,  we  have  only  to  leave  them  in  the  hands  of  a 
sovereign  God,  and  rejoice  that  he  is  not  the  Jehovah  they  sup- 
pose him  to  be. 

Finally,  this  subject  must  afford  comfort  to  God's  people.  Here 
they  see  all  their  interests  identified  with  the  prosperity  of  God's 
kingdom,  and  he  determined  to  make  that  kingdom  happy,  and 
employing  for  this  purpose  all  beings  and  all  events.  If  their  ene- 
mies would  hurt  them,  he  puts  his  hook  in  their  nose,  and  his 
bridle  in  their  lips.  He  bids  them  "fear  not,"  and  has  pledged 
his  word,  that  all  things  shall  work  together  for  their  good.  He 
will  guide  them  with  his  counsel,  and  afterward  receive  them  to 
glory. 

Ye  happy  believers,  my  soul  casts  in  her  lot  with  you.  The 
God  we  serve  is  a  gracious,  and  a  mighty  God.  He  rolls  alono- 
the  spheres,  guides  the  events  of  every  hour,  manages  the  wrath 
of  man,  and  the  rage  of  devils,  controls  every  storm,  and  directs 
the  course  of  every  atom.  He  is  known  in  the  palaces  of  Zion 
for  a  refuge,  and  his  name  is  a  strong  tower  into  which  you  may 
run  and  be  safe,  whenever  alarm  comes  over  you. 

It  was  in  the  confidence  which  this  very  doctrine  inspires,  that 
the  Psalmist  could  say,  "Though  an  host  should  encamp  against 
me,  my  heart  shall  not  fear."  A  people  so  shielded,  so  served, 
and  so  beloved,  can  want  only  a  song,  equal  to  the  gratitude  they 
owe  their  Lord.  They  may  keep  at  their  Master's  work,  high 
in  the  confidence  that  he  will  never  leave  them,  never  forsake 
them.     Amen. 


SERMON   XLIII. 

WRATH  CONQUERED  BY  LOVE. 

ROMANS    XII.    21. 
3e  not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good. 

A  very  good  man  once  said,  "  If  there  is  any  one  particular  tem- 
per I  desire  more  than  another,  it  is  the  grace  of  meekness ;  quiet- 
ly to  bear  ill  treatment,  to  forget  and  forgive  ;  and  at  the  same 
time  that  I  am  sensible  I  am  injured,  not  to  be  overcome  of  evil, 
but  to  overcome  evil  with  good."  But  this  sentiment,  be  it  re- 
membered, could  be  learned  only  from  heaven.  It  did  not  belong 
to  the  systems  of  heathen  philosophy.  In  them  it  was  taught,  that 
to  forgive,  till  revenge  had  been  taken,  was  weakness.  To  swear 
undying  wrath,  and  plot  the  most  summary  redress,  and  sleep  not 
till  the  enterprise  was  accomplished,  all  this  was  the  height  of  vir- 
tue. And  above  this  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  unsanctified  hu- 
man nature  will  rise.  Hence  every  unchristian  land  is  a  field  of 
blood.  "  The  dark  places  of  the  earth  are  full  of  the  habitations 
of  cruelty." 

At  the  dawn  of  the  age  of  mercy,  a  Pliny  said,  but  had  learned 
sentiment  from  that  very  religion  he  affected  to  despise,  "I 
esteem  him  the  best  good  man,  who  forgives  others,  as  though  he 
were  every  day  faulty  himself;  and  who  at  the  same  time  abstains 
from  faults,  as  if  he  pardoned  no  one."  But  it  was  one  from  hea- 
ven, who  had  long  enjoyed  the  harmony  of  happy  spirits,  and  had 
himself  the  power  to  mould  the  hearts  of  men  into  his  own  image  ; 
who  came  down  in  all  the  amiableness  of  God,  and  taught  the 
world  principles  of  kindness  ;  that  to  forgive  is  possible,  and  that 
the  meek  are  blessed.  His  conduct  accorded  with  his  principles. 
When  smitten  on  the  one  cheek  he  turned  the  other.  When  led 
as  ;i  hunt)  lo  the  slaughter,  he  opened  not  his  mouth,  and  when 
nailed  to  the  tree,  he  merely  prayed  for  those  who  drove  the  nails, 
and  plead  in  their  behalf  that  they  knew  not  what  they  did.  When 
lie  quit  the  world,  he  made  it  one  of  his  last  acts,  to  engrave  upoc 


WRATH    CONQUERED    BY    LOVE.  501 

the  hearts  of  his  followers,  as  with  the  point  of  a  diamond  upon  a 
rock,  the  very  next  text  I  have  read  you.  Its  spirit  has  constitut- 
ed ever  since,  and  will  while  the  earth  is  blessed  with  a  trace  of 
his  religion,  the  leading  and  prominent  social  virtue  of  his  people. 
It  is  that  feature  of  their  Master  which  if  they  do  not  wear,  they 
cannot  now  be  recognized,  nor  can  be  known  when  they  come  to 
heaven. 

Suffer  me  to  make  three  inquiries,  When  may  it  be  considered 
that  one  is  overcome  of  evil  \  How  may  we  save  ourselves  from 
the  shame  and  the  injury  of  being  thus  vanquished!  and,  How 
may  we  overcome  evil  with  good  \ 

I.  When  may  it  be  considered  that  one  is  overcome  of  evil  1  This 
is  a  calamity  that  may  doubtless  happen  to  the  good  man,  but  is 
a  matter  of  every  day's  occurrence  to  the  multitudes  of  the  un- 
godly.    I  remark,  then,  that  a  man  is  overcome  of  evil, 

1.  When  ill  treaatment  excites  the  angry  passions,  and  produces 
harsh  and  ill  natu red  language,  [n  this  snare  unsanctified  men  are 
caught  daily.  Even  men  of  correct  habits  are  sometimes  surpris- 
ed by  sudden  and  unexpected  abuse,  and  rage  when  they  should 
reason.  But  in  every  such  case  much  is  lost,  and  nothing  gained. 
To  lose  our  recollection  and  temper,  and  thus  be  brought  down  to 
a  level  with  the  man,  whom  we  should  rather  have  held  in  digni- 
fied and  Christian  contempt,  is  to  be  in  a  very  uncomfortable  sense 
overcome  or  conquered.  This  unhappy  result  was  perhaps  the 
very  design  of  the  onset.  The  foe  has  gained  his  whole  object, 
and  his  antagonist  is  vanquished. 

2.  One  is  still  more  completely  overcome  of  evil,  when  he  settles 
down  into  confirmed  hatred  of  the  offender.  He  gives  place  to  the 
devil,  and  lets  the  sun  go  down  upon  his  wrath.  By  suffering 
anjier  to  rest  in  his  bosom,  he  becomes  in  God's  esteem  a  fool. 
His  passions  have  the  mastery  over  him,  and  he  becomes  and  re- 
mains a  conquered  man.  And  as  he  pores  again  and  again  over 
the  insult  that  at  first  unmanned  him,  and  thus  deepens  the  tone 
of  his  anrrer,  he  may  be  seen  in  a  figure  putting  chains  upon  him- 
self, and  rivetting  the  very  fetters  that  bind  him.  Hardly  may  he 
be  said  to  wish  an  escape  from  his  bondage,  or  to  make  the  least 
effort  to  break  the  chain  that  holds  him.  And  not  the  miseries  of 
an  Algerine  bondage,  could  more  jade  the  spirits  or  vex  the  heart. 
It  may  be,  too,  that  the  foe  was  one  whom  in  his  calmer  moments 
he  would  disdain  to  set  with  the  dogs  of  his  flock.  Yet  he  has 
done  the  very  deed  he  intended  to  do,  and  glories  in    his   victory. 


502  WRATH    CONQUERED    BY    LOVE. 

How  unhappy,  that  one  should   be   thus   rendered  a  captive  and  a 
slave,  by  suffering  his  passions  to  rise  upon  him,  and  bind  him. 

3.  One  is  overcome  of  evil  when  he  indulges  designs  of  revenge. 
The  Divine  injunction  is,  that  we  return  good  for  evil,  that  we 
love  them  that  hate  us,  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  us. 
If  the  enemy  hunger  we  are  to  feed  him,  if  he  thirst  we  are  to 
give  him  drink,  and  thus  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head.  By  no- 
other  means  can  we  so  readily  conquer  our  foes.  We  use  in  this 
case  a  weapon  whose  thrust  they  can  neither  parry  nor  endure, 
under  which  they  melt  and  perish. 

But  when  we  take  the  opposite  course,  and  return  evil  for  evil, 
we  grant  the  foe  a  victory.  We  suffer  ourselves  to  be  driven  from 
the  delightful  duty  of  doing  good  to  all  men,  the  only  post  where 
we  can  be  happy.  The  foe  who  invades  our  land,  and  drives  us 
from  our  farm  and  our  home,  has  not  gained  a  point,  to  him  more 
dear,  or  to  us  more  disastrous  ;  for  not  the  family  and  the  fireside 
yield  us  better  comforts  than  the  habit  of  doinaf  good  as  we  have 
opportunity.  No  wealth  will  buy  a  luxury  like  it.  Money  will 
purchase  food,  and  raiment,  and  ease,  and  influence.  But  the 
habit  of  blessing  others  with  kindnesses,  of  making  glad  every 
heart  about  us,  this  is  angel's  food.  The  recollection  of  good 
done,  can  make  calm  the  surges  of  adversity,  and  render  light  the 
gloomiest  evening.  It  has  produced  a  smile  upon  the  brow  of 
death. 

It  is  when  nothing  can  hinder  us  from  doing  good,  that  we  are 
like  God.  He  sends  rain  upon  the  just  and  upon  the  unjust.  Now 
who  will  deny,  that  when  injuries  prevent  us  from  acting  like  God, 
we  are  overcome  of  evil.  We  cease  then,  for  the  time  being,  to 
have  any  right  to  say,  that  we  are  the  children  of  our  Father  in 
heaven,  who  causeth  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good. 
And  what  result  more  painful,  and  more  degrading,  could  any  foe 
desire,  than  thus  to  dislodge  us  from  all  the  comforts  and  privileg- 
es of  adoption. 

4.  We  are  overcome  of  evil,  when  the  ill  treatment  of  one,  leads 
us  to  suspect  the  friendship  of  others.  If  to  some  extent  it  should 
be  the  fact,  that  suffering  one  instance  of  abuse,  should  draw  up- 
on us  the  necessity  of  suffering  other  abuses,  and  the  treachery 
of  one  friend  make  others  treacherous  ;  still  this  is  far  oftener 
true  in  imagination  than  in  reality.  In  the  gloomy  moments  of 
suffering  injury,  we  are  often  induced  to  believe  a  lie.  An  indi- 
vidual  may  treat  us  rudely  and  unkindly,  and  he  may  be  the  only 
one  in  the  whole  circle  of  our  acquaintance,  who  would  be  willing 


WRATH    COiNQUERED    BY    LOVE.  -J    -J 

to  injure  us.  The  contrary  apprehension  is  begotten  by  the 
gloominess  of  the  mind.  And  we  are  sometimes  so  ungenerous 
as  to  believe  ourselves  abandoned  by  a  whole  list  of  friends, 
because  one  has  proved  treacherous.  Thus  we  are  plunged  into 
distress,  are  ready  to  say  that  all  men  are  liars,  and  by  our  Ground- 
less suspicion,  and  consequent  coldness  and  distrust,  produce  the 
very  miseries  we  forebode.  Our  apprehensions  are  the  very  de 
mons  that  break  the  tie  of  friendship,  and  dissolve  the  bonds  of 
brotherhood.  They  beget  distance,  caution,  jealousy,  and  neglect, 
and  the  result  is  abandonment  and  hatred.  Thus  in  an  evil  hour 
we  draw  upon  ourselves  the  very  miseries  we  might  avoid,  and 
the  foe  is  suffered  to  inflict  a  wound  deeper  and  deadlier  than  he 
had  hoped  to.  The  bonds  of  friendship  are  sundered,  the  peace 
of  the  mind  is  destroyed,  the  interests  of  Zion  are  injured,  and 
the  foe  sits  and  smiles  in  his  ambush  at  the  miseries  we  inflict  up- 
on ourselves.     We  are  overcome  of  evil. 

5.  We  are  more  yet  completely  overcome  of  evil,  when  abtise 
begets  habitual  sourness  of  temper.  When  God  does  not  prevent  by 
his  grace,  long  protracted  injuries,  inflicted  by  insidious  foes,  are 
prone  to  produce  this  unhappy  result.  The  spirits  are  jaded  by 
adversity,  and  become  expert  in  transferring  odium  from  one  per- 
son or  thing  to  another,  till  very  soon  it  can  be  expanded  over  the 
whole  creation  of  God.  There  is  begotten  an  acid  temper,  and 
the  very  landscape  is  robed  in  gloom.  The  irritated  master 
wreaks  his  vengeance  upon  the  unoffending  slave.  The  innocent 
child  dreads  the  return  of  his  ill  natured  father,  and  the  very  wife 
turns  pale,  when  some  foe  has  kindled  anger  in  the  bosom  of  her 
husband.  The  indulgence  of  one  unkind  affection,  like  some  lep- 
rosy, infuses  its  poison  through  the  whole  soul.  The  eye  it  looks 
through  becomes  a  contaminated  medium,  and  transfers  its  own 
disease  to  every  object  of  its  vision.  The  man  had  a  friendly 
heart,  but  he  becomes  a  misanthrope;  he  did  enjoy  society,  but 
would  now  be  content  with  a  hermitage  ;  he  prized  Christian  fel- 
lowship, but  he  doubts  now  whether  piety  itself  can  make  an  hon- 
est man.     How  evidently  is  such  a  man  overcome  of  evil. 

6.  One  is  overcome  of  evil,  when  he  attempts  unnecessarily  a  pub- 
lic vindication  of  his  character.  I  say  unnecessarily,  for  it  cannot 
be  denie  1  that  a  good  man,  without  his  wish,  may  be  forced  into 
such  a  measure.  Often  is  this  the  very  object  which  some  mali- 
cious foe  would  accomplish.  He  knows  perhaps,  what  is  too  true, 
that  the  best  character  will  suffer  by  handling,  and  when  lie  cannot 
catch  the  good  man  in  crime,  will  compass  his  wishes  if  lie  can  so 


504  WKATH    CONQUERED    BY    LOVE. 

fix  imputation,  as  to  force  him  to  go  into  r.  proof  of  his  inno- 
cence. Conscious  that  he  cannot  himself  establish  the  positive,  he 
would  put  the  virtue  he  hates  upon  proving  the  negative,  or  of 
perishing. 

He  issues  his  libel,  invents  circumstances  that  shall  favor  it, 
employs  all  the  truth  he  can,  in  corroboration  of  his  falsehood,  and 
where  truth  fails  to  fill  out  the  picture,  he  scruples  not  to  employ 
a  lie.  He  would  try  both  your  temper  and  your  reputation. 
Screened  from  view,  he  would  cast  filth  upon  you,  and  amuse  him- 
self and  others  to  see  you  wipe  it  off.  He  hopes  there  may  be 
si  mi.'  spot  indelible,  or  that  you  may  sin  in  the  act  of  establishing 
your  innocence. 

Now  the  snare  is  laid.  But  calmness,  and  reflection,  and  prayer, 
may  easily  be  victorious.  Good  character  cannot  be  hurt  but  by 
its  owner.  The  tongue  of  slander  may  injure  for  a  moment  the 
stranirer,  but  good  conduct  will  invariably  sustain  good  character 
And  it  has  come  at  length  to  be  noted  as  a  suspicious  circum- 
stance, when  we  court  the  aid  of  law  and  counsel  to  defend  our 
reputation.  It  was  a  shrewd  remark  of  Dr.  Mather,  "  The  malice 
of  an  ill  tongue  cast  upon  a  good  character,  is  like  a  mouthful  of 
smoke  blown  upon  a  diamond,  which  at  present  may  obscure  its 
beauty,  but  is  easily  rubbed  off  and  the  gem  restored  to  its  pristine 
lustre."  "  Depraved  as  the  world  is,"  said  a  man  of  long  experi- 
ence, "  let  them  have  your  character,  and  though  they  may  handle 
it  roughly,  they  will  ultimately  restore  it  whole  as  they  found  it.'' 
But  let  them  see  that  their  attacks  enrage  you,  and  put  you  off 
your  guard,  or  place  you  in  a  quixotic  attitude  of  arming  yourself 
for  a  conflict  with  a  shadow,  and  their  object  is  accomplished,  and 
you  are  overcome  of  evil. 

II.  How  may  we  save  ourselves  from  the  shame  and  i?ijury  of  being 
thus  vanquished!  It  is  possible,  no  doubt,  to  obey  the  injunction 
of  the  text,  as  well  as  any  other  in  the  whole  list  of  precepts. 
There  are  exertions  which  if  we  make,  with  a  proper  sense  of  our 
dependence  on  God,  will  enable  us  in  the  most  evil  day  to  stand. 
Let  us  then,  in  the 

I.  Place,  bear  it  strongly  in  mind,  That  he  who  would daignedhj  in- 
jure its,  does  himself  a  greater  injury.  There  is  in  nature,  or  rather 
in  the  divine  purpose,  a  principle  of  prompt  and  powerful  reaction. 
Let  one  attack  your  character,  and  sure  as  life  he  hurts  his  own. 
Let  him  spread  an  ill  report,  and  that  report  will  recoil  upon  his  own 
reputation.     He  will  be  considered  a  slanderer.     If  one   act   will 


WRATH    CONQUERED    BY    LOVE.  505 

not  fix  upon  him  this  stigma,  that  very  impunity  will  induce  hint 
to  repeat  the  deed,  till  the  character  he  deserves  will  adhere  to  him. 
Thus  he  suffers,  and  not  you. 

Or  would  he  merely  disturb  your  peace,  let  him  but  alone,  and 
his  own  peace  is  injured  more  than  yours.  God  can  give  you  a 
peace,  that  nothing  can  disturb.  If  you  must  unjustly  suffer,  God 
can  support  you  and  comfort  you,  but  this  he  will  not  do  for  the 
man  who  wrongs  you.  His,  on  reflection,  will  be  the  shame,  and 
the  guilt,  and  the  remorse,  of  a  deed  which  God  will  not  justify. 
The  wound  he  intended  for  you,  will  rankle  in  his  own  bosom. 

Now  if  the  man  who  intended  to  injure  us,  has  wounded  himself, 
then  we  should  pity  him,  and  pray  for  him,  and  not  study  a  dupli 
cate  revenge.  There  opens  upon  us  the  delightful  opportunity,  to 
bind  up  his  wounds,  and  pour  in  oil  and  wine,  and  we  may  have 
luxury  to  forget  and  forgive — a  luxury  which  the  whole  herd  of 
evil  doers  never  lasted. 

Or  be  it  our  temporal  interest  they  would  hurt,  or  our  influenc-e, 
there  is  but  this  one  issue  to  all  the  operations  of  malevolence — 
the  curse  lights  upon  the  perpetrators.  Their  violent  dealings 
shall  come  down  upon  their  own  head.  They  are  taken  in  their 
own  snare. 

2.  If  we  resist  evil,  we  are  invariably  injured.  The  foe  is  the 
more  courageous,  the  more  fierce  and  prompt  the  repulse  he  meets 
with.  He  exhibits  now  a  prowess  that  he  could  never  have  sum- 
moned, had  he  coped  with  mere  non-resistance.  A  slanderous  re- 
port is  repeated  and  magnified,  because  it  has  been  wrathfully 
contradicted.  The  presumption  is  that  when  the  mis-statement 
shall  have  varied  its  shape  and  attitude,  it  can  be  imposed  upon 
the  credulous  as  a  new  fact,  that  shall  go  to  corroborate  the  old. 
And  let  resistance  be  kept  up,  and  soon  the  insulated  charge  be- 
comes a  long  catalogue  of  crimes,  that  go  to  establish  each  other, 
and  render  unquestionable  the  whole  series  of  allegations.  Now 
it  is  hoped  that  the  world  will  say,  such  a  host  of  imputations 
cannot  want  for  some  foundation  in  fact.  The  charge  oi  intem- 
perance corroborates  that  of  fraud  and  falsehood.  The  testimony 
of  two  liars,  when  they  substantially  agree,  and  there  has  been  no 
concert,  may  establish  the  truth. 

Thus  charges  which  are  all  false,  and  are  multiplied  by  resist- 
ance, are  made  to  prop  each  other,  till  there  is  begotten  suspicion 
that  never  need  have  been.  And  the  needless  attempt  at  investi- 
gation fixes  the  impression,  that  character  is  crumbling,  and  that  a 
still  bolder  push  will  be  accompanied  with  comulete  success.   Thus 


506  WRATH    COXQUTEBliD    BY    LOVE. 

by  wrestling  with  the  blast,  we  are  liable  to  be  discomfited,  when 
had  we  lain  down  and  been  quiet,  the  storm  would  bave  beat  upon 
us  a  little,  and  passed  over,  and  we  should  have  seen  the  sun  again 
in  all  his  brigbtness.  The  foe  intended  to  render  us  unhappy,  and 
he  learns  that  he  has,  and  hopes  most  cordially  that  another  onset 
iimy  undo  us.  But  let  him  see  that  you  remain  unmoved,  that  his 
attack  has  not  even  discomposed  you,  that  you  are  invulnerable  as 
the  rock,  and  he  must  be  the  veriest  idiot  if  he  draws  another  arrow 
from  his  quiver.     Hence,  said  the  poet, 

"  Tempest  will  rive  the  stijfest  oak, 
Cedars  with  all  their  pride  are  broke, 
Beneath  the  fury  of  that  stroke, 
Which  never  harms  the  willows." 

3.  It  will  culm  us  in  an  hour  of  onset,  to  feel  that  wicked  men  are 
God's  sword.  From  him  we  deserve  all  the  evil  that  the  most 
malicious  foe  can  inflict.  True,  men  are  none  the  less  free  agents, 
and  accountable,  because  they  are  the  rod  and  the  staff  in  the 
hand  of  the  Lord.  But  it  would  argue  a  want  of  submission  to 
parental  restraint,  should  the  child  seem  angry  at  the  rod.  It  is 
our  consolation  to  know  that  God  holds  our  enemies  in  his  hand, 
directs  every  wound  they  shall  inflict,  and  has  promised  to  restrain 
their  wrath,  when  it  will  not  praise  him.  He  has  put  his  hook  in 
their  nose,  and  his  bridle  in  their  lips,  and  will  in  due  time,  when 
he  has  sufficiently  humbled  his  people,  lead  their  enemies  back  by 
the  way  that  they  came. 

Hence,  when  ungodly  men  would  do  us  injury,  it  should  rather 
awaken  our  p\ty  for  them,  than  our  anger  against  them.  We  have 
a  divine  illustration  exactly  in  point,  and  conscious  ill  desert  should 
ever  lead  us  to  say  with  David,  in  reference  to  Shiinei,  "  Let  him 
curse,  for  the  Lord  hath  bidden  him."  "  Why  doth  a  living  man 
complain,  a  man  for  the  punishment  of  his  sins  V  If  the  men  who 
injure  us  are  to  be  the  instruments  of  our  sanctification,  and  then, 
unless  the  grace  of  God  interpose,  are  to  be  the  objects  of  his 
everlasting  displeasure,  be  their  designs  never  so  base,  how  can 
ive  feel  otherwise  than  pitiful  and  kind  ? 

4.  It  will  be  a  timely  and  sweet  refection,  for  a  period  of  abuse, 
that  ill-treatment  is  among  the  all  things  that  shall  work  together  for 
>ur  good.  Trials  may  come  from  a  quarter  unexpected,  and  from 
chose  who  owe  us  the  kindest  treatment.  We  took  sweet  counsel 
with  them,  and  went  to  the  house  of  God  in  company.  Be  it  even 
so,  still  faith  assures  us   that  their  injuries  will  bless  .us,  will  sane- 


WRATH    CONQUERED    BY    LOVE.  507 

tify  us,  and  help  us  on  in  our  preparation  for  the  enjoyment  of 
God  in  his  kingdom.  This  one  question  settled,  and  I  will  inflict 
no  wound  upon  my  adversary.  He  is  doing  me  everlasting  o-ood, 
and  though  he  mean  not  so,  still  I  cannot  injure  him  who  is  con- 
strained to  be  my  benefactor.  I  will  forgive  him  before  he  asks 
forgiveness,  and  will  exert  myself  to  induce  him  to  pass  on  to 
heaven  with  me.  And  if  unsuccessful,  still  the  promise,  "  I  will 
never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee,"  will  bear(my  spirits  up  through 
the  darkest  and  dreariest  hour. 

5.  It  should  ever  be  our  reflection  in  the  hour  of  attack,  that  to  be 
like  Christ,  we  must  not  resist  evil.  "  He  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened 
not  his  mouth."  He  passed  meekly  through  torrents  of  abuse. 
It  poured  in  upon  him,  wave  after  wave,  but  he  stood,  a  rock. 
When  they  would  catch  him  in  his  words,  he  spoke  wisely  and 
kindly.  When  they  would  stone  him,  he  inquired  for  which  of 
his  kind  deeds  they  did  it.  When  that  fiend  of  midnight  betrayed 
him,  after  joining  in  the  Pascal  supper,  and  having  long  borne  the 
badge  of  discipleship,  how  meekly  he  inquired,  "Betray est  thou 
the  Son  of  Man  with  a  kiss  1"  Now  would  we  be  followers  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  the  track  is  plain;  we  must  not  suffer  ourselvei  to  be 
overcome  of  evil. 

Finally,  there  is  the  direct  command  of  God.  No  precept  can  be 
more  binding  than  the  text.  To  indulge  a  vindictive  spirit  is  an 
infringement  upon  the  Divine  prerogative.  "Vengeance  is  mine, 
I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord."  There  is  a  day  of  retribution  ap- 
pointed, and  one  is  constituted  judge  who  cannot  err.  In  the  hour 
of  conflict  we  have  only  to  refer  men  to  that  day  when  every 
wrong  will  be  rectified.  And  if  our  sufferings  are  prolonged,  still 
the  years  of  heaven  will  run  on  till  they  are  all  forgotten.  A 
Christian  is  but  a  pardoned  rebel,  and  may  not  avenge  himself. 
And  all  others  may  well  fear  to  be  vindictive,  lest  wrath  come 
upon  them  to  the  uttermost.  With  the  same  measure  that  we 
mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  us  again. 

III.  How  may  toe  overcome  evil  with  good?  To  do  this  will  re- 
quire the  sacrifice  of  bad  passions.  The  unrenewed  heart  has  a 
keen  relish  for  revenge.  Not  the  most  delicious  food  pleases  the 
palate  better.  But  this  malicious  appetite  the  grace  of  <;<>  I  must 
subdue,  ere  the  heaven-born  principle  in  the  text  can  be  adopted  : 
a  sufficient  reason  why  the  heathen  have  never  imbibed  the  spirit 
of  meekness.     Parents  taught  their  chil  Iren  to  retain  anger.     In- 


508  WRATH    CONQUERED    BY    LOVE. 

stance  the  father  of  Annibal,  whose  dying  injunction  to  his  son 
was,  that  he  should  never  forgive  the  Romans  :  this  precept  he 
must  swear  he  would  obey.  And  many  children  learn  of  their 
parents  now  the  same  lesson.  They  are  apt  to  learn,  and  they 
often  have  precept  and  practice  to  teach  them.  "  Cursed  parents ! 
Cursed  children  !" 

But  let  the  heart  be  once  subdued  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  the 
lesson  of  the  text  is  easily  learned.  The  doctrine  is  simply  this. 
If  one  treats  us  unkindly,  we  must  treat  him  well.  If  he  defame, 
let  us  say  the  kindest  things  possible  of  him.  If  he  hurt  our  in- 
terest, let  us  advance  his.  If  he  expose  our  faults,  let  us  cover 
his.  If  he  will  not  oblige  us,  we  must  do  kindnesses  to  him.  If 
he  deals  reproach,  we  must  practice  no  retort.  If  he  curse  us  we 
must  pray  for  him  ;  if  he  hunger  we  must  feed  him,  and  if  he  thirst 
give  him  drink.  If  he  smite  us  on  the  one  cheek,  turn  the  other. 
In  one  word,  when  he  has  done  his  best  to  injure  us,  let  us  do  our 
best  to  bless  and  comfort  him. 

It  may  be  well,  when  possible,  to  do  another  good  in  the  very 
article  in  which  he  has  intended  our  hurt.  This  will  be  entering 
tin'  list  with  him,  and  will  bring  our  virtues  into  a  close  compari- 
son with  his  iniquities  ;  thus  shall  we  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his 
head,  and  he  be  not  a  rock,  shall  melt  and  subdue  him.  When  we 
would  overcoire  an  enemy  with  kindness,  we  make  his  conscience 
our  ally,  and  bring  him  to  hate  himself  and  respect  us.  Then  his 
weapons  recoil  upon  his  own  head,  and  his  violent  dealings  come 
down  upon  his  own  pate.     We  conquer  him  by  love. 

But  in  every  effort  of  this  nature  we  must  feel  kindly.  A  conn 
terfeit  affection  will  not  bear  us  through.  The  heart  must  he 
primarily  consulted  in  every  such  act  of  Christian  revenue.  Else 
the  hypocrisy  will  be  evident,  and  the  defeat  certain.  When  Paul 
said  to  the  high  priest,  who  had  commanded  him  to  be  unlawfully 
smitten,  "  God  shall  smite  thee,  thou  whited  wall,"  he  neither 
obeyed  the  injunction  of  the  text,  nor  was  in  a  proper  state  of 
mind  to  obey  it.  Not  even  piety  will  render  it  certain  that  we 
shall  feel  kindly  under  abuse.  In  the  blessed  Jesus  we  have  the 
only  example  that  never  failed.  He  was  proof  against  every 
attack.  The  only  case  in  which  he  exhibited  the  appearance  of 
anger,  was  when  his  Father's  house  was  made  a  den  of  thieves; 
and  then  he  was  angry  without  sin.  Let  our  temper  be  like  his, 
and  we  shall  find  it  easy  to  do  right ;  and  to  be  like  him,  we  are 
infinitely  obligated. 

It  may  greatly  help   us,  when  w      come    in    contact  with  unhal- 


WRATH    CONQUERED    BY    LOVE.  509 

lowed  passions,  to  reflect,  that  not  certainly  is  the  mnn  our  enemy, 
who  may  be  tempted  to  treat  us  unkindly.  When  he  has  done  us 
this  one  injury,  if  we  bear  it  with  a  Christian  temper,  he  may  re- 
main kindly  disposed  to  us,  may  become  a  firm  and  steady  friend  : 
while  our  wrath  and  revenge  may  erect  him  into  a  subtle  and  dan- 
gerous enemy.  He  may  have  made  his  onset  upon  us  in  an  hour 
of  irritation,  and  may  be  in  an  hour,  more  ashamed  of  himself  than 
we  are  of  him. 

Is  the  offender  an  ungodly  man,  there  is  a  single  thought  that 
must  prepare  us  to  meet  his  rage  with  calmness.  He  has  no 
treasure  in  the  heavens.  He  is  passing  on  to  the  blackness  of 
darkness  for  ever.  We  shall  see  him  when  a  few  days  have  gone 
by,  unless  the  grace  of  God  prevent,  covered  with  shame  and  con- 
fusion. His  harvest  will  be  passed  and  his  summer  ended,  and  he 
not  saved.  And  can  we  be  angry  to-day  with  one  who  is  to  perish 
to-morrow  \  Can  any  sensation  but  pity  control  us,  while  we  see 
a  deluded  man  raving  on  the  very  threshold  of  perdition  1 

Or  is  the  offender  a  Christian,  then  how  it  should  shame  us  to 
become  angry  with  him.  Angry  with  a  brother,  a  follower  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  !  He  could  not  intend  me  wrong  ;  his  judgment  erred  ; 
he  will  as'<  forgiveness,  before  the  sun  goes  down,  of  God  and  of 
me.  The  followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  bite  and  devour  one  an- 
other !  "  0,  tell  it  not  in  Gath  ;  publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of 
Aska'lon  !"  The  Savior  must  not  be  so  wounded  in  the  house  of 
his  friends.  Let  me  have,  [  will  not  say  my  religion,  let  me  have 
my  reason  in  exercise,  and  I  will  bear  any  thing  from  a  child  of 
God.  For  my  right  hand,  I  will  not  raise  it  against  one  who  is 
heir  with  me  to  an  inheritance  in  the  skies,  and  is  to  help  me 
adore  the  Lamb  for  ever.  Joint  heirs  with  Jesus  Christ  !  what,  a 
binding  influence  has  this  thought  upon  Christian  hearts. 

REMARKS. 

1.  How  highly  should  we  value  our  Bibles  which  teach  us  this 
amiable  lesson.  But  for  this  book,  we  had  never  learned  how  to  re- 
ceive an  injury,  or  forgive  one.  It  belongs  not  to  human  nature, 
untaught  from  heaven,  to  invent  such  a  sentiment  as  the  text.  Our 
parents  hail  been  tierce  and  cruel,  and  they  had  taught  US  to  he 
implacable,  had  not  the  Bible  been  the  associate  of  oar  home. 
And  how  this  one  heavenly  principle  lessens  the  miseries  o|  hu- 
man life  !  \\<\v  many  the  wrongs  it  obliterates,  and  how  many  ol 
the  social  en  I  >arments  it  begets  !  Precious  book,  be  thou  the  in* 
mati-  of  my  bosom,  till  the  spirit  shall  quit  its  house  of  clay  ! 

2.  This  subject  will  teach  us  to  pity    the    heathen.     Their   end- 


510  WRATH    CONQUERED    BY    LOVE. 

less  quarrels  are  because  they  have  no  Bible.  They  would  let 
their  children,  their  widows,  their  sick,  and  their  aged  live,  if  they 
had  a  Bible.  They  would  forgive  their  enemies  and  be  meek,  and 
benevolent,  and  gracious,  had  they  not  been  without  the  book  that 
leaches  these  heavenly  lessons.  Send  them  a  few  of  your  Bibles, 
and  they  will  soon  beat  their  swords  into  plowshares,  and  their 
spears  into  pruning-hooks,  and  those  vast  fields  of  blood  will  be 
transformed  into  the  garden  of  the  Lord.  He  will  accompany  his 
word  with  his  Spirit. 

3.  How  happy  the  period  of  the  Millenium.  The  Bible  will 
then  have  its  legitimate  influence,  and  there  will  prevail  the  very 
spirit  inculcated  in  the  text.  In  what  noble  figures  does  the 
prophet  teach  us  this  truth,  "  The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the 
lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid ;  and  the  calf  and 
the  young  lion  and  the  Catling  together  ;  and  a  little  child  shall 
lead  them.  And  the  cow  and  the  bear  shall  feed ;  their  young 
ones  shall  lie  down  together  ;  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the 
ox.  And  the  sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  asp,  and 
the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cocatrice-den.  They 
shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain  :  for  the  earth 
shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea."  You  have  often  read  this  precious  text.  How  happy  the 
eyes  that  are  not  closed  upon  the  scenes  of  life,  till  that  sweet 
morning  has  come,  and  all  these  tumults,  that  keep  this  world  a 
wilderness,  have  subsided  !  May  some  favored  child  of  mine  live 
to  see  that  happy  period. 

4.  Let  us  learn,  brethren,  whether  that  day  approaches.  It  will 
not  burst  upon  us  in  a  moment.  There  will  be  a  gradual  increase 
of  that  spirit  which  the  text  inculcates;  till  every  parent  will  teach 
it  to  his  children,  and  every  child  will  love  to  learn.  From  the 
family  circle  it  will  spread  out  over  the  whole  land,  and  render  it 
Immanuel's  land,  a  mountain  of  holiness  and  a  habitation  of  right- 
eousness. Do  we  see  an  increase  of  this  spirit  \  Do  we  feel  it  in 
our  hearts  1  Does  it  go  out  to  view  in  our  daily  deportment  ! 
Then  the  day  approaches. 

5.  This  subject  will  try  our  piety.  Can  we  overcome  evil  with 
good  1  Does  the  tiger  or  the  lamb,  predominate  in  our  social  in- 
tercourse 1  When  we  receive  abuse,  with  what  temper  do  we 
act  1  To  this  test  our  religion  must  nt  last  be  brought,  and  by 
this  and  other  similar  tests,  the  question  must  be  decided,  whether 
we  can  be  happy  with  angels,  or  must  make  our  bed  in  the  pit. 
Will  God  sanctify  us  by  his  Spirit,  and  fit  us  all  to  dwell  in  u 
peaceful  happy  world.     Amen. 


SERMON     XL  IV. 

A  BRAND  PLUCKED  FROM  THE  FIRE. 

LUKE    XXIII.    43. 
To-day  shall  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise. 

The  sc^ne  of  the  crucifixion  was,  in  many  respects,  the  most 
awfully  interesting  that  ever  human  eyes  witnessed.  Many  thino-s 
combined  10  create  this  interest :  the  time,  the  place,  the  motley 
mixture  of  character  among  both  the  persecuted  and  the  perse- 
cutors, the  miracles  wrought,  the  worlds  interested  in  the  event,  all 
conspired  to  render  the  moment  like  no  other  since  the  wheels  of 
time  began  to  move.  Angels  gazed,  and  devils,  at  the  whole 
scene,  and  probably  every  world  in  being  was  interested. 

And  yet,  in  all  this  scene,  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  dying  thief  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  circum- 
stances. Here  was  seen  all  the  <jrace  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  with  it 
the  supremacy  of  his  power.  He  proved  himself  the  Alpha  and 
the  Omega,  having  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death,  since,  in  the  act 
of  dying,  he  could  communicate  to  his  fellow-sufferer  immortal 
life,  and  snatch  the  prey  from  the  teeth  of  the  destroyer,  and  bear 
it  up  to  heaven  in  triumph.  The  friends  of  God,  in  every  age 
before  and  since  then,  have  fixed  their  eye  on  that  hour  as  the 
proudest  and  most  precious  section  of  time  in  all  the  revolv- 
ing ages. 

The  spirit  of  prophecy,  looking  through  the  lapse  of  many  hun- 
dred years,  and  dwelling  with  rapture  on  the  character  and  con- 
flict of  the  Redeemer,  foretold  that  he  should  be  numbered  with 
the  transgressors.  Accordingly,  two  men  of  despicable  character, 
who  had  been  condemned  to  die  for  theft,  were  crucified  with  him, 
one  on  his  right  hand  and  the  other  on  the  left.  It  was  doubtless 
the  intention  of  his  enemies,  by  this  arrangement,  to  degrade  the 
immaculate   Son   of  God. 

We  are  told  that  one  of  the  malefactors  which  were  hanged, 
railed  on  him,  "If  thou  be  the  Christ,  save  thyself  and  us.  But 
the  other  answering,  rebuked  him,  saying,  Dust  thou  doI  fear  j  ?<  d, 
seeing  thou  art  in  the  same  condemnation  1  and  we  indeed  justly, 


512  A    BRAND    PLUCKED    FROM    THE    FIRE. 

for  we  receive  the  due  reward  of  our  deeds  :  but  tins  man  hath 
done  nothing  amiss.  And  he  said  unto  Jesus,  Lord,  .  emember 
me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom.  Jesus  said  unto  him, 
Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise." 
We  are  told  by  one  of  the  other  Evangelists,  "that  the  thieves 
also  which  were  crucified  with  him,  cast  the  same  in  his  teeth  :" 
implying,  as  it  would  seem,  that  the  penitent  thief,  at  the  first, 
joined  his  companion  in  reproaching  the  Lord  of  glory.  In  pur- 
suing the  subject,  my  object  will  be  to  notice  the  evidence  afforded 
us  in  the  narrative,  that  one  of  the  malefactors  was  saved.  I  shall 
then  inquire,  Whether  there  are,  probably,  many  instances  of  late 
conversion  ? 

I.  I  am  to  notice  the  evidence,  afforded  us  in  the  narrative,  that  one 
of  the  dying  malefactors  was  saved.  The  probability  seems  to  be 
that  he  was  nailed  to  the  cross,  a  stupid  unbeliever.  If  he  joined 
his  fellow  in  reproaching  the  Savior,  there  can  remain  no  doubt 
that  he  was  then  in  his  sins.  But  between  the  sixth  hour  and  the 
ninth,  he  was  evidently  made  a  new  creature.  Of  this  interesting 
fact  we  have  evidence  : 

1.  In  the  faithfulness  with  which  he  reproved  his  miserable  as- 
sociate. I  know  that  the  bare  act  of  administering  reproof  is  not 
of  itself  decisive  testimony,  one  way  or  the  other,  of  piety.  We 
are  always  to  notice  the  circumstances  and  the  spirit  with  which 
the  reproof  is  administered.  It  often  happens  that  the  basest  of 
men,  in  a  fit  of  passion,  reprove  their  fellow-men.  But  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  the  dying  malefactor  reproved  his  fellow-suf- 
ferer, give  his  conduct  in  that  matter  peculiar  weight.  All  about 
him  were  despising  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  an  impostor  and  a 
miscreant.  The  Redeemer  was  accused  of  many  gross  crimes, 
and  probably  the  thief  had  not  the  means  of  knowing  their  accusa- 
tions to  be  false.  It  would  not  have  been  surprising  if  he  had 
viewed  the  Savior  as  the  vilest  of  the  three  sufferers.  With  such 
impressions  he  would  not  have  viewed  the  conduct  of  his  fellow 
as  very  criminal.  His  reproof  then,  testifies,  that  he  had  other 
views  of  Christ  than  were  entertained  by  the  multitude  who  wit- 
nessed his  agonies.  And  while  he  abhorred  the  conduct  of  his 
fellow,  he  boldly  expressed  that  abhorrence,  in  contempt  of  the 
full  tide  of  public  opinion.  If  one  should  reprove  the  profane  or 
lewd,  while  in  the  company  of  pious  men,  or  at  a  time  or  place 
where  and  when  religion  was  popular,  it  would  be  no  very  decisive 
testimony  of  his  piety  ;  but  let  him  administer  reproof  when    all 


A    BRAND    PLUCKED    FROM    THE    FIRE.  513 

about  him  would  justify  the  sin,  and  despise  the  reprover;  then 
it  becomes  an  auspicious  testimony.  Wicked  men  are  strongly 
tempted  to  fall  in  with  the  current  of  public  opinion.  To  do  what 
will  please  and  be  what  others  will  approve  is  very  much  the  lead- 
ing principle  with  unbelievers.  When  we  see  them  face  about, 
and  stem  the  current  of  depravity,  this  conduct  tells  in  their  favor. 

2.  The  believing  malefactor  freely  acknowledged  his  sins,  and  the 
justice  of  his  execution.  "And  we  indeed  justly,  for  we  receive 
the  due  reward  of  our  deeds."  There  may  be  confessions  of 
guilt,  where  sin  is  not  hated.  And  yet  a  free  and  ingenuous  con- 
fession, where  there  is  no  temporal  advantage  to  be  gained,  is 
evidence  of  that  compunction  which  always  attends  repentance, 
"  He  that  confesseth  his  sins  shall  find  mercy." 

3.  The  penitent  thief  feared  the  Lord.  Said  he  to  his  companion, 
Dost  thou  not  fear  God  ?  They  had  none  but  God  to  fear.  Hu- 
man justice  had  exerted  upon  them  its  utmost  rigor.  And  yet  the 
dying  thief  confessed,  that  there  was  wrath  for  them  to  fear.  It 
is  manifest  that  he  believed  in  a  future  righteous  retribution,  and 
was  acting  with  reference  to  that  day,  when  he  must  give  account 
of  the  deeds  done  in  the  body. 

4.  There  was  evidence  of  meekness,  humility,  patience,  and  sub- 
mission.  He  rebelled  not  against  the  authority  that  crucified  him, 
submitted  to  what  he  deserved,  and  seemed  willing  to  suffer, 
without  complaint.  He  felt  and  acknowledged  that  he  was  re- 
ceiving "  the  due  reward  of  his  deeds ;"  that  no  injustice,  but  the 
contrary,  was  done  him,  while  he  was  made  a  public  example  of 
justice.  He  took  to  himself  the  punishment  of  his  sins,  and  sub- 
mitted, without  a  murmur,  to  the  rigorous  operations  of  human  law. 

And  with  his  submission  there  seems  to  have  blended  meekness, 
patience,  and  humility.  In  fact,  these  attributes  of  mind  are  very 
much  the  same,  and  have  their  distinct  names  because  of  the  va- 
ried circumstances  in  which  the  same  Christian  grace  is  broughl 
into  exercise.  When  the  suffering  penitent  cheerfully  cleared 
the  Savior  of  every  fault,  and  charged  crime,  and  guilt,  and  desert 
of  punishment  upon  himself,  he  used  the  legitimate  language  of 
humility.  lie  did  what  every  sinner  must  do  before  be  can  be 
accepted  of  Christ,  took  to  himself  the  punishment  of  his  sin<. 
He  appeared  to  have  received  the  death  be  deserved  with  meek- 
ness, and  to  have  endured  with  patience  the  pangs  that  brought 
that  death  upon  him. 

5.  The  dying  malefactor  discovered  strong  faith  in  the  Redeemer. 
He  viewed  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  promised  Messiah,  believed 


51-i  A    BRAND    PLUCKED    FROM    THE    FIRE. 

that  though  he  saw  him  dying,  lie  should  live  again,  that  he  was 
the  possessor  of  a  kingdom,  that  he  had  power  to  bless  and  save 
him,  and  in  ihe  exercise  of  this  confidence,  committed  his  soul  to 
the  Redeemer's  care;  "Lord  remember  me  when  thou  comest 
into  thy  kingdom."  Now  it  would  be  no  other  than  a  strong  faith 
that  could  thus  operate  at  such  a  moment.  It  was  the  hour,  and 
the  power,  of  darkness.  The  object  of  his  faith  was,  at  that  mo- 
ment, in  a  state  of  debasement,  shame,  and  contempt.  He  was  be- 
lieved to  be  an  impostor,  was  viewed  as  a  malefactor,  had  been 
condemned  as  a  criminal,  and  was  suffering  the  penalty  of  human 
law.  Such  would  have  been  the  view  of  unbelief.  His  disciples 
had  forsook  him  ;  one  had  betrayed  him,  and  one  denied  him.  If 
we  except  the  conduct  of  the  Savior  upon  his  trial,  and  while 
hanging  on  the  cross,  and  the  wonders  that  transpired  at  the  time, 
the  earthquake  and  the  darkness,  there  was  every  thing  to  tempt 
an  unbeliever  to  view  the  suffering  Savior  with  scorn  and  con- 
tempt. And  there  were  doubtless  those  present  who  would  ex- 
plain those  strange  phenomena  so  as  to  lay  the  fears  they  might 
awaken.  And  we  do  not  perceive  that  they  had  any  effect  upon 
the  Jewish  Sanhedrim,  or  the  Roman  soldiery. 

It  must,  then,  have  been  a  strong  faith  which  would  lead  the 
dying  thief  to  commit  his  immortal  interests  to  one  who  was  thus 
in  the  very  depth  of  disgrace,  and  one,  with  whose  character  he 
was,  probably,  but  very  little  acquainted.  He  doubtless  saw  in 
the  Redeemer,  while  hanging  on  the  cross,  a  dignity  of  deport- 
ment, illustrative  of  his  high  and  holy  character.  He  heard  him 
pray  for  the  presence  of  his  Father,  and  the  forgiveness  of  his 
enemies,  which  might  convince  him  that  an  august  personage,  one 
more  than  human,  suffered  by  his  side.  Still  that  faith  was  strong 
which  could  surmount  so  many  obstacles,  and  commit  such  amaz- 
ing interests  to  one  apparently  so  unable  even  to  help  himself. 

6.  There  was,  in  favor  of  the  penitence  of  the  thief,  the  evidence 
of  prayer.  One  would  hardly  suppose  that  he  had  leisure  to  pray, 
as  he  hung  upon  the  torturing  nails,  and  groaned  with  every  breath, 
and  bled  in  agony  at  every  pore — there  could  be  but  little  leisure 
either  to  think  or  pray.  But  in  the  midst  of  all  this  he  prayed, 
"  Lord  remember  me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom."  There 
is  a  prayer,  I  know,  that  is  not  of  faith,  nor  can  any  form  of  prayer 
be  to  those  who  cannot  know  the  hear*,  decisive  evidence  of  piety. 
It  is  a  sure  m  gative evidence,  hut  not  positive.  If  one  doesnot  pray, 
be  is  m. questionably  an  unbeliever.  Still  it  is  said  of  Saul,  "  Be- 
hold, he  prayeth,"  and  this  fact  was  mentioned  as  an  evidence  of 


A    BRAND    PLUCKED    FROM    THE    FIRE.  §\~y 

his  piety.  And  prayer  is  frequently  thus  spoken  of  in  Scripture, 
and  must  be  viewed  in  the  dying  malefactor,  as  evidence  of  piety. 
Finally,  however,  our  only  assurance  that  the  dying  malefactor 
went  to  heaven  is  to  be  gathered  from  the  declaration  of  our  Lord 
"  This  day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise."  But  for  this  asser- 
tion of  the  Redeemer,  we  could  only  have  hoped  that  the  miserable 
man  was  saved,  and  it  would  have  remained  till  the  judgment  day 
a  doubtful  question,  like  the  conversion  of  Nicodemus. 

II.  I  proceed  to  inquire  into  the  probability  of  there  being  many 
late  conversions.  By  late  conversions  I  mean,  what  you  will  under- 
stand me  to  mean,  conversions  which  take  place  in  the  late  hours 
of  life.  Although  I  shall  dwell  more  particularly  on  the  scenes  of 
the  sick  and  dying  bed,  yet  many  of  my  remarks  will  apply  to  the 
period  of  old  age.  I  confess  my  unshaken  belief  that  the  instances 
are  rare  when  a  person  reaches  heaven  after  spending  almost  the 
whole  of  life  in  sin.     In  support  of  this  opinion,  I  refer  you,  in  the 

1.  Place,  to  the  Scriptures.  The  whole  aspect  of  the  sacred 
volume  exhibits  this  truth.  Of  the  many  thousands  of  whose 
conversion  we  read  in  the  Scriptures,  but  one  is  said  to  have  been 
converted  in  the  dying  hour,  and  but  few  are  known  to  have  been 
far  advanced  in  life.  From  the  very  nature,  however,  of  this  arti- 
cle, I  can  make  no  quotations.  If  any  doubt  the  truth  of  the  re- 
mark, it  will  belong  to  them  to  bring  forward,  if  they  be  able, 
Scripture  testimony  to  the  contrary. 

The  promises  and  invitations  of  the  gospel  imply  that  God's 
chosen  time  to  make  up  his  jewels  is  the  early  part  of  life. 
'Those  that  seek  me  early  shall  find  me."  "Seek  ye  the  Lord 
while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon  him  while  he  is  near." 
"  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness." 

The  same  may  be  inferred  from  the  threatenings.  "  Because  I 
have  called,  and  ye  refused  ;  I  have  stretched  out  my  hand,  and 
no  man  regarded;  but  ye  have  set  at  nought  my  counsel,  and 
would  none  of  my  reproof;  I  also  will  laugh  at  your  calamity  ;  I 
will  mock  when  your  fear  cometh."  If  you  will  examine  your 
Bibles,  almost  every  page  will  teach  you,  in  one  form  and  another, 
that  religion  is  to  be  the  business  of  early  life,  and  not  of  ;.  dying 
hour. 

2.  That  few  are  converted  in  the  late  hours  of  life  is  manifest 
from  the  very  nature  of  re! igion.  It  is  spoken  of  as  a  thing  that 
commences,  and  by  time  stows  and  is  matured  in  the  heart.  It  is 
compared  to  leaven  hid  in  the  meal,  which   gradually  operates  till 


516  A    BRAND    PLUCKED    FROM    THE    FIRE. 

the  whole  is  leavened.  Paul  speaks  of  the  Christian  as  "forget- 
ting the  things  that  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth  to  those  things 
that  are  before,  pressing  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high 
calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  And  again,  speaking  of  the  fam- 
ily of  believers,  says,  "  Till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith, 
and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  From  these 
representations,  and  a  thousand  like  them,  it  would  seem  that  the 
believer  is  converted  generally  long  before  he  dies,  and  has  time 
to  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  till  by  degrees 
he  becomes  matured  for  the  heavenly  state.  Converted  late  in 
life  there  would  be  no  time  for  this  gradual  progress.  The  Chris- 
tian's life  could  not  then  be  a  warfare — he  would  have  no  need  of 
the  whole  armor  of  God.  All  the  directions  given  to  the  Christian 
how  to  live,  and  how  to  feel,  and  how  to  speak  so  as  to  honor  re- 
ligion, would  seem  to  be  lost,  if  the  great  body  of  believers  were 
not  converted  long  before  they  die.  Indeed,  the  very  idea  of  a 
visible  Church,  makes  it  manifest  that  the  great  body  of  the  re- 
deemed will  be  enlisted  early  in  the  service  of  God,  be  members 
of  his  Church  below,  and  in  this  world,  by  discipline,  and  instruc- 
tion, and  frequent  communications  of  grace,  become  qualified  for 
the  rest  and  the  glory  of  heaven. 

3.  The  fact  that  a  preached  gospel  is  God's  instituted  means  of 
salvation,,  goes  to  show  that  we  are  to  expect  but  few  conversions 
on  the  dying  bed.  For  "  the  preaching  of  the  cross  is  to  them 
that  perish,  foolishness  ;  but  unto  us  which  are  saved,  it  is  the 
power  of  God."  "  For  after  that,  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  world 
by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  to  save  them  that  believe."  Speaking  of  the  heathen, 
the  same  apostle  says,  "  How  then  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom 
they  have  not  believed!  And  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of 
whom  they  have  not  heard  1  And  how  shall  they  hear  without  a 
preacher- 1"  The  three  thousand  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  were 
awakened  under  a  preached  gospel.  And  ever  since  then,  this 
has  been  the  grand  means  of  the  salvation  of  souls.  But  these 
means  are  scarcely  applicable  to  the  dying  man.  True,  he  may 
have  heard  the  gospel  before,  and  the  truths  he  has  heard  may 
awaken  him  when  on  the  dying  bed  ;  or  the  irospel  may  be  preached 
by  his  bed-side,  if  infidel  associates  have  not  fenced  the  truth  from 
bis  dying  chamber.  Still  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  when  one 
has  neglected  religion  till  the  last  days  of  his  life,  God  will  then 


A    BRAND    PLUCKED    FROM    THE    FIRE.  517 

send  him  tne   gospel,  and   give  it   such  efficacy  as  1o  change  the 
heart,  and  if  not,  the  hope  of  a  death-bed  repentance  is  small. 

4.  As  far  as  we  can  know  the  purpose  of  trod  from  Scripture  or 
fact,  it  is  his  purpose  to  employ  his  people  in  this  world  as  instru- 
ments of  his  glory,  before  he  takes  them  to  heaven.  Inquire  of 
the  children  of  God  the  date  of  their  conversion,  and  they  will 
almost  uniformly  point  you  to  some  early  period  of  life.  Our 
revivals  prevail  principally  among  the  youth.  The  psalmist  says, 
"Thou  wilt  guide  me  with  thy  counsel,  and  afterward  receive  me 
to  glory."  God  says,  "  They  that  honor  me  I  will  honor."  Be- 
lievers go  from  strength  to  strength,  till  every  one  of  them  ap- 
peareth  in  Zion  before  God.  We  fight  for  the  crown,  we  wrestle 
for  the  prize,  and  strive  for  the  victory.  But  all  this  is  incompa- 
tible with  a  death-bed  repentance,  and  renders  it,  I  think,  clearly 
improbable  that  there  are  many  such  instances. 

5.  Many  circumstances  conspire  to  render  the  exercises  of  the 
sick  and  dying  bed  doubtful.  In  that  situation  we  are  to  expect 
from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  that  one  will  be  filled  with  alarm. 
He  views  himself  on  the  verge  of  eternity.  All  he  does  must  be 
done  quickly.  Conscious  that  the  whole  of  life  has  been  mis- 
spent, that  he  must  soon  die,  and  that  there  is  no  work,  nor  know- 
ledge, nor  wisdom,  nor  device  in  the  grave,  and  that  judgment 
will  tread  upon  the  heels  of  death,  he  becomes  alarmed  of  course. 

And  if  the  paroxysms  of  disease  do  not  prevent,  he  is  very  lia- 
ble to  become  the  subject  of  rational  conviction.  Shut  up  from 
-he  scenes  of  a  busy  world,  he  will  naturally  think  on  his  case  ; 
and  the  more  he  thinks,  the  deeper  will  be  his  impression  of  his 
guilt  and  ruin.  The  truth  he  has  heard  he  will  now  recollect. 
The  invitations  he  has  neglected,  the  admonitions  he  has  slighted, 
the  warnings  and  reproofs,  will  all  return  anew,  and  pour  their 
congregated  light  upon  his  conscience.  It  is  an  honest  hour,  and 
the  truth  will  be  felt.  Hence  a  state  of  alarm  and  convict  inn 
would  seem  to  be  a  thing  of  course,  if  the  ravages  of  disease  leaves 
any  leisure  or  strength  for  reflection. 

And  such  a  state  of  mind  is  very  liable  to  be  followed  by  calm- 
ness, hope,  and  joy.  From  the  very  constitution  of  our  minds, 
and  of  some  more  than  others,  we  are  liable  to  vibrate  from  one 
extreme  to  the  other,  from  a  state  of  deep  depression  and  despair, 
to  a  state  of  ecstatic  joy.  We  have  seen  persons  who,  on  the 
loss  of  some  dear  friend,  seemed  as  if  they  should  die,  and  yet,  in 
a  few  days,  would  be  even  light  and  trifling.  In  times  of  awaken- 
ing, some  have  seemed  to  be  filled  with  the  terrors  of  hell  and  in  ;i 


518  A    BRAND    PLUCKED    FROM    THE    FIRE. 

short  time  were  more  vain  and  trifling-  than  ever.  With  a  dying  man 
who  is  conscious  that  he  has  lived  without  God  and  without  Christ 
in  the  world,  there  is  such  an  amazing  interest  at  stake,  that  he 
will  naturally  grasp  at  a  hope  that  he  may  be  saved.  When  death 
stares  us  in  the  face,  a  hopeless  state  is  intolerable.  Hence  the 
dying  man  will  be  constantly  looking  about  him  for  evidence  that 
;i  believer,  and  will  be  very  liable  to  obtain  a  hope  without 
evidence. 

When  hope  is  once  acquired,  many  things  will  conspire  to 
strengthen  it.  It  may  be  succeeded  by  great  joy.  The  idea  that 
one  is  sate  will  naturally  render  him  happy.  And  this  false  joy  by 
re-action  will  strengthen  his  hope.  Friends  who  are  about  the  sick- 
bed, if  pious  or  not  pious,  will  be  glad  to  see  the  sufferer  happy, 
and  will  be  tempted  to  do  their  utmost  to  strengthen  and  confirm 
his  hope.  And  if  pious,  unless  peculiarly  faithful,  they  will  be  lia- 
ble to  aid  his  delusions,  and  strengthen  his  refuge  of  lies. 

He  thinks  his  passions  subdued  by  the  grace  of  God,  when  in 
fact  they  are  only  tamed  by  the  paroxysms  of  disease.  The  appe- 
*ites  do  not  demand  unlawful  gratification,  for  they  have  for  the 
present  ceased  their  operation.  The  patient  imagines  that  he  has 
ceased  to  love  the  world,  when  in  fact  he  is  only  beaten  off  from  its 
embrace  by  the  rage  of  disease.  Because  he  is  constrained  to 
abandon  the  cares,  the  pleasures,  and  the  vexations  of  life,  and  is 
led  to  think  much  on  the  subject  of  death  and  judgment,  he  pre- 
sumes that  he  has  become  heavenly-minded. 

As  the  words  of  the  lips  are  little  to  be  relied  on,  and  are  not 
spoken  of  in  Scriptures  as  full  evidence  of  piety,  it  is  difficult  to 
suppose  that  a  dying  man  should  be  able  to  apply  to  his  piety  any 
very  decisive  tests.  He  cannot  mingle  with  the  ungodly  and  show 
us  that  he  hates  and  reproves  their  vile  conduct.  He  cannot  en- 
gage in  trade  or  business,  and  so  prove  to  us  that  he  will  not  be 
hard  and  dishonest  in  his  dealings.  He  cannot  know  the  miseries 
of  those  around  him,  and  show  his  benevolence  by  flying  to  their 
help.  He  cannot  mingle  with  God's  people  in  the  sanctuary  and 
the  place  of  prayer  and  conference,  and  show  us  that  he  loves  the 
people  and  worship  of  God.  He  is  not  exposed  to  temptation,  and 
cannot  prove  to  us  that  he  has  a  religion  that  can  overcome  the 
world,  and  stand  against  the  influx  of  iniquity. 

In  one  word,  a  sick  and  dying  man  can  bear  but  little  of  the 
fruits  of  holiness.  He  cannot  give  us  the  same  evidence  that  a 
person  in  health  can  in  the  same  time,  which  leads  me  to  observe, 

6.  That  the  time  is  sc    short  generally  in  which  we  can  observe 


A   BRAND    PLUCKED    FROJI    1  iTE    TIRE.  51 0 

the  exercises  of  a  sick  and  dying  man,  that  whatever  the  case  may 
be,  our  hopes  cannot  rise  very  high.  If  one  in  health,  without 
any  special  event  of  providence  to  alarm  him,  become  the  subject 
of  awakening  conviction  and  hope,  still  Ave  at  first  rejoice  with 
trembling,  and  often  many  months  elapse  before  we  lose  all  our 
fears  that  he  may  return  again  to  a  state  of  stupidity.  And  our 
apprehensions  must  be  greater  still  in  the  case  of  one  whose  exer- 
cises commenced  while  he  stood  on  the  verge  of  the  grave. 

7.  The  fact  that  so  many  have  appeared  well  in  the  sick  and 
dying  chamber,  while  death  was  seen  to  hang  over  them,  but  have 
on  their  recovery  lost  their  impressions,  and  appeared  even  worse 
than  ever,  has  rendered  suspected  the  exercises  of  the  sick  and 
dying  bed.  It  is  true  that  we  have  no  authority  to  say  that  God 
may  not  do  more  for  those  who  die  than  for  those  who  recover. 
This  matter  we  must  leave  with  God  till  the  last  day.  Very  few 
persons  have  failed  to  witness  one  or  more  instances  in  which  re- 
covery to  health  has  disappointed  high  hopes  of  piety.  In  some 
cases  all  doubt  was  gone,  and  if  the  patient  had  died,  there  had 
been  the  firmest  confidence  of  meeting  him  in  heaven  ;  and  still 
on  his  return  to  health,  a  few  weeks  made  him  careless,  and  the 
morning  cloud  and  the  early  dew  were  dissipated.  With  very 
many  facts  like  these  before  our  eyes,  how  is  it  possible  but  that 
every  prudent  man  should  admit  with  caution  the  validity  of  those 
hopes  of  heaven,  that  are  generated  upon  the  death-bed.  And 
now  what  use  shall  we  make  of  all  this  1     I 


If  death-bed  repentances  are  so  doubtful,  then  delays  in  matters 
of  religion  are  imminently  dangerous.  To-morrow,  perhaps,  you 
betake  yourself  to  the  sick-bed,  and  it  proves  your  death-bed. 
There  is  something  said  to  you  on  the  affairs  of  your  soul,  and  ii 
may  be  that  you  are  serious,  and  finally  begin  to  hope  that  you 
.shall  live  in  heaven.  But  that  hope  may  prove  a  spider's  web,  and 
you  may  lean  on  it  and  perish.  Your  friends  may  think  you  gone 
to  heaven,  but  they  may  find,  when  the  last  day  has  come,  that 
you  are  on  the  left  hand.  Attend  to  religion  now  in  health,  and 
then  when  you  die  we  shall  have  hope  of  you,  and  comfort  in  you. 
Now,  if  you  want  advice  we  can  give  it,  but  on  the  dying-bed,  if 
we  call  on  you,  you  will  be  too  weak  to  receive  instruction,  and 
ore  can  only  pray  for  you,  and  perhaps  let  you  perish. 


SERMON  XLV. 

THE  FATHER  THE  PROTOTYPE  OF  THE  SON. 

JOHN    XIV.    8,    9. 

t'liilip  sailh  onto  him,  Lord,  show  us  the  Father,  and  it  sulTiceth  us.     Jrsus  s;iith  unto  him,  Havfl 

I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  Die,  Philip  t 

Tke  doctrine  which  our  Lord  here  intended  to  teach  is  evident- 
ly this,  that  in  himself  dwelt  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily. 
It  was  impossible  to  know  him  and  not  know  the  Father,  to  see  him 
and  not  see  the  Father.  In  him  the  divinity  was  embodied,  and 
thus,  in  the  only  possible  way,  brought  down  to  human  view.  He 
was  God  manifest  in  the  flesh.  In  no  other  case  was  it  possible 
that  any  man  should  see  God. 

In  our  ideas  of  the  Supreme  Being,  if  our  views  are  correct,  we 
conceive  not  of  a  being  possessed  of  locality  and  visibility,  but  of 
attributes  dwelling  in  one  incomprehensible,  and  infinite  mind, 
whose  duration  applies  to  every  point  of  time,  and  whose  presence 
to  every  portion  of  space.  When  we  think  of  him,  or  pray  to  him, 
we  conceive  of  a  junction  of  every  great  and  amiable  attribute. 
We  worship  a  cluster  of  perfections  which,  as  to  the  mode  of  their 
.xistence,  lays  the  foundation  for  the  distinction  of  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost.  It  will  be  my  object  to  show  that  these  perfec- 
tions, which,  when  associated,  constitute  the  object  of  our  worship, 
were  all  found  in  the  Savior,  were  attached  to  the  man  Christ 
Jesus,  and  prove  him  to  be  truly  divine.  If  in  him  some  of  these 
attributes  are  less  conspicuous  than  others,  it  is  because  his  con- 
nection with  human  nature,  and  the  point  of  time  at  which  we  view 
him,  rendered  it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  that  such  attributes 
should  be  developed.  Every  perfection  which  it  was  possible  that 
lie  should  exhibit  clearly,  was  exhibited,  and  all  others  which  en- 
tei  into  our  ideas  of  God,  are  said  to  belong  to  him,  and  are  infer- 
rible from  what  he  did.  The  truth  at  which  1  aim  is  this  ;  If  we 
find  in  Christ  Jesus  every  attribute  of  Jehovah,  and  if  these  attri- 
butes  appear  not  to  be  borrowed  but  to  belong  to  him  as  originally 
his  own,  it  is  our  duty  to  own  his  divinity,  and  worship  him  as  our 
Lord  and  our  God.  1  notice  how  freely  the  Scriptures  ascribe  to 
the  Savior  these  attributes. 


THE  FATHER  THE  PROTOTYPE  OF  THE  SON.  521 

For  instance  Omniscience.  The  most  superficial  observer  of  the 
history  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  cannot  fail  to  have  noticed  how 
perfectly  naked  and  open  to  his  inspection  were  all  creatures  and 
all  things.  Peter  came  to  him  to  inquire  respecting  their  obliga- 
tions to  pay  tribute.  Our  Lord,  it  is  said,  prevented  him,  i.  e.  he 
Knew  his  errand  and  anticipated  his  request.  He  sent  him  to  the 
sea,  and  directed  him  to  angle  for  a  fish  which  had  swallowed  a 
piece  of  money,  and  would  be  at  the  shore  ready  to  be  taken  when 
Peter  should  cast  in  his  hook.  Here  was  displayed  in  one  act  in- 
tuitive knowledge  of  the  natural  and  moral  world,  such  as  can  be- 
long to  none  but  God. 

When,  in  fulfilment  of  an  ancient  prophecy,  he  would  enter  Je- 
rusalem amid  the  hosannas  of  the  multitude,  he  sent  two  of  his 
disciples  to  bring  an  ass  which  they  would  find  tied  in  a  certain 
place,  and  whose  owner  was  friendly  to  their  Lord,  and  would 
readily  send  his  beast  to  do  him  honor.  Here  was  exhibited  an 
omniscience  which  can  belong  to  none  but  God. 

So  while  Nathaniel  was  under  the  fig-tree  he  saw  him.  He 
knew  of  the  sickness  and  death  of  Lazarus,  although  he  was  at  a 
distance,  and  had  received  no  intelligence  of  these  events  through 
any  human  communication.  When  he  would  eat  the  passover,  he 
knew  that  a  man  friendly  to  his  religion  would  go  for  a  pitcher  of 
water,  and  would  meet  the  disciples  whom  he  had  sent  to  prepare 
for  the  feast,  and  offer  them  for  this  purpose  an  apartment  of  his 
house.  He  knew  the  hearts  of  all  about  him  ;  that  the  scribes  and 
pharisees  had  come  to  catch  him  in  his  words;  that  the  disciples 
were  contending  for  superiority,  and  that  Judas  had  it  in  his  heart 
to  betray  him. 

Omnipresence,  as  distinguished  from  omniscience,  was  an  attri- 
bute which  could  not  be  displayed  in  connection  with  humanity 
without  bringing  the  latter  into  doubt.  If  at  the  same  moment 
that  he  was  teaching  the  multitude  on  Mount  Olivet,  he  had  also 
been  known  to  be  in  the  same  employment  by  the  sea  of  Galilee, 
his  cotemporaries  would  have  doubted  whether  he  had  a  human  as 
well  as  a  divine  nature,  or  would  have  believed  that  there  were 
more  than  one  Messiah  ;  and  either  of  these  errors  would  have 
been  dangerous.  Hence  we  are  not  to  expect  to  see  in  the  history 
of  his  life  any  evidence  of  this  attribute,  but  must  learn  that  lie 
possessed  it  from  what  he  says  of  himself,  or  from  what  inspired 
writers  sa\   of  him. 

His  Almighty  Power  is  conspicuous  in  every  part  of  his  history. 
The  waves  of  the  sea  were  calm  at  his  word;  he  created   bread  to 


522  THE  FATHER  THE  PROTOTYPE  OF  THE  SON. 

feed  the  multitude;  every  disease  yielded  to  his  touch;  devils 
were  dispossessed  at  his  bidding  ;  and  the  lame,  the  deaf,  the  Wind, 
and  the  dumb  were  relieved  at  his  command.  His  voice  waked 
the  dead,  restored  the  dying,  and  fed  the  living.  Of  his  almighty 
power  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  with  such  as  credit  his  history. 

And  we  see  some  traces  of  his  sovereignty,  although  this  attri- 
bute is  evidently  concealed  by  the  very  design  of  his  incarnation. 
He  came  to  teach  the  truth,  to  save  men's  lives,  and  not  to  destroy 
them  ;  to  explain,  rather  than  cloud  the  purposes  of  heaven.  Still 
in  many  things  that  he  did  he  concealed  his  motives,  and  gave  no 
account  of  his  purpose.  He  performed  cures  in  Capernaum,  and 
not  in  Nazareth,  where  he  was  bred,  and  where  they  claimed  a 
right  to  his  mercy.  He  blasted  the  innocent  fig-tree  because  it 
did  not  yield  him  fruit,  while  yet  the  time  of  figs  was  not  come. 
He  scourged  the  market-men  from  the  temple,  and  refused  to  tell 
them  by  what  authority  he  acted.  He  selected  his  apostles  from 
the  fishing-boat  and  the  shop  of  the  tentmaker,  passing  by  the 
scribes,  and  pharisees,  and  lawyers.  And  in  all  his  distributions 
of  grace,  he  chose  whom  he  would  to  love  and  follow  him,  and 
left  whom  he  would  to  perish. 

He  acted  with  an  independence  which  bespoke  him  the  sovereign 
Lord  of  his  own  kingdom.  He  took  counsel  of  none.  His  own 
apostles  he  made  acquainted  with  his  purposes  no  farther  than  was 
necessary  for  their  comfort  and  usefulness.  Many  of  the  most  de- 
cisive steps  relative  to  his  kingdom  he  appears  to  have  taken  with- 
out giving  any  indications  that  he  acted  by  a  wisdom  not  his  own. 
or  a  power  not  his  own.  His  infinity,  his  eternity,  his  ubiquity, 
and  his  spirituality,  as  they  are  properties  of  divinity,  were  in  a 
measure  concealed  by  his  humanity,  or  were  attributes  which 
could  not  be  clearly  exhibited  in  a  point  of  time.  We-  know  that 
he  possessed  them  all,  but  we  gather  this  knowledge  from  the  tes- 
timony of  Scripture. 

His  wisdom,  which  forms  the  connecting  link  between  his  natu- 
ral and  moral  attributes,  was  conspicuous  in  all  he  did.  His  very 
enemies  acknowledged  that  he  taught  as  never  man  taught.  We 
think  we  see  a  supernatural  wisdom  in  all  his  plans,  in  the  clear- 
ness with  which  he  exhibited  truth,  the  promptness  with  which  he 
answered  every  question,  the  acuteness  with  which  he  silenced 
his  opponents,  and  the  success  which  attended  all  his  movements. 
A  wisdom  more  than  human,  his  enemies  being  judges,  guided  all 
the  operations  of  his  kingdom. 

His  holiness  he  displayed  in  his  own   perfect   obedience   to  the 


THE  FATHUB  THE  PROTOTYPE  OF  THE  SON.  523 

law,  in  his  unqualified  approbation  of  the  obedience  of  others,  and 
his  frowns  upon  every  transgressor.  In  his  determination  not  to 
destroy  the  law  but  to  fulfil  it,  and  in  his  dying  to  fulfil  its  penalty 
in  behalf  of  those  whom  his  mercy  would  save,  he  gave  the  strong- 
est possible  testimony  that  he  was  holy  as  God  is  holy. 

Ills  justice  was  less  conspicuous  than  many  other  moral  attri- 
butes, because  his  errand  into  our  world  was  to  snatch  rebels  from 
its  power  by  his  own  blood.  He  would  not  be  a  judge  between  a 
man  and  his  brother,  and  would  not  condemn  the  adulteress.  And 
yet  never  did  any  one  so  strictly  observe  the  rules  of  righteous- 
ness as  he  did,  and  never  had  those  rules  been  so  clearly  exhibited 
as  we  find  them  in  his  instructions.  The  grand  rule  embracing  all 
others,  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them,"  was  never  exhibited  till  it  dropped  from  his  lips. 
Thus,  not  to  mention  that  in  promotion  of  justice  he  laid  down  his 
life,  it  is  manifest  that  he  made  it  a  first  law  of  his  kingdom  that 
justice  should  be  done  to  all  beings. 

His  truth  and  faithfulness  are  without  a  parallel.  What  he  said 
always  accorded  with  strict  veracity.  AH  his  promises  he  fulfilled, 
and  every  promise  is  sure  to  be  accomplished.  Never  did  he  speak 
of  things  past,  present,  or  future,  but  his  language  accorded  with 
fact  j  and  if  all  men  are  liars,  he  must  have  been  more  than  human. 
His  whole  life  was  a  perfect  comment  upon  his  own  assertion  that 
he  came  into  the  world  to  declare  the  truth. 

His  goodness  and  his  mercy  none  could  ever  doubt.  He  spent  his 
life  to  make  the  wretched  happy,  and  died  to  save  them  from  end- 
less misery.  He  mourned  and  wept  over  those  who  would  not  be 
made  happy,  and  prayed  in  his  last  hour  that  his  murderers  might 
be  forgiven. 

Thus  every  attribute  of  divinity  which  could  be  exhibited  in 
connection  with  human  nature,  and  in  a  point  of  time  such  as  was 
his  public  ministry,  was  clearly  displayed  as  inherent  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

If  we  hear  it  said  that  he  grew  in  wisdom,  and  in  stature,  and  in 
favor  with  God  and  man  ;  if  we  find  him  receiving  intelligence  lii-:e 
other  men,  and  praying  as  he  taught  them  to  pray,  this  only  proves, 
what  no  one  denies,  that  he  was  strictly  and  properly  a  man  as 
well  as  God.  His  humanity  would  have  been  doubted  if  in  every 
thing  but  sin  he  had  not  exhibited  the  properties  of  human  nature 
Hence  he  hungered,  and  thirsted,  and  was  weary  ;  he  was  grieved, 
he  wept,  he  prayed,  lie  bled,  he  sweat,  and  he  suffered.  All  this 
must  be  to  render  him  a  man.     And    yet  he  could  create  the  very 


524  THE  FATHER  THE  PROTOTYPE  OF  THE  SOX. 

breaJ  for  which  he  hungered,  and  the  wine  for  which  he  thirsted  ^ 
could  sustain  his  own  weakness,  and  take  up  the  life  he  laid  down. 
He  could  do  for  himself  tlie  very  things. which  he  asked  the  Father 
to  do  for  him.  While  he  lay  in  the  manger,  and  while  he  hung  on 
the  tree,  he  still  sustained  the  government  of  the  world,  and  was 
the  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  father,  the  prince  of  peace. 

And  it  seems  to  us  that  these  opposite  attributes  must  meet  in 
one  who  is  both  God  and  man.  Why  because  we  see  weakness 
shall  we  deny  his  deity,  rather  than  deny  his  humanity,  because 
we  see  him  possessed  of  infinite  power.  Some  have  taken  one 
side  of  this  question  and  some  the  other.  There  have  been  many 
who  have  denied  his  humanity,  and  we  live  in  a  day  when  others 
are  attempting  to  strip  him  of  his  divinity.  But  the  prophets  fore- 
saw in  the  child  that  should  be  born  a  junction  of  divine  and  human 
atributes.  He  was  the  mighty  God,  and  yet  he  was  to  hang  upon 
a  tree  ;  he  was  to  be  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  yet  Jehovah  in  address- 
ing him  styles  him  the  man  that  is  my  fellow  ;  he  was  made  under 
the  law,  and  yet  the  government  of  the  universe  was  upon  his 
shoulders.  And  what  the  prophets  thus  foretold  is  manifest  in  all 
his  history.  He  could  still  the  sea,  and  yet  was  in  an  agony  on  the 
approach  of  the  hour  of  his  dissolution  ;  he  could  raise  the  dead, 
and  yet  died  himself. 

Unable  to  see  how  these  different  attributes  can  be  in  the  same 
person,  some  have  asserted,  and  would  have  us  believe,  that  all 
that  was  more  than  human  were  mere  borrowed  attributes  ;  that 
Jesus  was  a  man  like  other  men,  or  at  least  a  mere  creature,  and 
that  God  granted  him  for  the  time  being  divine  attributes.  Now 
we  read  that  God  will  not  give  his  glory  to  another  ;  but  whether 
God  is  not  believed  while  he  thus  asserts,  or  whether  men  have 
discovered  that  as  a  loan  is  not  a  gift,  so  God  may  permit  a  crea- 
ture to  use  temporarily  attributes  which  are  not  permanently  his,  I 
leave  you  to  judge.  We  are  reminded,  I  know,  that  prophets  and 
apostles  wrought  miracles,  did  what  mere  men  unassisted  could  not 
do,  in  other  words,were  for  a  time  endowed  with  supernatural  power; 
and  the  question  is  triumphantly  asked,  Wherein  do  the  cases  differ. 
The  prophets  and  apostles  were  men,  mere  men,  yet  were  em- 
powered to  do  what  belonged  to  the  prerogatives  of  Jehovah,  and 
what  else  is  true  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  !  With  regard  to  these 
assertions  I  remark, 

1.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  acted  as  if  these  attributes  which  he 
exhibited  were  his  own.  He  did  not  exhibit  any  signs  of  depend- 
ence on  the  will  of  anotl  er  to  enable  him  to  do  his  mighty  works 


THE  FATHER  THE  PROTOTYPE  OF  THE  SON.  525 

When  he  stilled  the  storm  he  merely  said,  "  Peace,  be  still."  When 
he  dispossessed  the  demoniacs  he  commanded  them  to  go  out. 
When  he  healed  diseases  he  took  an  attitude  highly  independent, 
"  I  will,  be  thou  whole."  When  he  delivered  predictions  he  did  not 
say,  as  the  prophets  did,  u  Thus  saith  tlie  Lord."  When  he  raised 
the  dead  his  language  was,  "  Lazarus  come  forth."  He  spoke  ot 
what  he  had  done,  and  would  do.  He  associated  himself  with  the 
Father,  and  said,  "  We  will  come  to  him  and  make  our  abode  with 
him."  And  when  others  spoke  of  what  he  had  done,  he  never  dis- 
claimed the  praise,  or  referred  them  to  God  as  the  author  of  these 
works.  When  he  had  communicated  blessings  to  the  sufferers  he 
permitted  them  to  give  him  all  the  praise.  Now  all  this  would  have 
been  unpardonable  impudence  in  a  creature  the  most  exalted. 
There  was  never  seen  any  thing  like  it  in  the  prophets  or  the  apos- 
tles. They  used  the  power  of  working  miracles  as  a  borrowed 
attribute,  and  constantly  ascribed  all  the  glory  to  God.  If  others 
offered  to  worship  them,  they  shrunk  from  the  honor  and  declared 
themselves  to  be  mere  men. 

2.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  assured  his  disciples  that  the  attributes 
he  employed  were  his  own,  and  the  praise  his  due.  He  assured  them 
that  he  was  one  with  the  Father,  and  that  it  was  the  duty  of  all  men 
to  honor  the  Son  even  as  they  honor  the  Father.  He  assured  them 
that  he  had  power  on  earth  to  fo?give  sins,  and  encouraged  them  to 
apply  to  him  for  pardon.  He  spoke  of  being  in  the  Father  in  fhe 
same  sense  that  the  Father  was  in  him.  If  then  he  was  a  mere  crea- 
ture, and  had  no  honor  or  power  but  that  which  was  loaned  and  tem- 
porary, he  certainly  betrayed  his  trust  as  no  agent  ever  did  before, 
and  accumulated  about  himself  the  glory  due  to  him  who  sent  him. 

3.  It  is  certain  that  beings  in  all  worlds  viewed  him  with  a  re- 
spect which  it  would  seem  could  not  have  been  his  due  had  he  ap- 
peared jrreat  only  in  borrowed  attributes.  We  hear  the  Father 
say,  "Thy  throne,  0  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever."  The  disciples 
addressed  their  prayers  to  him,  called  him  their  Lord,  and  com- 
mitted their  spirits  into  his  hand.  Said  Peter,  "  Lord,  thou  know- 
est  all  things,  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee."  Devils  did  him 
honor,  feared  his  power,  and  trembled  at  his  approach.  The  Jews 
understood  him  to  assert  that  he  was  equal  with  Godi  And  he 
seems  to  have  permitted  all  about  him  to  retain  their  high  views 
of  his  person  and  character. 

4.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  speaks  of  himself,  and  is  spoken  of, 
as  possessing  these  attributes  before  he  came  in  the  flesh  and  since 
his  ascension.     Said  he    "  Before  Abraham  was  I  am."     And  said 


52G  THE  FATHER  THE  PROTOTYPE  OF  THE  SON. 

an  apostle,  with  reference  to  him,  "  For  by  him  were  all  things 
created  that  are  in  heaven,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be 
thrones  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers;  all  things 
were  created  by  him  and  for  him."  And  he  is  represented  as  con- 
tinuing to  govern  the  world  as  mediator  till  the  judgment,  when 
he  will  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to  the  Father.  Still,  however,  he 
is  to  be  worshipped  equally  with  the  Father  for  ever,  and  will 
doubtless  for  ever  reign  with  him.  There  will  continue  to  be  as- 
cribed to  him  "  Power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and 
honor,  and  glory,  and  blessin"-."  Now  who  can  believe  that  God 
can  loan  to  a  mere  creature  all  his  attributes,  and  give  assurance 
that  he  shall  enjoy  them  and  the  honors  they  attract  to  him,  for 
ever  1  What  absurdity  can  be  more  glaring  1  Hence  what  a  rot- 
ten and  miserable  scheme  it  is  which  thus  degrades  the  Redeemer 
and  robs  the  gospel  system  of  all  its  glory. 

That  still  as  mediator  he  acted  in  a  delegated  capacity,  we  know 
and  are  not  disposed  to  deny.  That  in  this  character  he  was  in- 
ferior to  the  Father,  or  acted  under  him,  none  will  dispute.  But 
that  still  he  is  invested  with  all  the  rights  of  Jehovah,  and  that 
every  attribute  of  the  true  God  is  his  without  derivation,  or  loan, 
or  bequest,  is  to  me  as  manifest  as  that  any  other  doctrine  of 
the  Bible  is  true. 

The  scheme  of  reasoning  which  vests  the  Redeemer  with  bor- 
rowed attributes,  would  throw  us  afloat  on  points  the  most  obvi- 
ous. How  can  we  know  that  the  being  which  we  call  man  is  any 
other  than  a  brute  beast  vested  for  a  few  days  with  the  loan  of  in- 
telligence 1  He  may  to-morrow  rot  and  perish  like  the  ox.  We 
do  not  use  the  power  of  reason,  more  as  if  it  were  an  inherent 
property  of  our  nature,  than  did  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  the  high 
and  holy  attributes  which  come  into  view  in  his  history.  It  would 
seem  to  me  far  easier  to  doubt  whether  men  had  any  other  than  a 
borrowed  intelligence,  than  to  doubt  the  Deity  of  Christ.  In  in- 
fancy man  seems  like  a  mere  animal,  and  often  he  reaches  a  simi- 
lar state  in  old  age.  How  can  we  know,  then,  that  there  awaits 
us  any  other  existence  beyond  the  o-rnve  than  a  mere  beastly  e  - 
istencc,  if  any.  True  intelligence  was  attached  to  us  for  a  time, 
and  we  hoped  to  think  and  reason  for  ever,  but  this  may  all  be  fal- 
lacy on  the  principle  that  we  oppose.  [\I en  hare  been  styled  angels 
mi  disguise,  but  we  have,  it  seem-,  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that 
they  arc  brutes-  in  disguise,  and  may  soon  lay  aside  the  intelligence 
which  assimilates  us  to  the  angels. 


THE  FATHER  THE  PROTOTYPE  OF  THE  SON.  527 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  subject  may  inspire  God's  people  with  confidence.  The 
Savior,  we  trust,  is  the  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince 
of  peace.  He  is  doubtless  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  that 
come  unto  God  through  him.  How  can  we  distrust  such  a  Savior  1  or 
be  ashamed  of  such  a  Savior  ?  or  live  in  the  neglect  of  such  a  Savior  [ 
What  a  glory  does  his  Godhead  give  to  the  scheme  of  redemption. 
Those  whose  Savior  is  a  man  or  angel  may  well  yield  to  gloom 
and  despondency  ;  but  he  whose  Savior  built  and  will  judge  the 
world,  is  the  mighty  God,  has  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death,  may 
cast  off  every  fear,  may  rejoice  and  be  happy. 

2.  The  subject  may  show  us  how  great  is  the  crime  of  reject- 
ing the  Savior.  If  God  himself  would  come  down  to  save  us,  our 
salvation  must  be  an  important  object,  and  our  ruin  an  incalcu- 
lable loss.  And  how  daring  the  impudence  of  disregarding  a 
message  brought  to  us  from  heaven  by  the  Son  of  God  !  How 
tremendous  must  be  the  ruin  of  gospel  sinners ! 

3.  The  subject  may  help  us  to  try  our  religion.  If  in  Jesus 
Christ  we  see  the  whole  of  the  Divine  character,  we  may  by 
discovering  w/. ether  we  love  him,  know  whether  we  love  the 
Father. 


SERMON    XL  VI. 
THE  HONEST   AND   FAITHFt  L  MINISTRY. 

CORINTHIANS    IV.     1,     2. 

Therefore,  seeinc  we  have  this  ministry,   as  we    have  received  mercy,  we  faint  not;  hut  have 

renounced  the  hidden  things  of  dishonesty ,  not  walking  in  craftiness,  nor  handling  the  word  of  find 

deceitfully;  but  by  manifestation  of  the  truth,  commending  ourselves  to  every  man's  conscience 

in  the  sight  of  God. 

The  ministry  of  the  reconciliation  is  an  office  peculiar  as  to  its 
responsibility,  its  trials,  its  honors,  and  its  enjoyments.  We  are 
placed  in  the  office  through  the  instrumentality  of  men,  but  have 
our  commission  from  heaven.  We  negotiate  a  reconciliation  be- 
tween God,  and  a  rebel  world.  Men  are  saved  by  our  ministry,  if 
we  do  our  duty  ;  if  we  are  unfaithful  they  are  lost.  If  we  give 
them  not  the  timely  alarm,  we  must  answer  for  their  blood.  We 
must  meet  our  hearers  in  the  last  day,  at  the  judgment  seat,  and 
must  know,  'when  no  mistake  can  be  corrected,  what  has  been  the 
bearing  of  our  ministry  upon  their  everlasting  destiny. 

Hence  we  must  do  our  duty,  at  the  risk  of  interest,  reputation, 
and  life.  Under  every  dispensation,  the  messengers  of  God  have 
but  one  plain  track,  they  must  hazard  the  danger  of  being  faithful. 
Jeremiah  might  not  withhold  his  message,  when  he  must  write  in  a 
dungeon,  when  he  must  anathematize  the  monarch  who  imprison- 
ed him,  and  when  his  message  would  impeach  his  loyalty  and  his 
patriotism,  and  endanger  his  life.  Paul  must  do  his  duty  in  the 
face  of  stripes,  the  dungeon,  and  the  cross.  The  hope  that  we 
can  fully  please  the  holy  God,  who  sends  us,  and  the  disloyal  to 
whom  we  are  sent,  is  a  fruitless  hope  ;  and  none  but  the  traitor 
will  ask,  whose  pleasure  he  shall  seek.  If  we  had  no  interest  of 
our  own  to  risk,  the  honest  man  would  aim  to  do  his  Master  honor. 
But  pesonal  perdition  hangs  over  us  if  we  compromise  the  honors 
of  our  Lord.  Men  should  he  pleased  with  us  when  we  do  our  duty, 
but  men  are  not  what  they  should  6e,  else  they  had  needed  no  gospel. 
The  same  depravity  that  prompts  them  to  hate  the  government  of 
Jehovah,  renders  them  hostile  to  any  conditions  of  peace,  that  will 
consist  with  his  honor.  Hence  the  minister  of  Christ,  who  culti- 
vates a  bending  conscience,  and  is  seen  carefully  providing  for 
himself,  at  the  expense  of  his  Master,  is  of  all  men  the  most  mis- 
erable, and  the  most  contemptible. 


THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY  529 

But  upon  a  ministry  thus  exposed,  God  has  poured  the  highest 
honors.  Not  the  gospel  simply,  but  the  gospel  in  the  lips  of  men, 
he  has  pledged  himself  to  use  as  the  grand  instrument  of  redeem- 
ing the  world.  "  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  us 
though  God  did  beseech  yon  by  us  :  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead, 
be  ye  reconciled  to  God."  Not  the  very  angels,  who  minister  to 
those  who  shall  be  the  heirs  of  salvation,  have  a  commission  more 
dignified.  We  are  workers  together  with  God,  in  laying  the  foun- 
dation and  rearing  the  superstructure  of  a  spiritual  temple,  whose 
topstones  are  to  be  laid  with  shouting,  Grace,  grace,  unto  it ! 

And  with  the  responsibility  and  the  trials  of  the  office,  God  has 
mingled  not  only  honors,  but  enjoyments.  The  work  is  pleasant. 
To  study  divine  truth  and  proclaim  the  divine  honor;  to  be  con- 
versant with  sacraments  and  Sabbaths,  with  prayer  and  p  aise,  is 
living,  if  the  heart  be  right,  hard  by  the  Oracle  of  God.  And 
when  the  work  is  done,  the  reward  is  great.  They  that  turn  many 
to  righteousness,  are  to  shine  in  the  kingdom  of  their  father,  and 
as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever. 

The  apostle  in  the  context  had  been  commending  his  office  : 
had  showed,  by  various  arguments,  that  it  was  more  honorable 
than  a  ministry  under  the  law.  The  law  he  denominates  the  letter, 
the  gospel  the  spirit.  That  was  the  ministration  of  condemnation 
and  death  ;  this  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  ministration 
of  righteousness.  The  legal  ministration  was  temporary,  but  that 
of  the  gospel  remains  a  lasting  and  permanent  establishment.  Hence 
Moses,  conscious  that  he  was  the  minister  of  a  dispensation  that 
would  soon  be  eclipsed  by  one  more  glorious,  veiled  his  face. 
But  the  heralds  of  the  gospel  may  use  great  plainness  of  speech, 
as  they  proclaim  a  system  in  which  there  is  nothing  dark  or  mys- 
terious. The  true  light  has  shined  ;  the  veil  is  taken  away,  and 
we  now  behold  the  glory  of  God,  not  enveloped  in  clouds  and 
darkness,  but  with  open  face,  as  in  a  glass,  shining  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ,  in  whom  dwells  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily. 

And  while  we  gaze  upon  this  brightness,  we  are  changed  into 
the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory.  And  all  is  accomplished  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  else  the  world  had  abode  still  in  its  native 
hideous  darkness.  Thus  does  the  apostle,  when  lie  contemplates 
the  dispensation  of  which  he  is  a  minister,  rise  to  a  tone  of  triumph, 
where  language  and  figure  are  exhausted.  Therefore,  says  he, 
seeing  we  have  this  ministry,  we  faint  not.  Th^  office  is  so  dig- 
nified, that  no  trials  shall  shake  our  confidence,  no  onset  subdue 
our  courage.     We  will    neither  use   dishonesty,   craft,  or  deceit. 


530  THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUX     MINISTRY. 

but  commend  ourselves  to  every  man's  conscience,  by  manifesting 
the  truth.  Thus  interesting  is  the  attitude  in  Which  the  apostle 
places  himself,  and  all  who  after  him  should  publish  salvation  to  a 
dying  world.  Following  the  train  of  thought  he  suggests,  I 
remark, 

I.  The  mercy  of  God  qualifies  men  to  be  his  ministers.  The  very 
messengers  he  employs  are  by  nature  hostile  to  the  truths  and 
glories  which  the  gospel  reveals,  and  to  the  temper  and  duties  it 
enjoins.  The  character  of  God  and  of  the  Savior  displeases  them. 
There  cluster  in  the  Godhead  the  very  attributes  that  render  cha- 
racter unlovely  to  the  carnal  mind.  We  naturally  spurn  the  king- 
dom that  God  erects,  and  the  heaven  he  reveals.  All  that  was 
odious  in  the  law,  and  more  yet,  we  see  in  the  gospel,  till  the 
eyes  of  our  understandings  are  enlightened.  It  contains  a  law  as 
rigid,  as  that  which  issued  from  the  flames  of  Sinai,  while  it  digs 
a  deeper  pit,  and  kindles  a  more  consuming  fire  than  were  employed 
to  avenge  the  broken  law  of  Moses. 

We  are  by  nature  like  our  hearers,  the  prey  of  a  carnal  mind, 
that  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God.  Hence,  till  the  grace  of 
God  renew  us,  how  disqualified  are  we  to  be  ministers  of  the  re- 
conciliation !  But  of  just  such  men,  sanctified,  he  makes  minis- 
ters. He  forgives  them,  and  loves  them,  and  they  are  then  called 
to  plead  with  rebels,  just  such  as  they  were  themselves  up  to  the 
hour  of  the  new  birth.  They  have  but  just  quitted  the  standard 
of  revolt,  and  lo  !  they  are  seen  standing  hard  by  the  host  they 
have  abandoned,  proclaiming  a  pardon  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  Paul  had  gone  to  lay  waste  that  very  church,  which  a  few 
days  afterward  it  was  his  honor  and  his  joy  to  edify.  The  de- 
vourer  was  caught  with  the  very  prey  in  his  teeth,  and  was  made 
a  lamb.  The  disciples  were  afraid  of  him  :  nor  can  we  wonder : 
a  few  days  gone  and  he  was  a  fiend  ;  and  very  much  so  of  all 
Christ's  ministers.  We  mingled  with  the  congregation  of  the  un- 
godly, and  could  resist  the  kindest  entreaties  of  a  pitying  Re- 
deemer. Not  one  of  all  the  multitude  had  a  conscience  more 
polluted,  or  a  temper  more  revolting.  If  grace  has  sanctified  us, 
how  surprising^ our  escape.  Perdition  we  deserved,  but  are  made 
the  messengers  of  life.  What  a  humiliating  retrospect  !  One 
look'  behind,  covers  us  with  shame,  cast  we  that  look  but  through 
a  little  space.  Then  the  overtures  of  the  gospel,  which  we  now 
proclaim,  were  like  music  to  the  deaf  adder.  Some  of  us,  perhaps, 
were   pressing  on   to   perdition  like    Paul,  in  the  very  van   of   that 


THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY.  531 

multitude  which  now  it  is  our  effort  to  save.  On  this  point  I 
hardly  know  how  to  say  enough.  We  were  u  aliens  from  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the  covenants  of  pro- 
mise, having  no  hope,  and  without  God  in  the  world."  We 
"  walked  according  to  the  course  of  this  world,  according  to  the 
prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the 
children  of  disobedience." 

And  we  had  a  mind  as  benighted,  as  was  the  heart  depraved. 
Whether  the  apostle  had  reference  or  not  to  the  supernatural 
gifts,  by  which  he  and  his  fellows  had  become  qualified  to  serve 
God  in  the  gospel,  we  may  well  ascribe  to  his  grace  any  small 
degrees  of  preparation  in  us  for  such  an  embassy.  Th;it  gospel 
which  it  has  become  our  duty  and  our  delight  to  publish,  little  as 
we  now  understand  it,  was  once  still  less  understood.  The  Bible 
was  a  dead  letter.  Neither  was  the  mind  imbued  with  its  doctrines, 
nor  the  memory  stored  with  its  facts,  nor  the  tongue  used  to  its 
dialect.  It  seems  incredible,  when  we  look  as  it  were  but  to  yes- 
terday, and  recollect  how  gross  was  our  ignorance  of  the  gospel, 
that  we  should  now  be  the  teachers  of  that  same  religion  to  the 
multitudes  who  are  perishing  as  we  were  for  lack  of  knowledge. 
But  the  grace  of  God  furnished  us  the  means  of  improvement,  and 
poured  in  the  few7  rays  o(  light,  covered  as  we  still  are  with  igno- 
rance, by  the  aid  of  which  light  we  are  introduced  into  an  office 
similar  to  that  which  once  was  filled  by  the  Son  of  God. 

But  the  grace  of  God  was  still  conspicuous,  else  our  unirorthi- 
ness  had  debarred  us  from  a  situation  so  sublime  and  so  honored. 
Might  we  but  have  occupied  the  obscurest  place  in  God's  house, 
been  only  door-keepers,  it  had  been  more  than  we  deserved.  The 
shame  of  having  been  totally  depraved,  and  the  guilt  of  having 
stood  in  the  ranks  of  revolt  so  long,  the  habits  of  indolence  we 
had  acquired,  and  the  still  remaining  passions,  and  prejudices,  and 
the  whole  catalogue  of  moral  plagues,  deep  rooted  in  our  nature  - 
all  seemed  to  forbid  us  the  occupancy  of  a  station  so  honored. 
God  has  indeed  committed  the  treasure  of  the  gospel  to  earthen 
vessels,  that  the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be  of  him  and  not 
of  us.  How  well  does  die  language  of  the  prophet  become  us 
"  Behold,  Lord,  1  cannot  speak,  for  1  am  ;i  child."  And  thai  of 
the  apostle,  "  Unto  me  whom  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints  i« 
this  grace  given,  that  I  should  preach  among  the  Gentiles  the  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ." 

And  where  is  it  that  God  has  put  US  !  Into  almost  the  v<M-y 
same  office  once  filled  by  prophets  and  apostles,  and    even    by   the 


532  THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY 

Lord  Jesus  himself.  He  has  emancipated  slaves,  and  sent  them 
to  invite  back  a  strayed  world.  He  has  placed  us  on  the  ramparts 
of  his  Zion,  and  has  entrusted  the  prosperity  of  his  kingdom,  the 
honor  of  his  government,  the  vindication  of  his  law,  and  the  glo- 
ries of  his  name,  to  our  sleepless,  and  watchful,  and  devoted  fideli- 
ty. On  our  way  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  the  halter  about 
our  necks,  he  hailed  us,  and  pardoned  us,  and  now  here  we  stand, 
between  the  condemned,  and  the  arm  of  justice,  between  the  burn- 
ing glories  of  the  Godhead,  and  the  wretches  whom  his  ire  threat- 
ens to  consume.  VVe  are  occupying  the  station  that  Moses  filled, 
while  Israel  were  dancing  around  the  golden  calf;  or  that  of 
David  while  he  offered  sacrifice  on  the  threshing  floor  of  the  Jeb- 
usite  ;  or  that  of  Abraham  when  he  sent  up  his  last  petition  in 
behalf  of  the  devoted  cities — to  turn  away  the  wrath  of  heaven, 
to  stay  the  plague,  to  ward  ofFthe  storm  of  fire,  and  save,  if  it  be 
possible,  the  abandoned  transgressor. 

Connected  with  our  fidelity,  are  the  everlasting  hosannas  of  a 
multitude  that  no  man  can  number,  or  with  our  neglects,  the 
weepings  and  wailings  of  the  damned.  Ah,  why  did  the  holy  God 
attach  so  high  an  office  to  beings  so  debased.  Why  did  he  not 
commission  angels,  who  would  have  been  faithful,  and  who  were 
worthy  of  his  honors.  They  would  have  brought  no  pollution 
with  them,  would  have  made  no  compromise  of  truth,  would  have 
exhibited  no  dire  instances  of  apostacy,  would  have  seen  eye  to 
eye,  and  might  have  gathered  in  the  elect  from  the  ranks  of  revolt, 
leaving  wholly  behind  that  multitude  of  hypocrites,  who  now  pol- 
lute the  ordinances  of  God.  Well  may  we  exclaim,  "  I  am  a 
worm  and  no  man,"  and  ascribe,  with  the  apostle,  our  appointment 
to  the  work,  and  our  equipment  for  it,  all  our  success  in  it,  and 
the  reward,  if  any  should  be  ours,  to  the  grace  of  God. 

II.  The  ministry  of  the  reconciliation  is  an  office  big  with  trials. 
This  we  should  infer  from  its  very  nature.  We  are  the  agents  of 
negotiation,  between  God,  a  holy  and  a  good  Jehovah,  and  men 
wlio  hate  his  character,  his  government,  and  his  glory.  We 
preach  a  gospel  which,  till  men  are  sanctified,  they  cannot  love. 
We  are  directed  to  describe  their  character,  in  all  its  odiousness, 
and  show  that  they  have  been  unreasonable  and  vile  in  every  prin- 
ciple, and  in  every  act  of  their  revolt.  We  must  warn  them  of  a 
coming  moment  when  all  their  sin  and  their  shame  must  be  un- 
covered. We  dare  hide  from  them  no  part  of  the  truth,  whether 
tl.ey  will  hear   or   forbear:  must   show  them  that    not    merely  is 


THE    HO.N'EST    AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY.  533 

their  conduct  offensive  to  God,  but  every  imagination  of  the  thought 
of  the  heart,  is  evil,  only  evil  continually.  We  must  inculcate 
principles  that  violate  every  inbred  sentiment  of  their  hearts,  and 
press  maxims,  and  doctrines  and  duties,  that  give  their  whole 
conduct  the  lie,  and  cover  their  whole  character  with  guilt  and 
pollution.  We  must  assure  them  that,  as  God  is  true  it  will  be 
ill  with  the  wicked  in  every  stage  of  their  being,  and  m  whatever 
world  God  may  place  them.  We  must  uncover  the  pit  before 
liiem,  must  prophesy  evil  concerning  them,  must  say  loudly  and 
fearlessly,  that  the  wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the 
nations  that  forget  God,  where  their  worm  shall  not  die,  nor  their 
fire  be  quenched. 

But  it  needs  no  prescience  to  feel  assured  that  all  this  will  not 
please.  Men  are  not  disposed  to  have  their  characters  laid  bare, 
and  their  hopes  destroyed.  The  refuge  of  lies  where  they  have 
taken  sanctuary,  they  will  not  allow  us  with  impunity  to  demolish. 
The  god  of  this  world  persuades  them  that  he  is  their  enemy  who 
thus  beforehand  brands  them  with  the  marks  of  perdition. 

And  while  we  are  thus  liable  to  offend,  we  depend  on  them  for 
support.  While  every  doctrine  we  preach,  and  every  duty  we 
urge,  and  every  woe  we  announce,  are  at  issue  with  the  strongest 
biases  of  their  hearts,  we  expect  them  to  clothe  our  children,  and 
fill  our  board  with  bread.  While  they  are  in  the  very  act  of  doing 
us  a  kindness,  we  may  see  them  violate  the  law  of  God,  and  may 
be  undo}*  the  odious  necessity  of  returning  the  favor  with  reproof. 

Hence  trials  come  as  certainly  as  death.  If  we  watch  the  in- 
terest we  are  set  to  watch,  and  cannot  be  bribed  to  perfidy,  there 
will  grow  thorns  in  our  path,  and  we  shall  wet  our  couch  with 
tears.  Hence  the  fact  that  the  Lord's  servants  have  been  stoned, 
have  been  sawn  asunder,  have  been  tempted,  have  been  slain  with 
the  sword,  have  wandered  about  in  sheepskins  and  goatskins,  been 
destitute,  afflicted,  tormented.  Hence  the  scenes  of  persecution 
that  fill  the  pages  of  ecclesiastical  history,  the  agonies  of  the  cro  ss, 
the  fires  of  the  stake,  the  inquisitorial  dungeons,  and  the  whole 
catalogue  of  plagues,  that  have  borne  off  the  stage  the  armies 
of  the  martyrs. 

III.  This  same  ministry  furnishes  an  antidote  to  the  wo  it  generatt  i. 
It  is,  of  all  the  appointments  of  the  court  of  heaven,  the  first.  The 
leader  of  Israel  had  a  commission  less  dignified.  He  was  the  min- 
ister of  a  transient  service,  promulgated  a  temporary  economy, 
was  conversant  with  types  and  symbols.     He  released  men  from 


534  THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY 

the  chains  of  a  human  and  temporary  bondage,  led  them  to  an 
earthly  Canaan,  and  built  them  a  perishable  sanctuary.  But  all 
these  were  the  mere  shadows  of  good  things  to  come.  Ours  is 
the  office,  not  of  typifying,  but  of  substantiating ;  not  o{  predicting^ 
but  of  narrating }  not  of  breaking  the  bands  of  a  temporary  bondage, 
but  the  league  with  death,  and  the  agreement  with  hell  ;  not  of  lead' 
ing  men  to  a  paradise  of  hills  and  biooks  of  water,  but  to  a  city 
not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens;  not  to  a  crumbling 
material  sanctuary,  but  to  the  very  throne  itself  of  God.  Under 
the  ministration  we  occupy,  Sinai  blazes  not  with  wrath,  but  with 
glory,  God  is  seen  not  through  a  veil  but  with  open  face  ;  "  Mercy 
and  truth  are  met  together,  righteousness  and  peace  have  kissed 
each  other." 

Such  the  office  ;  every  trial  is  light.  He  who  may  fill  the  first 
embassy  in  a  kingdom,  will  suffer  any  privations,  will  risk  any 
dangers,  will  endure  any  trials,  will  submit  to  any  hardships.  He 
will  traverse,  with  such  a  commission,  the  dreariest  heaths,  and 
the  stormiest  seas,  will  inhale  in  any  clime  the  most  polluted  at- 
mosphere, will  live  in  the  wildest  solitude,  with  beings  the  most 
rapacious  and  bloody.  And  shall  men  endure,  supported  by  the 
honors  of  a  human  embassy,  trials,  dangers,  and  death,  without 
complaint,  which  the  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  with  the  high 
hopes  that  attach  to  his  office,  cannot  endure  1  If  insulted  we 
think  of  our  commission,  and  feel  the  inspiration  of  its  honors,  and 
instantly  rise  superior  to  shame.  He  whom  heaven  has  commis- 
sioned, needs  no  human  applause  to  animate  him.  "He  that  des- 
piseth  you,  despiseth  me  ;  and  he  that  despiseth  me,  despiseth  him 
that  sent  me."  And  what  if  men  do  condemn,  while  God  ap- 
proves \  There  lies  an  appeal  from  every  human  tribunal.  To 
none  of  these  lower  courts  are  we  amenable,  in  a  sense  that  can 
excite  alarm.  Said  an  apostle,  "  It  is  a  very  small  thing  that  I 
should  be  judged  of  you,  or  of  man's  judgment."  To  our  own 
Master  we  stand  or  fall.  If  cur  message  does  not  please  men,  we 
have  only  to  see  to  it,  that  it  has  not  been  altered  in  our  hands, 
and,  if  not,  take  courage.  When  we  can  see  affixed  to  every  doc- 
trine we  preach  the  broad  seal  of  heaven,  we  have  no  farther  con- 
cern, except  to  inquire  if  we  have  chosen  out  acceptable  words, 
and  felt  a  right  spirit.  If  to  the  book  of  instruction  we  add  or 
diminish,  the  deed  blots  our  names  from  the  book  of  life,  and 
brings  upon  our  heads  the  plagues  recorded.  If  men  will  not  hear 
us,  we  have  only  to  weep  in  Becret  places  for  their  pride. 

If  to  men  it  should  seem  that  we  urge  them  too  assiduously,  we 


THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY.  53B 

have  only  to  assure  them  that  they  must  believe  or  die.  The  di- 
rection is,  "  Cry  aloud,  spare  not,  lift  up  thy  voice  like  a  trumpet, 
and  show  my  people  their  transgression,  and  the  house  of  Jacob 
their  sins."  Our  stand  is  between  men  and  the  pit,  and  our  busi- 
ness to  stop  them.  If  they  now  think  us  too  urgent,  they  will 
curse  our  supiueness  when  they  have  perished.  Before  we  have 
done  with  them,  they  will  know  the  truth  of  all  we  have  said,  and 
more  yet,  and  will  wonder  that  we  could  believe  it  at  all,  and  pro- 
claim it  so  coldly. 

If  men  are  angry,  still  there  is  hope.  This  may  be  the  first 
step  to  conviction  and  faith,  and  they  may  still  be  our  crown  of 
rejoicing  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  gospel  may  produce 
wrath,  and  still  be  a  savor  of  life.  The  tenant  of  the  tombs  raved, 
and  then  believed.  Our  assurance  is  that  Christ  is  able  to  bind 
the  strong  man. 

But  then  we  fear  the  worst,  and  have  no  hope  that  the  miserable 
beings  will  live,  whom  we  would  warn  and  waken,  still  we  may 
be  to  Christ  a  sweet  savor,  though  it  be  of  death  unto  death. 
Christ  has  not  suspended  our  reward  on  our  success.  He  will  pro- 
vide for  his  ministers  who  have  dared  to  be  faithful,  though  the 
whole  population  of  the  apostacy  should  go  in  a  mass  to  perdition. 
"  Though  Israel  be  not  gathered,  yet  shall  I  be  glorious  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Lord."  For  the  faithfulness  of  our  ministry,  not  for 
the  effects  ;  for  the  good  we  intended  to  do,  not  for  the  good  we 
have  done,  shall  we  be  tried  in  the  last  day.  If  the  Lord  has  made 
us  rulers  over  his  house,  to  give  them  their  meat  in  due  season, 
blessed  are  those  servants  whom  their  Lord  when  he  cometh  shall 
find  so  doing.  And  he  .v'ill  soon  return.  In  a  few  days  we  shall 
have  his  decision  upon  our  conduct,  and  till  then  it  is  of  small 
importance  what  is  human  opinion  respecting  us. 

Thus  the  2fodly  minister  takes  courage.  If  our  toil  be  hard,  we 
serve  a  good  master,  and  the  period  of  rest  is  nigh.  If  we  should 
even  faint  and  die  under  the  fatigues  of  the  service,  still  we  can 
die  in  no  other  circumstances  so  honorably.  If  our  present  pri- 
vations are  many,  and  our  joys  few,  there  is  just  before  us  a  far 
more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory.  If  the  corner  of  the 
vineyard  where  we  labor  is  unpromising,  still  we  know  that  Christ 
shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satified.  We  have  only 
to  fill  the  place  appointed  us,  as  God  shall  give  us  ability,  and  for 
what  remains  he  will  provide.  Do  we  but  cast  our  seed  com  upon 
the  moist  field,  we  shall  see  it  after  many  days-  Should  the 
lie  buried  in  the  dust  till  we  are  in   heaven,  we   may  still  see  the 


536  THE    HONEST    AMD    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY. 

fruit  of  our  toil.  Thus  our  commission  so  presents  its  consola- 
tions in  the  time  of  trial,  that  we  may  well  say  with  the  apostle, 
"  Having  this  ministry  as  we  have  received  mercy,  we  faint  not." 

IV.  The  text  prescribes  that  open  and  ingenuous  conduct,  which  it 
is  the  duty  of  Christ's  ininisters  on  all  occasions  to  exhibit.  Let  us 
notice  them, 

1.  In  their  daily  walk.  The  apostle  says  of  himself  and  his 
fellows,  probably  in  allusion  to  the  intrigue  and  duplicity  of  the 
false  teachers,  "That  they  renounced  the  hidden  things  of  dishon- 
esty, and  did  not  walk  in  craftiness."  He  does  not  mean  to  imply 
that  this  had  ever  been  their  course.  They  had,  from  the  period 
of  their  vocation  to  the  apostleship,  refused  to  reach  any  point  of 
enterprise,  by  deception  and  fraud.  Even  when  Paul  says  of  him- 
self, that,  on  a  certain  occasion,  being  crafty,  he  caught  them  with 
guile,  he  is  thought  merely  to  have  alluded  to  the  language  of  his 
enemies. 

The  ministers  of  Christ  have  nothing  to  hide,  have  no  budget  of 
secrets,  and  may  say  and  do  nothing  that  is  inconsistent  with 
simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  either  in  their  social  and  commer- 
cial transactions,  or  in  connection  with  the  functions  of  their 
office.  The  world  will  doubt,  if  we  show  duplicity  in  one  case, 
whether  we  are  sincere  in  any  case.  If  we  can  smile  complacently 
upon  the  man  we  would  betray  and  ruin  ;  if  with  one  hand  we 
can  embrace,  while  the  dagger  is  fast  held  in  the  other  ;  can 
soothe,  and  flatter,  and  hate  ;  men  will  have  no  confidence  in  us, 
when  we  thunder  the  anathemas  of  the  law,  or  breathe  out  the 
counsels  and  the  accents  of  mercy.  If  it  cannot  be  said  of  the 
minister  of  Christ,  that  he  is  a  sincere  and  honest  man,  nothing 
can  be  said  of  him  that  does  not  put  the  whole  brotherhood  to 
shame.  The  man  may  be  able  in  theology,  and  in  oratory,  may 
be  a  profound  general  scholar,  may  have  made  the  multitude  bow 
to  him;  but  if  he  be,  to  adopt  a  very  homely,  though  a  very  sig 
nificant  figure,  a  two-sided  man;  if  his  assent  and  his  smile  are 
not  tokens  of  approbation,  and  we  may  fear  he  will  betray  us, 
when  pledged  to  serve  us,  then  has  he  not  renounced  the  hidden 
thinfrs  of  dishonesty,  and  will  be  as  readily  suspected  of  insincerity 
in  the  pulpit  as  by  the  fireside.  Heaven's  ambassador  must  ex 
hibit  in  his  countenance,  and  on  the  face  of  his  whole  deportment, 
the  simplicity  of  ihe  man  of  God.  The  veriest  wretch  with  whom 
lie  lias  intercourse,  ought  not  to  doubt  for  a  moment  his  honesty 
Toward   his   ministerial  brethren,   duplicity   is   doubly   odious 


THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL     MINISTRY.  "    7 

We  are  but  distinct  agents,  attached  to  the  same  grand  embassy, 
and  sent  to  make  overtures  to  the  same  disloyal  multitude.  When 
we  have  no  trust  in  each  other,  the  foe  is  strengthened,  and  our 
defeat  and  shame  sure — the  least  approximation  to  duplicity  de- 
stroys confidence.  We  may  differ  in  shades  of  doctrine  and  points 
of  duty,  and  still,  if  honest  men,  may  co-operate,  and  there  may 
be  in  the  general  embassy  an  efficiency  and  a  unity,  that  shall  pour 
honor  upon  Christ,  and  shame  upon  the  adversary.  AVe  must  have 
confidence  in  each  other's  prompt  and  cordial  co-operation,  or  the 
world  we  have  come  to  sanctify,  will  be  strengthened  in  every 
deadly  and  desperate  principle  of  revolt,  and  will  sleep  on  till  they 
are  waked  by  the  terrors  of  the  last  trumpet. 

The  motives  to  such  a  confidence  are  obvious.  Our  trials  and 
our  enemies  are  numerous,  and  are  the  same,  and  the  same  our 
joys  and  our  friends.  We  serve  the  same  Master,  and  hope  for 
the  same  heaven.  Without  an  asylum  in  each  other's  bosom,  in 
this  outcast  world,  where  we  find  so  rarely  an  honest  friend,  we 
should  be  the  loneliest  of  all  flesh.  No  union  can  be  more  sacred. 
There  is  not  only  Christian  sympathy,  but  the  fellowship  of  office. 
There  belong  to  the  sacred  ministry  special  hopes  and  promises. 
In  what  relationship  do  the  hidden  things  of  dishonesty  wear  an 
aspect  so  monstrous,  or  wage  a  war  so  cruel,  as  when  they  disturb 
the  intercourse,  and  break  the  compact  that  binds  together  the 
ambassadors  of  the  Lord  Jesus  1  One  would  sooner  lose  confi- 
dence in  his  mother's  children,  and  betray  his  offspring,  than  see 
marred  the  fellowship  of  the  Divine  legation.  That  Jesuitical 
fraud,  nicknamed  pious,  so  long  current  in  the  church  of  Rome,  is 
the  worm  that  now  devours  that  polluted  community.  May  it  go, 
with  its  foster  mother,  to  perdition,  and  never  find  a  lodgment  iu 
the  bosom  of  Christ's  ministers.  Let  us  notice  the  minister  of 
Christ, 

2.  In  his  official  rapacity.  While  the  apostles  renounced  the 
hidden  things  of  dishonesty,  and  would  not  walk  in  craftiness,  so 
neither  wovhl  tlicy  handle,  the  word  of  God  deceitfully.  They  would 
not,  nor  may  we,  hide,  misrepresent,  *>r  leave  out  of  view,  any 
truth,  meant  to  be  conveyed  to  us  in  our  Book  of  instructions. 
The  ambassador  of  Christ  resolves,  that  the  Bible,  in  all  its  plain- 
ness and  simplicity,  shall  be  permitted  to  pour  orth  its  precepts, 
its  doctrines,  its  denunciations,  unadulterated,  upon  the  congre- 
gated multitude  of  the  ungodly.  To  inquire,  what  is  pleasing, 
and  what  is  popular,  and  what  is  safe,  belongs  only  to  the  traitor, 
who  would  make  i  kiss  the  signal  of  arrest. 


538  TIIK    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY. 

We  may  choose  out  acceptable  words,  may  watch  for  the  best 
moment  when  to  press  an  unwelcome  truth  :  this  is  duty.  And 
in  illustrating  truth  wc  may  put  to  use  all  the  softness  and  sweet- 
ness of  language  and  figure  that  is  possible,  still  no  truth  may  be 
covered  up  or  misstated.  We  may  say  to  the  righteous,  it  shall 
be  well  with  them,  but  we  must  with  equal  plainness  say  to  the 
wicked,  it  shall  be  ill  with  them.  "  He  that  believeth  shall  be 
saved,  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  We  may 
dwell  upon  the  glories  of  heaven,  till  we,  and  all  about  us  who 
believe,  shall  long  to  ascend,  but  we  must  also  raise  the  covering 
of  the  pit,  till  the  ungodly,  if  they  will  not  repent,  shall  begin  to 
feel  the  scorch  of  its  torments.  He  who  would  not  handle  the 
word  of  God  deceitfully,  cannot  suffer  his  unregenerate  hearers 
to  choose  what  doctrines  he  shall  preach,  or  what  duties  he  shall 
urge,  or  what  follies  he  shall  spare,  or  what  the  fervency  of  soul 
he  shall  breathe  into  his  message.  If  he  believe  a  doctrine,  he 
will  not  hide  his  faith  ;  if  there  prevail  an  error,  he  dare  not 
conceal  his  dissent ;  nor  against  any  vice,  however  popular,  can 
fail  to  bear  his  prompt  and  unequivocal  testimony. 

The  minister  of  the  gospel,  who  conceals  his  faith,  is  a  traitor, 
and  goes  over  soon  to  the  enemy.  And  while  he  stays  he  is  a 
plague  and  a  nuisance.  "  If  the  trumpet  give  an  uncertain  sound, 
who  shall  prepare  himself  to  the  battle."  Why  have  a  plain  and 
pungent  and  intelligible  Bible,  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  a  crafty 
ministry,  to  be  neutralized  and  tamed,  and  mangled,  before  it  can 
reach  the  conscience  \  As  well  may  the  Bible  be  a  riddle,  or  a 
dream,  as  the  herald  a  knave.  He  can  fritter  down  its  doctrines 
till  the  whole  Book  is  a  mere  ballad.  A  people  with  such  a  minis- 
try are  in  a  case  as  pitiable  as  the  wandering  Tartar 

V.  The  text  instructs  Christ's  ministers  how  they  may  best  com,' 
mend  themselves  to  the  consciences  of  men.  By  manifestation  of  the 
truth.  To  be  useful,  we  must  have  an  advocate  in  the  conscience 
of  the  people.  Many  may  not  relish  the  doctrines  we  deliver,  and 
may  hate  our  faithfulness,  btit  there  may  still  be,  and  there  must 
be  the  conviction,  that  we  are  honest  men,  who  get  with  reference 
to  the  judgment.  In  such  a  case,  one  may  be  useful,  even  to  the 
men  who  cordially  disrelish  the  whole  testimony  of  God.  They 
may  kindle  with  rage  at  the  juncture  when  the  truth  has  found  an 
avenue  to  the  conscience. 

And  this  ascendancy  is  gained  by  an  undisguised  exhibition  of 
the  truth.     When  men  see  that  we  dare  not  ffo  hevond    the   word 


THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY.  5 ./J 

of  the  Lord,  and  that  we  dare  say  all  that  God  has  bidden  us ; 
that  we  feel  ourselves  fast  bound  by  the  letter  of  our  commission, 
then  the  conscience  of  our  people,  if  well  enlightened,  will  take 
part  with  God,  and  do  homage  to  our  integrity.  They  may  wish 
that  we  would  alter,  somewhat,  the  message  we  have  received  from 
heaven,  may  even  demand  that  the  point  of  truth  be  blunted,  may  re- 
fuse to  attend  upon  a  ministry  that  handles  so  unceremoniously  their 
passions,  their  practice,  and  their  prejudices;  but  if  we  comply,  we 
lose  their  respect,  and  their  judgment  denounces  us  contemptible 
hypocrites.  They  would  rejoice  to  be  successful,  but  the  moral 
sense  would  reprobate  us.  While  men  writhe  under  the  thrusts 
of  truth,  they  yield  the  highest  homage  to  the  man  whom  no 
bribery  can  corrupt,  who  can  be  contentedly  poor  and  homeless, 
but  cannot  be  treacherous. 

The  American  ambassador  at  some  foreign  court,  may  give  of- 
fence, by  pressing  our  claims  ;  but  should  he  violate  his  commis- 
sion, and  compromise  the  honor  of  his  country  and  the  rights  of 
his  constituents,  he  would  lose  all  respect  abroad  and  at  home,  and 
sink  into  deep  and  lasting  contempt.  Let  it  be  seen  early  that  no 
threat  can  scare  us,  that  no  bribe  can  buy  us,  that  uo  considera- 
tions of  ease,  honor,  or  affluence,  can  for  a  moment,  put  our 
integrity  to  a  stand,  or  bring  us  to  yield  an  inch  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  truth  :  thus  we  give  evidence  that  we  have  a  con- 
science, and  the  enemy  will  be  afraid  that  God  will  protect  us. 
Men  suspect,  in  this  case,  that  our  message  is  true,  and  fear  that 
their  cbstinacy  will  undo  them,  and,  feel  as  they  may,  they  yield 
us  respect.  Here  that  Divine  maxim  is  verified,  "  whosover  will 
save  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  but  whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  my 
sake,  the  same  shall  save  it."  The  most  contemptible  of  all  men, 
is  the  man  who  holds  this  high  commission,  but  employs  his  talents 
to  lower  down  the  terms  of  reconciliation,  to  the  wishes  of  the 
unsanctioned.  He  will  stand  yoked  with  the  wretch  who  betrays 
his  country,  and  goes  over  to  be  hated  and  despised  in  the  camp 
and  country  of  the  enemy.  But  the  man  who  is  true  to  his  Lord, 
who  sacredly  adheres  to  his  commission,  should  he  not  he  fa- 
vored wtih  any  very  signal  success,  maybe  respected,  and  happy, 
and  safe. 

Finally — The  apostle  and  his  brethren  felt  themselves  urged  to 
faithfulness,  by  the  consideration,  that  God  was  present.  Com- 
mending ourselves  to  every  man's  conscience,  ///  the  sight  oj  God, 
It   was   the    last   oromise   of  the  Lord  Jesus   "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 


"iO  THE    HONEST    ASV>    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY. 

alway  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world  !"  The  remotest  idea  of 
compromising  the  truth  is  immediately  known  to  God,  and  is  pe- 
culiarly provoking.  All  sin  is  committed  in  his  presence.-  But 
of  all  sins,  how  flagrant  and  daring  is  the  crime  of  deliberately 
altering  the  message  he  has  given  us  to  deliver  to  a  rebel  world  ! 
If  we  are  faithful  he  is  present  to  comfort  and  support  us,  but  il 
we  shrink,  through  the  fear  of  man,  which  bringeth  a  snare,  he  is 
present  to  despise  and  reprobate  us.  Hence,  let  this  be  our  mot- 
to, "  Thou  God  seest  me  ;"  and  let  us  live  and  die  under  a  solemn 
impression  of  this  truth.  Let  us  have  a  character,  and  exhibit  a 
conduct  upright  in  his  view.  Then  the  gospel  we  preach  will  be 
to  us  a  savor  of  life  unto  life.  The  all-seeing  God  will  watch  us 
till  we  die,  will  guard  the  slumbers  of  the  sepulchre,  and  will  raise 
us  to  enjoy  his  smiles  for  ever. 

How  delightful  the  thought,  when  slavish  fear  has  not  chased 
away  hope,  that  we  minister  in  the  very  presence  of  our  master. 
If  we  are  in  our  study  he  is  there,  or  on  our  knees  he  is  there,  or 
in  the  consecrated  pulpit,  he  is  there  ;  to  know  our  embarrassments, 
lay  our  fears,  raise  our  hopes,  and  pour  consolation  into  our  hearts. 
From  what  duty  can  we  shrink,  of  what  foe  be  afraid,  by  what  suf- 
ferings be  disheartened,  while  we  serve  a  God  at  hand  and  not  a 
God  afar  off",  and  may  at  any  moment  roll  our  cares  upon  One  who 
careth  for  us.  He  who  had  not  rather  be  a  minister  of  Christ 
with  all  its  trials,  than  wear  a  crown,  knows  not  the  pleasures  of 
the  service. 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  subject  is  very  humiliating  to  Christ's  ministers.  We 
enter  the  office  by  mere  sufferance.  We  were  under  a  sentence 
of  condemnation,  and  any  thing  short  of  perdition  is  mercy,  and 
yet  so  honored  !  Hence  no  position  becomes  us  but  that  of  the 
most  complete  prostration  of  soul.  Our  appropriate  prayer  is, 
"God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner.1'  From  no  station  of  useful- 
ness, enjoyment  or  honor,  can  we  fail  to  look  back  to  the  rock 
whence  we  were  hewn,  and  the  hole  of  the  pit  whence  we  were 
digged.  None  were  more  unworthy  of  the  office  than  we,  none 
more  richly  deserved  perdition,  or  if  we  reach  heaven  will  cele- 
brate our  escape  from  death  in  sweeter  Alleluias.  How  free,  how 
sovereign,  and  how  rich  the  grace  that  could  raise  such  beings  to 
a  station  so  distinguished  ! 

•1.  The  subject  will  help  us  to  judge,  who  are  the  true  ministei  t 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     They  have  renounced  the  hidden  things 


THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY.  541 

of  dishonesty,  do  not  walk  in  craftiness,  nor  handle  the  word  of 
God  deceitfully.  In  the  aspect  of  their  whole  moral  deportment 
there  is  seen  the  open  ingenuousness  of  truth.  When  they  have 
known  the  mind  of  God  they  dare  divulge  it  ;  they  dare,  even  if 
the  message  be  unpleasant.  If  faithfulness  should  endanger  their 
interest,  offend  their  benefactors,  cut  off  supplies  from  their  table, 
and  make  their  children  barefoot  and  houseless,  still  in  their  mes- 
sage will  be  seen  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  t  he  truth  simple,  and 
unadulterated,  as  it  dropped  from  the  lips  of  Jesus.  If  they  must 
be  lodged  in  a  dungeon,  and  see  kindled  the  fires  that  are  to  con- 
sume them,  still  supported  by  his  presence  who  said,  "  I  will  never 
leave  thee,"  it  is  presumed  you  would  see  associated  with  their 
rrgs,  and  their  wretchedness  and  martyrdom,  a  soul  too  honest 
to  betray  the  truth. 

But  we  see,  occasionally,  the  opposite  of  all  this.  The  man 
presents  himself  in  the  attitude  of  Christ's  minister,  but  makes  it 
his  great  object  to  accommodate  his  message  to  the  taste  of  the  poor 
dying  creature  whom  it  should  be  his  object  to  awaken  and  sanc- 
tify. He  believes  many  a  doctrine,  and  reads  many  a  precept  that 
he  dare  not  urge  upon  his  people,  and  sees  approaching  dangers 
against  which  he  dare  not  warn  them.  His  first  concern  is  to  se- 
cure to  himself  the  honors  and  the  emoluments  of  his  office,  even 
should  it  require  the  compromise  of  the  Divine  authority,  and  the 
Divine  glory.  It  grieves  us  to  know  that  he  is  likely  to  perish 
himself,  and  his  deluded  hearers  with  him.  And  moreover,  he 
generates  a  contagion  that  spreads  like  the  plague  through  all  the 
Churches,  and  brings  the  reproach  of  the  whole  apostacy  upon  the 
men  who  have  a  less  pliant  conscience,  and  courage  enough  to  do 
their  duty;  producing  a  fastidiousness  of  taste,  that  prepares 
men  to  resist  the  pressure  of  truth,  till  they  have  reached  per- 
dition. And  it  should  greatly  grieve  us  to  apprehend  that  our 
children,  when  we  are  dead,  may  be  thrown  under  such  a 
ministry;  may  imbibe  the  contagion,  may  deny  the  Lord  that 
bought  them,  may  hate  the  doctrines  that  should  sanctify  them, 
and  under  the  influence  of  a  smooth  and  fair  and  popular  reli- 
gion, glide  down  gently  and  smoothly  to  the   place  of  torment. 

3.    In  a  work  so  dignified,  so    responsible,    and  so  perilous^ 
ought  to  expect  the  confidence,  the  affection,  and  the  aid,  of  tho 
whose  salvation  this  ministry  is  established. 

It  should  secure  us  their  confidence  to  know  that  our  ministry 
admits  of  nothing  concealed  and  mysterious,  bill  is  open,  undis- 
guised, and  ingenuous.     We  spread  before  the  people  our  whole 


51:2  THE    HONEST    .AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY. 

commission,  make  our  design  known,  and  open  to  them  our  whole 
hearts.  We  are  willing;  to  earn  the  confidence  we  ask,  and  would 
say  <<>  the  world,  if  on  any  point  we  betray  your  interest,  believe 
any  doctrine,  or  credit  any  precept  that  we  do  not  urge,  or  hide 
the  danger  that  approaches  you,  then  be  distrustful  and  jealous, 
believe  that  we  have  run  before  we  were  sent,  nnd  that  under  the 
guise  of  the  lamb,  there  rages  the  appetite  of  the  wolf.  If  other- 
wise, we  deserve  your  assurance.  The  office  that  God  instituted, 
that  Christ  personally  honored,  should  hold  a  place  very  sacred, 
and   very  high,  in  your  esteem. 

I  know  there  are  sections  of  Christendom  where  the  vilest  ol 
men  who  do  not  deserve  esteem,  serve  at  the  altar.  But  by  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them.  If  they  deal  in  the  hidden  things  of 
dishonesty,  or  walk  in  craftiness,  or  handle  the  word  of  God  de- 
ceitfully, you  are  not  obligated  to  esteem  them  the  ministers  of 
Christ.  And  still  it  sometimes  happens  that  a  false  and  deceitful 
ministry  is  more  popular  than  the  one  that  Christ  approves.  It  aims 
to  commend  itself,  not  to  the  conscience  but  to  the  umanctijied  heart. 
It  prophecies  smooth  things,  heals  the  wounds  of  the  awakened 
conscience  slightly,  and  assures  the  wicked  that  it  shall  be  well 
with  them.  It  covers  the  pit  over,  and  makes  great  efforts  to  lay 
the  cry  of  alarm.  The  men  whom  you  may  trust,  expose  your 
danger,  and  depict  your  depravity,  lead  you  to  search  your  hearts, 
and  try  your  hopes;  and  they  deserve  and  need  your  confidence. 
They  have  trials  enough,  when  their  people  rally  about  them,  and 
confide  in  their  integrity. 

Let  me  say  to  all  the  lost,  it  is  equally  your  duty  and  your  in- 
terest to  love  the  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  come  to  yon 
on  an  errand  the  most  kind,  and  it  may  happen,  and  God  may 
know  it,  that  when  they  disturb  you  the  most,  they  feel  the  most 
tenderly.  When  it  has  seemed  to  you  that  they  must  hate  you, 
they  have  gone  home  and  wept  over  you,  and  interceded  with 
God  in  agonized  prayer  for  your  eternal  life.  So  your  child 
thought  you  cruel,  when  you  tore  the  thorn  from  his  wounded 
hand  ;  but  was  you  not  kind  • 

One  thing  it  is  easy  to  know,  he  who  so  presses  home  upon 
your  conscience  the  doctrines  and  duties  of  the  gospel  as  to  of- 
fend  you,  is  not  probably  governed  by  selfish  motives.  His  inter- 
est, when  no  reference  is  hud  to  the  last  day,  would  lead  him  so  to 
soften  his  message  as  not  to  give  offence.  You  would  then  the 
more  generously  fill  his  board.  Still,  when  you  find  him  unbend* 
ingly  faithful, he  deserves  your  esteem  the  more.     Else  you  tempt 


THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL    HINIBTRYi 

him  to  betray  your   interest.     When  yon  move  him  from   his  In- 
tegrity, he  hut  goes  down  with  you  to  the  pit  ;  or  if  God  foi 
him,  and  he  is  saved,  lie   may  first  have  destroyed   you  :in<l  your 
children.     Let  him  then  he  faithful,  and  still  have  your  affection, 
then  his  work  will  he  pleasant,  and  your  danger  diminished. 

An  I  the  ministers  of  Christ  will  also  need  your  hdp.  The  en- 
terprise in  which  they  are  employed  is  the  redemption  of  men 
from  eternal  misery.  And  they  have  all  the  weaknesses  of  other 
men,  and  need  in  a  work  so  awfully  grand,  the  prompt  co-opera- 
tion of  all  who  value  the  soul.  The  seed  they  sow  must  be  wa- 
tered with  prayer,  their  duties  must  be  made  easy  by  your  friend- 
ship, and  their  trials  be  softened  by  your  sympathies.  When  the 
burdens  of  the  ministry  are  thus  lightened,  they  are  still  weighty 
enough  for  the  shoulders  of  an  angel.  Our  constant,  exclamation 
is,  "  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?"  Next  to  him  who  in 
the  very  work  itself  has  continued  faithful  unto  death,  the  high 
reward  of  heaven  will  be  his,  who  has  aided  our  efforts,  and  has 
labored  with  us  in  the  gospel.  If  you  could  have  helped  in  build- 
ing the  world,  it  would  have  been  a  service  less  honorable  than 
that  of  helping  to  redeem  it.  it  was  built  of  chnj,  but  must  be 
redeemed  with  blood  ;  it  took  its  form  in  a  tree/.-,  but  its  redemp- 
tion has  been  progressing  these  six  thousand  years. 

You  may  contribute  to  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  cover  a  mul- 
titude of  sins  ;  may  snatch  a  spirit  that  can  never  die,  from  perdi- 
tion, and  elevate  it  to  a  seat  high  in  bliss  ;  may  substitute  the 
glories  of  heaven  for  the  darkness  and  horrors  of  the  pit  ;  and 
changed  the  wailings  of  the  damned  into  anthems  of  Alleluia.  By 
motives  mighty  like  these,  you  are  urged  to  ease  the  burdens  of 
the  ministry,  to  render  the  service  pleasant  and  efficient  by 
sympathies,  your  counsels,  and  your  prayers.  It  is  sweet  to  know 
that  we  have  sometimes  the  entire  confidence  as  well  as  the  pray- 
ers of  those  whom  it  is  our  work  to  build  up  in  the  faith  and  pu- 
rity of  the  gospel.  It  cheers  the  solitude  of  many  a  midnight 
hour,  that  we  are  preparing  a  repast  for  the  disciples  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  who,  when  they  have  fed  upon  the  word,  will  pray  for  him 
who  published  it.  May  every  such  prayer  for  us  be  answered, 
and  then  returned  into  your  own  bosoms,  and  when  the  lips  are 
cold  and  the  tongue  silent  that  address  you,  and  the  sanctuary 
where  you  worship  has  crumbled,  and  other  generations  (ill  the 
places  we  occupy,  may  we  he  together  about  the  throne,  to  sing 
and  say,  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God,  Hie  God  <h  [srai  I,  who  only 
doeth  wondrous  things.     And   blessed    '■>    his  glorious   name  for 


544  THE    HONEST    AND    FAITHFUL    MINISTRY. 

ever  :  and  let  the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  his  glory."    Amen  and 
amen. 

Finally,  it  is  a  crime  of  no  small  magnitude  to  treat  with  ne- 
glect or  contempt  a  ministry  formed  after  the  pattern  of  the  text. 
The  embassy  that  God  commissions  deserves  regard.  "He  that 
receiveth  yon,  receiveth  me."  If  ministers  are  faithful,  it  is  not 
at  the  option  of  their  people,  whether  they  shall  receive  or  reject 
their  message,  and  treat  kindly,  or  otherwise,  those  who  hold  the 
high  commission  of  ambassadors  of  Jesns  Christ.  To  their  own 
Master  they  are  accountable  for  every  doctrine  they  advance, 
every  duty  they  urge,  and  the  proper  application  of  every  promise 
they  repeat ;  and  you  too  are  obligated  to  insert  that  doctrine,  if 
true,  into  your  creed,  to  practice  that  duty,  and  apply  legitimately 
that  promise.  If  they  deliver  the  true  gospel,  and  you  reject  it, 
it  proves  to  you  a  savor  of  death  unto  death.  Even  cold  indiffer- 
ence is  criminal  toward  that  ministry  which  has  immediate  con- 
nection with  your  salvation,  and  the  eternal  life  of  your  offspring. 
God  will  punish  those  who  treat  rudely  his  ministers.  We  could 
point  you  to  the  places  where  sterility  and  death  have  reigned 
for  half  a  century,  when  the  hand  had  been  raised  against  one 
whom  God  sent  to  them  with  the  news  of  pardon.  The  law  in 
Israel,  "  Touch  not  mine  anointed,  and  do  my  prophets  no  harm," 
has  been  renewed  in  other  terms  under  the  gospel.  Blessed  God, 
let  no  -mild  of  mine  ever  hurt  or  offend  thy  ministers. 


SERMON  XLVII. 

THE  WEALTHY  CHRISTIAN  READY  TO  COM1RIBUTE. 

1.    TIMOTHY    Vi.     17 19. 

Charge  ihcm  that  are  rich  in  this  world  that  they  lift  not  high-minded,  nor  trust  in  uncertain 

riches,  but  in  the  living  God,  who  giveth  us  richly  all  tilings  toenjoy  :  that  they  do  g 1.  thai  they 

?i '  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to  distribute,  willing  io  communicate  ;  laying  up  in  store  for  them- 
selves a  good  foundation  against  the  time  to  come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  on  eternal  life. 

The  Bible  admirably  adapts  its  instructions  to  every  character 
and  condition  in  human  life,  from  the  greatest  monarch  to  the 
meanest  slave.  And  this  fact  is  an  evidence  that  the  Scriptures 
are  from  God.  They  teach  with  an  authority  that  men  uninspired 
would  not  have  been  likely  to  assume.  There  is  no  crouch \n<z,  no 
sycophancy,  no  flattery.  Duty  is  taught  to  every  man  in  the  sumo 
style,  with  the  same  plainness,  and  the  same  assurance.  What 
was  said  of  our  Lord,  that  he  taught  as  one  having  authority,  is 
true  of  the  whole  Bible. 

In  the  text  Paul  is  directing  Timothy  what  he  must  say  to  the 
rich.  They  may  not  be  high-minded.  God  distinguishes  one  man 
from  another.  "  In  thine  hand  it  is  to  make  great."  They  may 
not  trust  in  riches,  for  they  are  uncertain,  and  may  take  to  them- 
selves wings  and  fly  away.  They  must  trust  alone  in  God,  the 
living  God,  who  giveth  them  richly  all  things  to  enjoy.  God  sutlers 
them  to  enjoy  their  wealth,  but  he  also  commands  them  to  commu- 
nicate enjoyment.  They  are  to  be  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to 
distribute,  willing  to  communicate.  They  must  not  even  wait  to 
be  urged  to  this  duty,  but  hold  themselves  in  the  attitude  of  hand- 
ing out  to  others  what  God  has  put  into  their  possession. 

Thus  they  lay  up  in  store  for  themselves  a  good  foundation,  a 
treasure  upon  which  they  may  draw  at  any  future  period  of  want. 
Hence  to  be  liberal  renders  them  ultimately  the  more  wealthy,  and 
what  is  more  important,  enables  them  to  lay  hold  on  eternal  life. 
Thus  their  duty  and  their  interest  are  united,  and  are  equally  plain. 
To  do  good  with  their  wealth  is  an  important  means  of  bringing 
them  to  heaven.  It  is  that  test  of  piety  which  God  will  demand 
of  the  rich.  Hence  said  our  Lord  "  How  hardly  do  they  that  have 
riches  enter  into  the  kinordom  of  God."     We  cannot  then  be  kind 


54G  THE    WEALTHY    CHRISTIAN 

to  this  large  and  respectable  class  of  men,  unless  we  urge  them  to 
liberality,  as  an  indispensable  test  of  their  hope.  They  have  some 
liberty  of  choice  as  to  the  objects  they  will  the  most  liberally 
patronize,  but  may  not  choose  whether  they  will  or  will  not  be 
ready  to  communicate,  for  if  they  will  not,  they  can  have  no  evi 
dence  that  they  shall  lay  hold  on  eternal  life. 

In  proceeding,  I  shall  present  an  object,  which  seems  to  me  to 
stand  among  the  first,  and  urge  its  claims  upon  a  single  class  of 
I  he  wealthy.  Let  me  say,  that  It  is  the  duty  of  professors  of  re- 
ligion who  have  wealth  to  consecrate  their  property  to  the  spread  of 
the  gospel. 

Ye  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  your  Savior  has  set  up  a 
church  in  this  world,  has  promised  that  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  her,  and  that  she  shall  one  day  embrace  all  nations  ; 
and  calls  upon  you  to  consecrate  your  property  to  the  diffusion  of 
thai  gospel  by  which  he  brings  men  into  covenant  with  him  and 
makes  them  happy.  Will  you  hear  me,  while  1  offer  five  argu- 
ments to  induce  you  to  obey  him  in  this  reasonable  requisition.  I 
will  enter  upon  the  point  without  detaining  you  a  moment,  and  when 
1  have  done,  you  must  act  as  you  think  proper.     I  assert  in  the 

1.  Place,  That  "  the  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fulness  thereof'' 
and  hence  that  he  has  a  right  to  make  this  draft  upon  yoit.  If  I 
fail  in  establishing  this  point,  you  may  lay  down  the  book,  and 
not  read  another  line. 

You  acknowledge  God  as  the  creator  of  all  things.  Here  I 
found  his  claim  ;  it  is  prior  to  all  "others.  He  who  built  all 
worlds,  and  peopled  them,  and  gave  that  people  all  their  good 
things,  may  make  a  demand  upon  them  to  any  amount  within 
their  power,  with  the  certainty  that  it  cannot  be  protested.  "  Mis 
are  all  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand 
hills."  The  same  is  true  of  your  silver,  your  merchandize,  your 
children,  your  servants,  and  all  that  you  have.  If  not,  then  name 
the  good  thing  that  you  can  be  sure  will  be  yours  to-morrow. 
Begin,  if  you  please,  at  the  bottom  of  the  catalogue  of  your  com- 
forts, and  ascend,  through  the  whole  series,  to  the  wife  of  your 
bosom,  your  health,  and  your  life,  and  tell  me  which  of  the  whole 
Avill  he  yours  to-morrow.  Dare  you  name  nothing  !  Then  whose- 
soever they  are,  they  surely  are  not  yours.  For  he  who  has 
nothing  that  he  can  hold  a  day,  has  nothing  but  what  is  borrowed. 
And  if  the  good  things  you  possess  are  not  yours  they  are  the 
Lord's,  or  whose  are  they  ! 


READY    TO    CONTRIBUTE.  ;~J7 

And  what  was  the  Lord's  at  the  first,  because  he  made  it,  he 
has  carefully  watched  over  and  preserved.  Not  merely  could  we 
hue  had  nothing,  if  God  had  not  made  it,  but  we  could  have  kept 
nothing,  if  God  had  not  preserved  it.  There  is  no  hind  of  inde- 
pendence about  us;  we  should  have  been  beggars,  ;f  God  had  not 
cared  for  us.  There  was  an  eye  that  watched  more  narrowly  th  m 
we  did  or  could,  or  our  wealth  had  long  since  taken  to  itself  wings 
and  had  flown  away.  You  will  own,  my  Christian  friends,  that  it 
was  the  blessed  God  that  watered  your  fields,  and  gave  success 
to  your  commerce,  and  health  to  your  children,  that  guarded  your 
house  from  fire,  and  your  lives  from  danger,  else  you  would  have 
been  pennyless  or  have  perished  years  since.  How  many,  once  as 
rich  as  you,  are  now  poor;  or  as  healthy  as  you,  are  now  in  the 
grave  ;  had  a  home  as  you  have,  but  it  burned  down  ;  had  child- 
ren, as  it  may  be  you  have,  but  the  cold  blast  came  over  them,  and 
they  died.  And  was  it  not  the  kindness  of  God  that  saved  to  you 
what  you  have  1  May  he  not  then  lay  a  tax  upon  your  wealth,  as 
large  as  he  pleases  1 

But  I  am  not  through  the  argument.  God  has  never  alienated 
his  right.  He  has  suffered  Satan  to  be  styled  the  God  of  this 
world,  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  ;  but  he  owns  nothing. 
The  territories  that  he  promised  the  Lord  Jesus,  if  he  would  fall 
down  and  worship  him,  were  not  a  foot  of  them  his.  And  though 
men  are  permitted  to  hold  under  God  certain  rights,  and  which 
they  sometimes  term  unalienable,  still  God  never  has,  and  never 
will,  renounce  his  right  to  dispose  at  pleasure  of  all  that  we  term 
ours.  In  a  moment,  if  he  pleases,  day  or  night,  he  puts  us  out  of 
our  possessions,  and  the  places  that  knew  ns  know  us  no  more 
for  ever.  Hence  we  can  serve  God  only  with  what  is  his  already, 
what  he  has  never  alienated.  "  Of  thine  own  we  give  thee."  Now 
that  which  God  has  put  into  our  hands,  and  the  right  to  which  he 
has  never  relinquished,  we  may  not,  without  the  charge  of  embez- 
zlement, appropriate  otherwise  than  as  he  shall  command  us. 

But  1  have  not  done.  God  has  often  asserted  his  claim  to  what 
ice  term  our-:.  Once  he  claimed  the  whole  world,  and  by  a  sudden 
and  fearful  dispensation,  displaced  every  tenant  that  had  ever 
occupied  its  soil,  providing  afterward  for  the  single  familj  that 
loved  him.  And  none  will  say  that  God  went  without  his  own 
dominions,  to  lay  a  world  waste  that  was  the  property  of  another. 
When  he  burned  the  cities  of  the  plain,  he  but  asserted,  though 
loudly  and  fearfully,  his  right,  and  pressed  home  to  the  bosom 
and  the  conscience  of  every  foe  and  friend  he  'lad,  his  claim  to  he 


5A8  THE    WEALTHY    CHRISTIAN 

served  and  honored,  in  every  valley  that  he  had  made  fertile,  and 
oy  every  people  whom  his  kindness  had  rendered  prosperous. 

In  the  ruin  of  all  the  ancient  monarchies,  God  is  seen  in  the 
attitude  of  asserting  his  claim  to  the  kingdoms  of  men,  as  sections 
(  f  his  own  empire,  to  which  he  will  send  other  rulers,  and  other 
subjects,  whenever  he  shall  please.  The  desolating  pestilences 
by  which  he  has  depopulated  towns  and  cities,  and  the  thousand 
nameless  swoops  of  death  written  in  our  gloomy  history,  had  all 
their  commission  from  heaven,  to  take  back  the  life,  and  health, 
and  comforts  he  had  loaned  to  men.  There  was  one  kingdom  we 
read  of  whose  whole  population  went  seventy  years  into  bondage, 
because  their  land  not  been  allowed  to  keep  its  Sabbaths,  and  they 
had  not  paid  their  tithes,  and  emancipated  their  servants  at  the 
appointed  jubilee. 

The  storms  that  have  wrecked  our  merchandize,  and  the  fires 
that  have  devoured  our  cities,  and  all  the  misnamed  casualties  that 
have  ruined  our  fortunes,  have  been  so  many  claims  put  in  by  the 
rightful  owner  of  all  things  to  what  we  had  appropriated  too  ex- 
clusively to  our  own  use.  And  the  occurrences  of  every  day  are 
of  the  same  character. 

I  know  that  this  is  not  the  world  of  retribution,  and  that  "  No 
man  knoweth  either  good  or  evil,  by  any  thing  that  is  done  under 
the  sun  5"  but  let  us  not  deny  that  God  is  known  by  the  judgment 
that  he  executeth.  Will  he  not,  by  repeated  demands,  keep  men 
in  mind  that  they  cultivate  his  territory,  and  feed  on  his  bounty, 
and  are  happy  under  his  auspices  1  In  thus  asserting  his  claim  to 
be  served  with  the  talents  that  he  loans  his  creatures,  he  teaches 
us  that  one  unchangeable  law  of  his  kingdom  is,  that  he  never 
alienates  what  was  once  his  own. 

I  shall  not  offend  the  good  man  when  I  claim,  that  this  has  been 
a  disastrous,  because  a  disobedient  world.  Perhaps  the  aggregate 
of  property  lost  by  the  various  calamities  that  God  has  sent  upon 
us,  would  have  exactly  mot  the  claims  he  made  upon  our  charity. 
Had  that  wealth  been  expended  as  he  directed,  it  would  have  made 
the  world  wise  and  happy.  "  Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  store- 
house, that  there  may  be  meat  in  mine  house,  and  prove  me  now 
herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open  you  the  win- 
dows of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not 
ho  room  enough  to  receive  it."  "  There  is  that  withholdeth  more 
than  is  meet,  and  it  tendeth  to  poverty." 

It  is  impossible  to  say  how  much  more  prosperous  this  world 
mighl  have  boon,  if  men  had  expended  their  wealth  as  God  would 


READY    TO    CONTRIBUTE.  5|<) 

have  them  ;  how  much  more  frequently  the  showers  had  fallen,  or 
more  genial  had  been  our  sun,  or  more  gentle  our  breezes,  or  mild 
our  winters,  or  fertile  our  soil,  or  healthful  our  population,  if  we 
had  been  a  better  people,  and  had  served  the  Lord  with  our  sub- 
stance. His  promise  must  have  failed,  or  he  would  have  filled  our 
barns  with  plenty,  and  caused  our  presses  to  burst  out  with  new 
wine. 

As  the  Churches  shall  wake  to  their  duty,  and  give  the  world 
the  gospel,  I  hope,  and  if  infidelity  scoffs,  still  I  will  hope,  that 
much  of  the  curse  will  be  removed  from  this  ill-fated  territory, 
and  God  kindly  stay  his  rough  wind,  in  the  day  of  his  east  wind. 
How  many  of  its  plagues  will  be  cured,  its  wars  prevented,  its 
heaths  made  fertile,  and  its  earthquakes  stilled  ;  and  what  the 
amount  of  blessings  bestowed  upon  this  poor  world,  when  it  shall 
become  more  loyal  and  more  benevolent,  none  but  God  can  know. 

I  cannot  believe,  that  when  we  shall  do  as  he  bids  us,  he  will  so 
often  rebuke  us.  When  we  cease  to  waste  his  goods,  he  will  al- 
low us  to  continue  longer  in  the  stewardship  ;  when  we  shall  be 
faithful  in  the  few  things,  he  will  make  us  rulers  over  many  things. 
If  you  will  now  consider  me  as  having  established  the  Divine 
claim,  to  you,  and  all  that  you  have,  1  will  proceed  to  say, 

II.  Christians  who  have  the  means,  should  contribute  to  dissemi' 
nate  the  gospel,  because  they  are  heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with 
Jesus  Christ.  They  belong  to  that  kingdom  which  the  gospel 
was  intended  to  establish.  This  fact  is  quite  enough  to  give  the 
cause  I  plead  a  strong  hold  upon  every  pious  heart.  Ye  disciples 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  read  for  once  the  charter  of  your  hopes,  and 
while  it  warms  your  heart,  tell  me  if  you  have  done  half  your 
duty.  "  All  things  are  yours,  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas, 
or  the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present  or  things  to  come  ; 
all  are  yours,  and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's."  Thus  it 
seems  God  and  his  people  have  but  one  interest.  Hence  when  lie 
commands  them  to  spread  his  gospel,  he  but  bids  them  to  buy 
themselves  blessings,  bids  them  foster  their  own  interest,  and 
make  their  own  kingdom  happy.  The  Christian  lias  by  his  own 
act  identified  his  whole  interest  with  that  of  the  Church  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If  God  is  honored,  he  is  happy,  and  Cod  is 
honored  in  the  salvation  of  sinners,  and  in  the  joy  of  his  people. 
Hence  God  can  command  his  people  to  do  nothing  but  that  which 
will  bless  themselves. 

Now  when  did  you   know   a  king's  son  who  would  not  joyfully 


550  THE    WEALTHY    CHRISTIAN 

expend  his  father's  treasures  to  enlarge,  and  strengthen,  and  beau- 
tify  the  kingdom  to  which  he  was  heir]  He  thus  polishes  his  own 
crown,  and  blesses  his  own  future  reign.  What  believer  has  not 
the  same  interest  that  God  has  in  lengthening  the  cords  and 
strengthening  the  stakes  of  Zion  1  He  is  one  of  the  little  flock, 
to  whom  it  is  his  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  the  kingdom.  He 
is  to  be  a  king  and  a  priest  to  God  and  the  Lamb  for  ever.  And 
has  he  still  an  interest  distinct  from  his  heavenly  Father  1  And 
if  not,  he  will  hold  all  he  has  at  the  control  of  God,  and  will  need 
only  to  know  his  duty,  and  will  act  most  cheerfully. 

III.  Rcaso?i  why  Christians  who  have  the  means,  should  contribute 
to  disseminate  the  gospel  is,  that  they  miist  be  merciful ,  as  their  Father 
in  heaven  is  merciful.  Over  that  mass  of  misery  which  the  apos- 
tacy  has  produced  their  pious  hearts  have  long  bled  in  sympathy. 
And  tlieir  charity  is  not  of  that  kind  that  it  can  content  itself  with 
saying,  "Be  ye  warmed,  and  be  ye  filled."  They  have  read,  and 
have  strongly  felt  that  cutting  interrogation  of  the  apostle,  "  "Who- 
soever hath  this  world's  good,  and  seeth  his  brother  have  need. 
and  sluitteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth 
the  love  of  God  in  him  1"  And  there  is  no  man  so  poor  as  he 
who  has  not  the  bread  of  life.  The  good  man  would  render  all 
men  happy.  His  charity  is  warm  like  that  which  beat  in  the  heart 
of  the  Son  of  God,  ami  to  do  his  duty  is  his  meat  and  his  drink 
This  makes  him  like  his  Master,  and  to  this  he  aspires.  He  can- 
not hope  to  rejoice  eternally  in  the  achievements  of  redemption, 
unless  moved  by  the  same  pity  for  the  miserable  that  he  felt,  he  is 
prepared  to  march  up  promptly  and  offer  the  Savior  any  service 
he  requires. 

I  appeal  then,  ye  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  kindness  of 
your  heart,  when  I  ask  you  to  contribute  to  render  the  world  hap- 
py by  your  wealth.  Would  you  not  cure  some  of  the  plagues  that 
sin  has  generated,  and  that  have  so  long  preyed  upon  the  happi- 
ness of  man  1  Would  you  not  quench  the  funeral  pile,  and  save 
the  young,  and  beautiful,  but  infatuated  widow,  that  she  may  nurse 
her  imploring  infant,  and  live  to  rear  it  up  to  life  !  Would  you 
not  free  one  half  the  human  family,  the  female  sex,  from  that 
servitude  for  which  paganism  has  subjected  them!  Would  you 
not  snatch  ten  thousand  infants  from  the  altars  of  devils,  where 
they  now  lie,  bound  and  weeping,  waiting  till  you  speak  a  word  of 
mercy  for  them  1  Would  you  not  teach  the  vast  herd  of  idolaters, 
that   there   is   a   kinder,  and   more  merciful  God,  than  those  thej 


BEADY    TO    CONTRIBUTE.  .r>."l 

worship  1  Would  you  not  break  in  upon  the  delusions  of  the  false 
prophet,  and  tell  his  misguided  followers  that  you  have  read  of  a 
holier  heaven  than  they  hope  fori  Would  you  not  file  off  the 
chains  that  have  been  fastened  so  many  centuries  upon  poor  af- 
flicted Africa  !  Would  you  not  stay  the  progress  of  war,  and  save 
from  death  the  thousands  that  are  marching,  wan  and  weary, 
toward  the  field  or  death  ?  C),  would  you  not,  were  it  possible, 
bring  back  this  base  world  to  its  home  and  its  Maker  1  Have  you 
tlien  a  purse,  into  which  God  may  not  require  you  to  thrust  your 
hand,  and  take  thence  what  he  has  there  deposited,  with  a  view  to 
make  this  same  world  happy  1 

IV.  Bear  with  me,  ye  followers  of  the  Lamb,  and  I  will  say  again 
'hat  you  have  covenanted  to  be  workers  together  with  God,  in  achieving 
the  purposes  of  redemption,  and  must  now  employ  your  energies  to 
viden  the  boundaries  of  his  holy  empire,  or  forfeit  your  vow.  It  was 
in  you  a  voluntary  compact,  and  you  pledged  in  that  hour  your 
prayers,  your  influence,  your  farm,  your  merchandize,  your  purse, 
your  children,  and  all  that  you  have.  And  heaven  has  recorded 
that  vow,  to  be  brought  up  against  you,  if  it  be  violated,  in  the  day 
of  retribution.  It  was  wholly  at  your  option,  whether  you  would 
enter  into  that  sweeping  covenant,  whether  you  would  swear;  but 
you  have  entered,  you  have  sworn,  and  cannot  go  back.  Youthen 
relinquished  for  ever  your  personal  rights,  and  have  had  ever  since 
but  a  community  of  interest  with  God  and  his  people.  Now  God 
is  employed  in  doing  good,  and  his  people  too,  if  they  are  like 
him.  How  then  will  it  correspond  with  your  oath  to  stand  aloof 
from  the  calls  of  the  Church,  and  disregard  the  command  of  God, 
and  let  the  waste  places  lie  desolate,  and  let  the  heathen  die  in 
their  pollutions,  and  let  the  captives  perish  in  their  chains,  and  let 
almost  the  whole  of  that  territory,  purchased  with  the  blood  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  lie  still  under  the  usurped  dominion  of  the 
prince  of  hell  ;  and  let  a  whole  condemned  world  go  on  to  the 
judgment  with  all  this  blood  upon  it  unsanctified  \  Oh,  how  will 
your  broken  vows  rise  and  haunt  you,  in  that  day  when  the  wealth 
you  have  saved  shall  be  weighed  in  the  balance  with  the  souls  it 
might  have  redeemed. 

Once  more,  and  I  have  done.  As  you  hope  you  have  been  sancti- 
fied  through  the  truth,  you  have  some  experience  of  the  value  of  that 
gospel  which  we  urge  you  to  promulgate.  Once  you  were  ignorant 
of  God.  and  were  unhappy.     You  were  in  somewhat  the  same  for- 


552  Till:    WEALTHY    CHRISTIAN 

lorn  condition  with  those  whose  cause  I  plead  ;  you  had  forsaken 
God,  the  fountain  of  living  waters,  and  had  hewn  out  to  yourselves 
broken  cisterns,  that  could  hold  no  water.  And  you  remember 
that  dark  period.  Your  mind  traveled  from  object  to  object, 
through  all  the  round  of  created  good,  in  search  of  enjoyment, 
and  "  found  no  end  in  wandering  mazes  lost." 

And  there  is  a  world  of  intelligent  immortal  beings  seen  pant- 
ing and  weary  in  the  same  fruitless  chase.  It  was  the  blessed 
gospel  that  arrested  you,  and  saved  you.  Your  heedless  sleps  it 
guided,  your  dark  mind  it  enlightened,  your  erring  conscience  i. 
rectified,  your  insensibility  it  aroused,  your  hard  heart  it  softened, 
your  selfishness  it  subdued,  your  pride  it  humbled,  your  wayward 
course  it  changed,  your  covenant  with  death,  and  your  agreement 
with  hell  it  disannulled.  And  here  you  stand,  redeemed,  regener- 
ated ;  your  whole  character  changed,  and  your  final  destiny  alter- 
ed, through  the  influence  of  the  blessed  gospel.  The  curse  is  re- 
moved, you  are  a  child  of  God,  and  an  heir  of  glory,  and  shall  one 
day  see  the  King  in  his  beauty  ;  and  t he  gospel  has  done  it.  It  has 
given  you  peace  of  conscience,  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  firm  hope 
of  heaven,  and  the  soul  reviving  assurance,  that  all  things  shall 
work  together  for  your  good,  till  you  rise  to  be  where  Christ  is, 
behold  his  beauty,  and  rejoice  in  his  love  for  ever. 

Now  the  question  is,  whether  you  will  contribute  of  your  wealth 
to  save  those  who  are  perishing  as  you  so  lately  were.  I  now 
plead  with  you  by  all  that  religion  has  been  worth  to  you,  by  all 
the  joys  it  has  brought  you,  by  all  the  woes  it  has  cured,  by  all 
the  hopes  it  has  raised,  and  by  all  the  transformation  it  has  wrought 
in  your  character  and  your  condition.  For  what  price  would  you 
return  into  the  darkened,  and  dreary,  and  hopeless  condition  in 
which  the  gospel  found  you  1  For  what  would  you  barter  away 
all  the  delightful  prospects  that  open  before  you  1  and  calculate 
on  no  more  precious  sacramental  seasons,  no  more  communion  of 
saints,  no  more  delightful  hours  in  your  closet,  nor  Pisgah-vews 
of  the  fields  of  promise,  nor  fellowship  with  the  Father,  and  with 
his  Son  Jesus  Christ  1  At  no  price  would  you  part  with  these  1 
Then  know  how  great  are  the  blessings  which  you  have  it  in  your 
power  to  confer  on  those  who  are  perishing  for  lack  of  vision. 

Do  you  say,  they  can  purchase  the  privileges  of  the  gospel  as 
you  have  1  No  they  will  not.  They  know  not  their  value,  and 
will  die  in  their  sins,  ere  they  will  give  a  shilling  for  the  light  of 
the  gospel.  Not  the  whole  of  India,  if  it  would  save  them  all  from 
hell,  would  support  a  single  missionary. 


READY    TO    CONTRIBUTE.  553 

Will  God  send  them  the  gospel  hy  miracle  1  No,  he  once  did 
thus  send  it  to  the  lost,  blessed  be  his  name  !  but  he  now  com- 
mands us  to  send  it  to  those  who  are  perishing  for  lack  of  vision. 
We  know  our  duty,  and  God  will  require  it  of  us.  Can  we  meet 
the  heathen  in  the  judgment,  if  we  have  done  nothing  to  redeem 
them  1 

I  will  plead  no  longer,  but  let  me  tell  you  in  parting,  that  when 
you  shall  see  the  world  on  fire,  your  wealth  all  melting  down,  and 
those  who  have  perished  through  your  neglect  calling  upon  the 
"  rocks  and  mountains  to  fall  on  them,  and  hide  them  from  tlie 
face  of  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of 
the  Lamb,"  and  shall  know  that  you  might  have  been  instrumen- 
tal in  saving  them,  there  will  be  strong  sensations.  If  you  are 
saved  yourselves,  and  this  is  doubtful  if  you  are  not  anxious  to 
save  others,  you  will  wish  a  place  to  weep  over  your  past  neglects, 
before  you  begin  your  everlasting  song  :  and  if  lost  yourself,  then 
indeed  there  will  he  weeping,  and  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

May  Jehovah  bless  you,  and  dispose  you  to  do  your  duty  now, 
that  you  may  hereafter  liy  hold  on  eternal  life. 


SERMON    XLVIII. 
THE  ENLIGHTENED  CONSCIENCE  UNBENDING. 

1  CORINTHIANS    VIII.    13. 
If  meat  make  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  tlesh  while  the  world  standelh. 

In  the  early  establishment  of  Christianity,  it  became  necessary 
to  discriminate  between  those  customs,  both  Jewish  and  heathen, 
that  might  or  that  might  not  be  tolerated  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 
In  things  that  were  in  themselves  perfectly  harmless,  and  harmless 
in  their  bearing,  there  was  no  need  that  believers  dissent  from  the 
world.  In  these  things  it  was  their  duty  to  become  all  things  to 
all  men.  For  instance,  Paul  took  Timothy  and  circumcised  him, 
because  it  was  known  of  all  that  his  father  was  a  Grecian.  Cir- 
cumcision had  ceased  to  be  an  ordinance  in  the  Church  of  God,  but 
10  law  had  been  issued  forbidding  the  amputation  of  the  foreskin. 
Hence  this  might  innocently  be  done,  when  it  would  render  a 
Christian  minister  more  useful;  though  not  as  an  ordinance  of 
God,  obligatory  upon  believers  under  the  new  dispensation. 

There  prevailed  the  heathen  custom  of  offering  the  flesh  of  the 
beasts  they  slew  for  the  market  to  their  idol  gods,  and  if  men 
made  a  feast  the  beasts  were  slain  in  honor  of  their  idols,  and  then 
set  before  their  gue&ts.  To  these  feasts  Christians  would  be  in- 
vited, and  might  go  innocently  ;  provided,  however,  that  the  meat 
on  which  they  were  to  feast  had  not  been  offered  to  idols,  or,  if 
so  offered,  the  fact  had  not  been  made  known  to  them.  Whatso- 
ever had  been  sold  in  the  shambles,  or  market,  they  might  eat, 
asking  no  questions,  whether  it  had  or  had  not  been  offered  to 
idols.  I3ut  if  any  should  inform  them  that  the  meat  set  before 
them  had  been  sacrificed  to  heathen  deities,  they  might  not  eat. 
And  that,  not  because  the  meat  had  been  by  this  ceremony  pol- 
luted, or  injured  ;  for  an  idol  was  nothing  at  all.  This  the  best 
informed  believers  would  early  know;  hence  in  itself  considered 
there  would  be  no  harm  in  their  eating  it.  But  there  were  some 
weak  believers  who  would  not  have  thrown  off  the  impression 
that  the  heathen  gods,  whom  they  had  before  worshipped,  were  a 
kind  of  inferior  deities,  that  had  a  real  existence,  and  who  could 


THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    [JNBENDING.  555 

not  ext  flesh  that  had  been  consecrated  to  them,  without  practising 
idolatry.  Now  if  better  informed  believers,  who,  as  to  any  effect 
upon  themselves,  might  harmlessly  feast  upon  these  sacrifices, 
should  do  so,  they  would  lead  their  weaker  brethren  into  sin,  and 
tempt  them  to  apostacy.  Hence  they  must  abstain,  because  of  the 
weak  and  unenlightened  consciences  of  their  brethren.  They 
need  not  seek  to  be  informed  whether  they  were  about  to  feast  on 
a  heathen  sacrifice  or  not,  for  the  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  ful 
ness  thereof,  and  they  might  partake  of  the  bounties  of  God  with 
out  scruple.  They  need  ask  no  question  for  conscience'  sake 
conscience  not  their  own,  however,  but  their  brother's.  They 
might  eat  and  not  sin,  but  their  weak  brother  might  be  induced 
by  their  example  to  eat,  and  sin  in  eating. 

Thus  you  have  the  whole  case.  But  some  of  the  more  matured 
believers  might  say,  "  Why  should  I  be  judged  by  another  man's 
conscience  \  As  1  know  that  an  idol  is  nothing  at  all,  and  that 
meat  offered  to  idols  is  not  polluted,  I  will  eat  and  let  my  weak 
brother  take  care  of  himself."  Here  there  was  occasion  for  the 
exercise  of  one  of  the  most  delicate  principles  of  piety,  and  Paul 
declared  that,  for  himself,  he  would  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world 
stood,  if  his  so  eating  caused  his  brother  to  offend.  I  shall  en- 
deavor to  illustrate  the  conduct  of  the  apostle  on  this  occasion,  and 
vindicate  and  apply  the  principle. 

He  would  abandon  an  alienable  right  in  regard  to  the  good  of 
another;  would  care  deeply  for  the  souls  that  had  been  won  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  by  the  gospel.  He  considered  his  own  conduct  as 
contributing  largely  to  make  up  the  aggregate  of  public  Christian 
sentiment,  which  should  govern  the  infant  Church.  Though  he 
could  ably  defend  his  conduct  in  eating  the  heathen  sacrifices,  yet 
many  might  imitate  him  in  eating,  who  would  never  come  under 
the  influence  of  his  reasoning,  and  so  would  be  injured  by  his 
practice.     It  may  be  well  to  remark, 

I.  His  conduct  did  not  imply  that  one  may  make  another  man's 
conscience  his  own  guide  in  duty.  We  are  to  know  for  ourselves 
what  duty  is,  and  when  we  know  are  under  obligation  to  do  it. 
Who  art  thou  that  judgest  another  man's  servant  ?  To  his  own 
master  he  standeth  orfalleth.  There  is  no  medium  through  which 
one  man's  conscience  can  approach  and  influence  another,  except 
through  the  medium  of  his  conduct.  If  a  man  have  any  conscience, 
he  must  evince  it  by  his  deeds,  and  thus  give  it  all  the  foreign  in- 
fluence it  can  ever  have;     Himself   it   can  ever  have.     Himself  it 


556  THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING. 

can  influence  directly.  Every  man's  conscience  was  made  solely 
for  his  own  use,  except  as  it  shall  give  rise  to  a  conversation  and 
deportment  that  may  have  an  influence  upon  others.  This  maxim 
inverted  was  the  grand  error,  and  continues  to  be,  in  the  Catholic 
church.  The  judgment  of  the  Pope,  and  his  emissaries,  is  con- 
sidered paramount  to  the  decisions  of  the  most  enlightened  con- 
science.  What  the  head  of  the  church  has  decided  is  truth— 
however  incredible,  must  be  believed  ;  and  what  he  has  decreed 
is  duty  must  be  done,  though  at  war  with  Suripture  and  common 
Hence  there  need  be  light  in  no  other  mind  but  his,  and 
hence  the  Scriptures  are  withheld  from  the  laity.  It  is  of  no  con- 
sequence that  they  have  a  conscience,  if  they  arc  not  to  be  guided 
by  it,  but  must  obey  the  dictates  of  some  other  conscience. 

Paid  had  no  idea  of  abetting  a  principle  like  this.  He  would  be 
U'tiided  exclusively  by  his  own  conscience,  in  the  very  practice  he 
proposed  to  adopt.  His  judgment  decided,  and  his  heart  ap- 
proved the  decision,  that  it  would  be  his  duty  to  live  on  lighter 
food  than  that  which  he  might  lawfully  eat,  if  thereby  he  would 
bless  a  weak  brother.  That  brother  had  no  right  to  demand  of 
him  this  sacrifice,  and  urge  the  apostle  to  a  course  of  conduct  not 
required  by  his  own  conscience.  His  obligation  was  to  know  for 
himself  that  the  idol  was  nothing,  and  thus  eat  innocently,  as 
Paul  could,  of  the  consecrated  meat.  Still  Paul  must  regard  his 
brother's  good,  and  not  make  his  liberty  a  stumbling-block  to  the 
weak.  Here  his  own  conscience  bound  him  to  a  practice  which 
his  own  conscience  did  not  require  of  him,  but  for  the  ignorance 
and  weakness  of  his  brother.  1  think  this  principle  is  too  obvious 
to  be  mistaken,  while  yet  the  apostle  by  no  means  renounces  the 
right  to  be  governed  solely  by  his  own  conscience. 

II.  We  are  not  to  gather  from  the  conduct  of  the  apostle  in  this 
matter  that  one  man's  conscience  may  abridge  another  man's 
liberty.  One  man's  necessities  may  induce  another  to  give  up 
his  rights,  and  benevolence,  such  as  the  Lord  Jesus  exhibited 
when  he  laid  aside  the  glory  that  he  had  with  the  Father  before 
the  world  was,  may  induce  him  to  do  it  cheerfully  ;  but  man  may 
not  require  it  of  him,  by  any  other  law  than  that  of  love.  If  we 
are  confident  that  another  is  misinformed,  our  duty  is,  if  possible, 
to  enlighten  him;  but  we  cannot  require  of  him  that  he  disregard 
the  decisions  of  his  own  judgment,  and  permit  himself  to  be. 
guided  by  our  opinion  in  opposition  to  his  own  in  a  question:  of 
morals.      If  Paul  had  been  the  only  man  in   the  infant  Church  .vho 


THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING.  557 

had  light  enough  to  partake  harmlessly  of  a  heathen  sacrifice,  the 
opinion  of  others  that  he  sinned  in  this  matter  would  not  have  ren- 
dered him  guilty.  That  weak  brother,  who  could  not  do  what 
Paul  could  harmlessly,  might  not  require  of  the  apostle  that  he 
confess  himself  guilty  in  acting  according  to  the  superior  licrht  of 
his  own  mind.  You  may  blame  me  in  a  case  in  which  I  differ 
from  you  in  my  decision,  for  not  reading  and  informing  myself 
for  not  being  open  to  conviction,  for  not  being  candid  and  ingen- 
uous and  inquisitive ;  but  if,  finally,  I  cannot  see  as  you  do,  and 
cannot  think  it  right  to  co-operate  with  you,  however  you  may 
lament  my  error,  you  cannot  require  me  to  act  differently  till  I 
change  my  views.  Thus  Paul  did  not  give  up  his  right  to  decide 
that  meat  sacrificed  to  a  heathen  god  might  not  be  eaten  by  a  Chris- 
tian, harmlessly,  but  he  relinquished  the  privilege  of  catino-  it  be- 
cause he  should  thus  harm  his  brother  ;  he  retained  the  right  but 
resigned  the  privilege.  He  was  very  tenacious  of  not  having  it 
understood  that  he  was  restricted  by  his  own  conscience.  "  What 
say  I,  then  1  that  the  idol  is  any  thing,  or  that  which  is  offered  in 
sacrifice  to  idols  is  any  thing  1  No."  As  if  he  had  said,  My  con- 
duct is  not  to  suffer  this  construction.  "  But  I  say,  that  the  things 
which  the  Gentiles  sacrifice,  they  sacrifice  to  devils,  and  not  to 
God  ;  and  I  would  not  that  ye  should  have  fellowship  with  devils." 
"  All  things  are  lawful  to  me,  but  all  things  are  not  expedient." 
Thus  did  his  enlightened  mind  discriminate,  and  his  benevolent 
heart  correspond. 

III.  The  apostle's  conduct  m  this  matter  doc?  not  go  to  palliate 
ignorance.  It  is  every  man's  first  duty  to  know  what  duty  is,  to 
have  his  conscience  informed,  and  be  prepared  to  act  correctly  in 
all  the  varied  scenes  that  may  suddenly  transpire  before  him.  He 
does  not  refuse  to  eat  the  meat  consecrated  to  devils,  because  he 
lacked  that  knowledge  that  prepared  him  innocently  to  partake  ; 
else  his  ignorance  had  been  sin.  He  abstains  because,  though  all 
things  may  be  lawful,  yet  all  things  edify  not. 

His  brethren,  who  in  their  ignorance,  to  gratify  their  appetites, 
or  to  please  man,  would  not  eat  while  they  hid  not  knowledge 
enough  to  see  that  they  might  eat  to  the  glory  of  God,  giving  him 
thanks,  the  very  meat  that  had  been  consecrated  to  devils,  sinned 
through  ignorance  against  their  own  souls.  They  provoked  God 
to  jealousy.  They  neglected  that  injunction,  "Abstain  from  all 
appearance  of  evil,"  and  could  not  have  gone  in  the  spirit  of  that 
prayer,   "  Lead  us  not  into  temptation."      We  read  of  men  having 


553  THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDIN    . 

their  foolish  hearts  darkened.  When  men  do  not  like  to  retain 
God  in  their  knowledge,  He  gives  them  up  to  a  reprobate  mind. 
He  reprobates  their  ignorance,  because  resulting  from  choice. 
And  how  large  a  portion  of  the  sins  committed  through  ignorance 
will  prove,  at  last,  to  b-  the  most  enormous  character,  the  last  day 
will  tell.  Paul  considered  himself  as  having  sinned  the  most  out- 
rageously, and  almost  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  pardon,  when  he 
sinned  ignorantly,  in  persecuting  the  saints;  hence  would  be  the 
last  of  men  to  give  ignorance  any  covering. 

IV.  Neither  the  text  nor  context  favors  the  opinion  that  onr 
conscience  may  lean  in  its  testimony  to  the  testimony  of  other 
consciences.  The  apostle  did  not,  after  being  convinced  that  he 
might  innocently  partake  of  flesh  that  had  been  devoted  to  ar 
idol,  yield  his  convictions  on  this  point,  and  believe  that,  in  itself 
considered,  it  would  be  wrong  so  to  do.  On  this  point  no  amount 
of  human  testimony  would  have  shaken  his  convictions.  In  the 
influence  that  the  act  would  have  on  other  and  weak  minds,  lay  all 
the  danger,  and  all  the  wrong  that  moved  him.  For  himself  he 
cared  not  if  all  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  and  the  cattle  upon  a 
thousand  hills,  had  been  devoted  to  some  spurious  deity.  He 
could  still  feed  upon  them,  and  offer  them  in  sacrifice  to  the  God 
of  heaven,  whose  is  the  earth  and  the  fulness  thereof.  It  is  true, 
that  if  we  find  other  consciences  differing  in  their  testimony  from 
ours,  it  should  put  us  upon  inquiry,  whether  our  own  decision  is 
right,  should  render  us  cautious  and  watchful.  But  when  we  have 
again  and  again  reviewed  the  ground,  and  collected  about  it  all  the 
testimony  we  can  summon,  and  are  still  conscious  that  we  have 
taken  the  position  of  duty,  no  frowns  of  men,  nor  loss  of  interest, 
nor  even  death  itself  can  move  us,  if  we  fear  the  Lord,  to  act  in 
conformity  to  the  views  of  others,  in  opposition  to  the  testimony 
of  our  own  conscience. 

Hence  the  reason  why  the  people  of  God  have  so  repeatedly 
been  denominated  obstinate.  Their  false-  brethren,  or  the  men  of 
the  world,  have  demanded  of  them  what  they  could  not  conscien- 
tiously do.  A  Roman  governor  writing  to  one  of  the  emperors 
respecting  the  Christians,  after  fully  clearing  them  from  all  the 
charges  that  had  been  brought  against  them,  still  declares  them 
deserving  <>f  death,  because  of  their  obstinacy.  And  wherein  lay 
their  obstinacy  \  Simply  in  this.  They  would  not  conform  to 
heathen  customs,  when  such  conformity  implied  connivance  at 
idolatry.     They  would  not  assemble  with    the   worshipers  of  Jupi- 


THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING.  559 

ter,  would  not  put  up  his  idols  in  their  temple,  while  the  heathen 
would  readily  allow  an  image  of  Jesus  Christ  to  be  erected  in  their 
temples.  Thus  the  war  began  in  the  exclusive  claims  of  an  en 
lightened  Christian  conscience.  Many  a  martyr  was  offered  life, 
if,  he  would  bow  at  the  shrine  of  Diana,  or  kiss  the  image  of  the 
virgin  mother,  or  carry  the  cross  in  his  bosom  ;  but  his  choice 
was  rather  death.  And  it  cannot  be  considered  surprising  that 
men  who  themselves  have  no  conscience,  can  bend  to  any  doctrine, 
opinion  or  practice,  should  pronounce  this  all  obstinacy. 

In  vindicating  the  principle,  from  which  the  apostle  acted,  1  should 
choose  to  say, 

First,  it  evinced  a  deep  knowledge  of  the  obligations  of  the  Divine 
law.  Paul  did  not  go  beyond  the  demands  of  that  law.  It  allowed 
him  to  eat  meat,  even  the  meat  that  had  been  offered  to  an  idol; 
and  still  it  demanded  of  him  that  he  yield  his  rights  to  bless  his 
fellow-men.  What,  did  God  himself  render  the  thing  lawful,  and 
then  make  another  law  depriving  him  of  the  very  privilege  he  had 
granted  ?  Intricate  as  this  case  may  look,  it  presents  us  one  of 
the  most  common  maxims  of  Christian  deportment.  The  property 
that  God  has  put  into  my  hands,  is  mine  to  use  according  to  the 
discretion  that  God  has  given  me;  and  still  such  a  cry  of  distress 
may  reach  me  as  to  render  it  my  duty  to  devote  it  all  to  the  cure 
of  that  distress.  I  may  have  barely  bread  enough  to  feed  my 
family  ;  but  I  may  hear  that  some  family  is  starving  near  me,  and 
may  be  obligated  to  divide  that  bread,  which  is  my  own,  and  which 
I  may  in  ordinary  circumstances  lawfully  give  to  my  children,  with 
that  starving  family.  I  may  have  with  me  only  the  raiment  that 
can  warm  me,  and  it  is  my  own,  to  be  used  as  I  wish,  and  still  a 
higher  law  may  require  me  to  divide  that  covering  with  my 
neighbor. 

Nor  does  it  essentially  alter  the  case  that  the  misery  is  near  me, 
and  moves  my  sympathy.  It  may  be  afar  off,  and  still  my  perfect 
knowledge  of  its  existence  may  render  this  higher  law  obligatory. 
Men  need  not  cherish  the  persuasion  that  God  makes  no  other 
claim  upon  their  prosperity  than  that  of  being  honest.  Admit  that 
this  is  the  first  claim,  the  second  is  like  unto  it,  that  we  be  benevo- 
lent. And  how  came  we  by  the  persuasion  that  the  latter  claim  is 
not  as  binding  as  the  former]  If  one  had  an  estate  of  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  he  owed  one  thousand,  how  could  he  presume  to 
count,  that  he  has  forty-nine  thousand  to  bequeath  to  his  children, 
till  lie  had  inquired  whether  the  law  of  benevolence  did  not  levy 
its  claim  to  five  or  ten  thousand  dollars  more,  previously  to  his  de- 


560  THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING. 

cidingwhat  portion  he  might  leave  to  his  children  1  Or  may  one 
give  his  whole  estate  to  his  children,  and  leave  them  to  discharge 
all  his  obligations  of  charity  \  If  so,  he  should  have  educated  them 
accordingly,  and  be  sure,  before  his  death,  that  he  has  a  benevolent 
offspring,  who  will  obey  the  law  of  love.  Or  is  the  law  of  benevo- 
lence  more  loose  and  undefined  than  the  law  of  righteousness,  a 
law  that  we  may  or  may  not  fulfil  1  No.  We  are  as  strongly  ob- 
ligated to  be  benevolent,  as  to  be  honest.  Paul  would  obey  the 
statute  requiring  him  to  abstain  from  meat,  if  the  salvation  of  his 
brother  required  it,  as  promptly  and  perfectly,  as  the  statute  of 
'honesty,  requiring  him  to  pay  for  the  cloak  or  the  parchment  he 
had  purchased.  Is  it  that  the  law  of  man  has  required  honesty, 
and  fixed  a  penalty  to  its  violation,  while  the  law  of  benevolence 
is  a  law  of  God,  that  men  have  made  the  distinction  they  have  1  I 
answer,  the  law  of  God  binds  the  good  man  firmly  as  any  munici- 
pal statute.  When  he  says,  "  To  do  good  and  to  communicate  for- 
get not,"  the  statute  takes  hold  of  the  conscience  of  the  good  man 
equally  with  that  municipal  statute  requiring  him  to  discharge  the 
note  to  which  he  put  his  hand  and  seal. 

My  life  is  my  own,  and  God  has  made  it  my  duty  to  preserve  it, 
but  the  case  may  happen  when  a  higher  law  may  obligate  me  to 
lay  down  my  life  for  the  good  of  others.  It  may  be  my  duty,  at 
the  greatest  risk,  to  attempt  the  rescue  of  others  from  death  by 
fire  or  flood  ;  or  there  may  come  again  a  period  of  the  Church, 
when  the  good  of  Zion,  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  advance  of 
truth,  may  require  the  sacrifice  of  life.  And  this  higher  law  must 
be  obeyed.  While  the  law  of  God  allows  us  to  provide  for  our 
own  interest,  there  is  in  the  same  statute-book  a  law  to  this  effect, 
"  None  of  us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself." 
Now  by  what  argument  shall  one  free  himself  from  obligations  of 
obedience  to  this  statute,  while  yet  he  feels  the  authority  of  that 
other  statute  in  the  same  book,  "Thou  shalt  not  steal  1" 

This  making  the  whole  of  religion  to  consist  in  honesty,  (we 
will  not  now  stop  to  inquire  whether  the  sticklers  for  this  religion 
are  more  honest  than  others,)  is  virtually  denying  that  there  is  any 
law  of  benevolence;  that  there  is  any  case  when  God  himself  re- 
quires us  to  '_nve  back  a  right  he  has  given  us.  And  yet  this  is 
the  very  law  that  rrovenicd  the  apostle,  (rod  bad  given  him  a 
righl  in  common  with  others  to  eat  meat,  and  even  the  very  meat 
that  had  been  devoted  to  an  idol,  bul  God  commanded  him,  if  his 
brother's  good  required  it,  to  foregg  this  right,  and  abandon  the 
very  privilege  that  had   been  given  him  by  charter  and  by  oath. 


THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING.  5G1 

We  have  here,  probably,  one  of  the  most  wide  and  glaring  dis- 
tinctions found  among  the  professors  of  godliness.  There  are 
those  who  obey  and  those  who  do  not  obey  this  law  of  benevo 
lence.  And  the  pretence  for  disobedience  is,  that  the  law  is  not 
definite.  God  has  required  me  to  pay  that  I  owe  ;  here  the  debt 
measures  exactly  the  obligations.  But  the  law  which  reads,  "  Lend, 
hoping  for  nothing  again,"  leaves  it  doubtful  how  much  I  must 
lend.  And  that  law,  "Give  early  of  thy  substance  to  the  Lord," 
leaves  it  doubtful  how  much  we  must  give.  And  that  law,  "  What- 
soever ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you  do  ye  even  so  to  them," 
leaves  it  doubtful  how  much  we  must  do  from  the  difficulty  of  de- 
ciding how  much  we  would  have  done.  And  still  these  statutes 
require  us  to  lend  and  give  and  efo,  and  are  as  obligatory  as  the 
laws  of  honesty.  Paul  determined  to  obey  these  higher  requisi- 
tions, and  be  governed  by  the  law  of  benevolence. 


SERMON    XLIX. 

THE  ENLIGHTENED  CONSCIENCE  UNBENDING.— No.  IL 

I    CORINTHIANS  VuL   13. 

If  meal  nake  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  wnile  the  world  Btandeth. 

To  have  discriminating  views  of  the  obligations  of  the  divine 
law,  is  one  of  the  first  prerequisites  to  a  healthful  growing  piety. 
"  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul."  The  re 
lie  wed  heart  must  have  a  relish  for  obedience,  as  far  as  the  rules 
of  obedience  are  known.  And  he  is  the  wisest  believer  who  can 
discern  the  most  accurately  the  bearing  of  the  divine  precepts  upon 
the  common  every-day  concern  of  human  life.  Perhaps  it  would 
not  be  asserting  too  much  to  say  that  in  the  want  of  this  is  seen 
the  grand  cause  why  so  many  professed  believers  are  of  so  little 
use  to  the  Church  of  Christ.  They  have  some  general  knowledge 
of  the  divine  precepts,  but  do  not  take  the  pains  they  should,  or 
have  not  the  means  that  would  be  desirable,  in  learning  to  trace 
the  law  into  its  ramifications  of  bearing  and  of  import.  They 
know  they  should  not  worship  idols,  but  do  not  discern  when 
wealth,  or  honor,  or  pleasure  is  pursued  idolatrously.  They  know 
they  should  not  perform  common  labor  on  the  Sabbath  day,  but 
do  not  discover  exactly  when  their  conversation  or  employment 
has  become  too  worldly  to  comport  with  the  sanctification  of  that 
holy  vest.  They  know  they  should  not  steal,  but  do  not  discern 
when  exactly  their  covetous  practices  or  hard  dealings  have  trans- 
cended the  limits  of  honesty.  They  know  they  should  not  lie, 
but  how  often  can  they  be  seen  hovering  on  the  very  line  of  de- 
marcation between  falsehood  and  truth.  They  may  not  swear 
profanely, but  when  exactly  their  hasty  and  passionate  dialect  trans- 
cends the  bounds  of  Christian  soberness,  they  may  not  be  very 
skilful  to  discern.  The  Church  have  embosomed  some  whose 
language  had  all  the  coarseness  and  repulsion  of  profaneness,  ex- 
cept that  the  name  of  God  was  not  used. 

Now  nothing  can  be  more  desirable  than  that  the  Christian  cha- 
racter  be  better  purified.  And  this  would  be  the  sure  result  of  a 
better  knowledge  of  the  spirit  and  extent  of  the  divine  precepts. 


THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING.  503 

I  proposed,  in  the  preceding  discourse,  to  illustrate,  tin  conduct 
of  the  apostle  in  the  case  before  us,  and  vindicate  and  apply  the 
principle  on  which  he  acted.  I  remarked,  under  the  first  particu- 
lar, that  he  could  not  mean  that  one  man  should  make  another  man's 
conscience  his  guide  ;  nor  that  one  man's  conscience  should  abridge 
another  man's  liberty  ;  nor  did  he  mean  to  palliate  ignorance  •  nor 
that  one  conscience  might  lean  in  its  testimony  to  that  of  other  con- 
sciences. 

In  vindicating  the  principle  on  which  the  apostle  acted,  I  ob- 
served that  it  evinced  a  deep  knowledge  of  the  obligations  of  (he  di- 
vine law.     I  now  observe, 

Secondly.  The  apostle  evinced  expanded  benevolence.  He  al- 
lowed his  love  to  the  brethren  to  abridge  his  freedom.  What 
otherwise  was  lawful  he  would  not  do,  if  it  would  injure  them 
He  acted  on  the  broad  Christian  principle  that  he  was  to  regard  in 
all  his  conduct  the  sanctification  and  salvation  of  his  fellow-men. 
He  must  look  around  him,  before  he  acted,  to  see  on  whom  the 
influence  of  his  example  would  bear,  and  shape  his  actions,  and 
even  abridge  his  liberties  by  this  consideration.  He  carried  with 
him  the  strong  and  controlling  impression  that  he  was  actinsr  for 
the  Church  and  for  the  world.  His  deeds  were  all  immortal. 
Souls  bound  for  eternity  were  all  around  him  ;  and  if  he  gave 
them  any  impulse,  it  must  be  toward  the  kingdom  of  God.  For 
this  he  must  give  account  at  the  last.  The  law  of  God  that  left 
him  free,  had  a  law  above  it  that  required  him  to  be  benevolent. 
The  license  to  cat  was  modified  by  a  precept  that  required  him 
to  beware  lest  his  liberty  became  a  stumbling-block  to  them  that 
were  weak,  and  thus  souls  perish  for  whom  Christ  died. 

And  we  shall  find  this  a  Christian  principle  of  broad  and  mighty 
application.  If  I  have  wealth  and  leisure,  it  may  not  be  a  sin  oc- 
casionally to  let  an  hour  pass  unoccupied  ;  but  I  may  not  be  idle 
in  the  place  and  in  the  presence  of  those  who  may  be  tempted  by 
my  example  to  idleness,  and  poverty  and  crime.  If  I  have  abun- 
dantly the  means,  it  may  not  be  wrong  to  wear  better  vestments 
than  those  whose  idleness,  or  improvidence,  or  appetites,  have 
clothed  tliein  in  rags;  but  I  may  not  set  an  example  of  thai  extra- 
vagance in  dress  which  will  lead  others  into  dishonest  and  crimi- 
nal adornings.  The  case  may  be  such  that  a  very  strong  necessity 
may  require  me  to  employ  the  hours  of  Sabbath  in  secular  toil  : 
but.  care,  such  as  that  with  which  I  would  eye  the  approach  of 
death,  must  be  taken  lest  my  example,  upon  such  as  cannot  know 
my  necessity,  may  exert  a  destructive  influence  against  the  com- 


5G4  THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING. 

mandment  of  God.  i  may  sec  a  man  so  consummately  mischiev- 
ous and  wicked  as  to  be  justified  in  denominating  him  "a  child  of 
Icvil,  an  enemy  of  all  righteousness  ;"  but  great  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  deal  in  railing  accusation.  The  case  may  occur  when 
1  may  lawfully  put  to  my  lips  the  cup  that  contains  strong  drink  ; 
bul  not  for  a  world  may  I  do  it  in  the  place,  at  the  time,  in  the 
circumstances,  or  in  the  presence  of  men  who  may  by  my  example 
be  drawn  into  the  vortex  of  inebriation.  I  may  be  where  vice  is 
so  bold  and  so  supported,  that  it  cannot  safely  or  profitably  be  re- 
buked ;  but  I  may  not  linger  there  a  moment  beyond  the  limits  of 
a  dire  necessity,  lest  others  be  tempted  to  abide  there  because 
they  love  to.  I  may  be  lawfully  absent  from  the  sanctuary  or  the 
place  of  prayer  :  but  I  may  not,  under  the  price  of  a  soul,  set  the 
example  of  treating  contemptuously  the  ordinances  of  God.  I 
may  see  occasion  to  pour  my  rebuke  upon  the  highest  authorities 
of  my  country  ;  but  I  may  not  refuse  to  submit  to  "  the  powers 
that  be,"  and  that  are  ordained  of  God.  There  may  be  many 
deeds  which,  in  themselves  considered,  a  good  conscience  would 
approve,  but  which,  in  their  bearing  upon  the  spiritual  interests  of 
men,  conscience  would  denounce  iniquitous.  This  world  is  gov- 
erned by  public  sentiment  ;  which  I  may  not  corrupt  for  my  life. 
The  mass  of  its  population  are  moving  on  to  hell  by  an  impulse  to 
which  [  would  not  add  the  weight  of  a  feather  for  a  world.  A 
very  small  remnant  are  "  straying  upward,"  whose  advance  1  would 
not  retard  for  my  house  full  of  silver  and  gold.  Such  was  the 
spirit  of  benevolence  with  which  the  apostle  declared,  "  I  will  eat 
no  meat  while  the  world  standeth,  if  meat  make  my  brother  to 
offend." 

Thirdly.  There  was  in  the  conduct  of  the  apostle  in  this  mat- 
ter a  display  of  great  Christian  magnanimity.  He  acted  emphati- 
cally under  the  impression,  "  None  of  us  liveth  to  himself."  He 
did  not  care  that  every  act  of  his  went  to  gratify  himself,  and  exalt 
himself,  and  add  some  gloss  to  his  own  reputation.  He  could  not 
to  dissociate  himself  from  the  brotherhood,  and  be  content. 
in  guard  himself  from  danger,  and  leave  others  to  spell  out  their 
own  escape  and  manage  their  own  defence.  If  he  could  go  to  a 
heathen  least  and  eat  harmlessly,  but  his  brother  who  should  go 
with  him  might  receive  damage,  or  the  host  who  invited  them  be 
sustained  in  his  idolatry,  he  would  not  be  there.  Thus  he  headed 
the  infant  church,  as  some  generous-hearted  and  brave  command- 
er, who  would  place  himself  in  the  edge  of  every  battle,  and  be 
among  the  last  to    retreat,  and    die  the  shield  and  champion  of  his 


THE    ENLIGHTENED    C0NSC1EXCE    UNBENDING.  &G5 

warriors.  Thus  he  patterned  after  his  Master,  who  laid  down  his 
life  for  the  sheep,  who  was  rich,  but  for  our  sakes  became  poor, 
that  we,  through  his  poverty,  might  be  rich. 

And  the  Christian  spirit  in  all  ages  must  be  the  same.  When 
the  child  of  God  might  hide  himself  from  exposure,  he  may  not, 
if  his  retreat  would  endanger  his  brethren.  If  others  would  de- 
fend the  hated  doctrines,  and  the  self-denying  duties,  and  handle 
the  more  obnoxious  matters  of  discipline,  and  he  could  gain  ap- 
plause by  faction,  he  covets  no  such  honor.  Nehemiah  would 
not  hide  himself  in  the  temple,  from  the  threatened  invasion  of  his 
three  inveterate  enemies.  If  others  would  build  the  walls,  and 
defend  the  fortresses,  and  watch  the  enemy,  and  his  own  life  was 
ever  so  precious  to  the  enterprise,  still  he  would  not  lurk  behind 
the  walls,  and  hide  himself  in  the  sanctuary. 

Believers  may  not  take  their  shoulders  from  under  the  burden 
and  leave  their  brethren  to  bear  it.  The  spirit  of  the  sros- 
pel  has  none  of  the  world's  time-serving  mixed  with  it.  If  at- 
tacks must  be  made  upon  the  whole  army  of  the  gods,  and  Jupi- 
ter should  himself  array  the  host,  Paul  would  dare  his  thunders 
and  expose  his  weakness,  and  lead  the  Church  of  God  to  the  onset. 
Thus  he  stood  in  the  streets  of  Athens,  and  poured  out  his  con- 
tempt upon  their  priests,  their  shrines,  and  their  sacrifices,  till  we 
wonder  that  he  lived  to  rehearse  the  adventure.  He  knew  the 
commander  he  marched  under,  and  the  goodness  of  the  cause  he 
supported,  and  the  firmness  of  that  decree  that  pledged  him  the 
victory. 

If  exposure  is  demanded  in  the  cause  of  the  Lord,  the  believer 
dare  be  exposed  ;  if  courage  is  wanted,  the  Christian  has  it.  If 
one  has  it  not,  he  may  well  doubt  whether  he  shall  triumph  at  the 
last  with  the  sacramental  host.  If  sin  is  to  be  attacked  in  its 
stronghold,  you  may  send  any  Christian  to  the  onset.  He  has 
commenced  with  sin  a  war  of  extermination,  and  has  no  measure 
to  keep  with  it.  If  the  vice  be  popular,  he  cares  not.  If  interest 
holds  him  back,  he  cares  not.  If  he  must  go  to  the  onset  alone, 
he  dares  to  meet  the  enemy  of  God  and  man  in  his  deadliest  as- 
sault. He  dare  tell  a  whole  community  by  precept  and  example 
that  their  Sabbath-breaking  will  destroy  them  ;  that  their  profane- 
ness  is  cowardly,  and  vulgar,  and  ruinous  ;  that  their  vile  cup, 
when  it  has  enriched  a  few,  and  made  paupers  o(  the  multitude, 
and  murdered  wives  and  children,  and  blasted  their  individual  and 
civil  reputation,  will,  in  its  final  results,  damn  eternally  the  whole 
mass  of  its  advocates,  from  the  man  who  gains  an  office  by  its  in 


5G6  THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING. 

fluence,  down  to  the  vagabond  who  dies  in  the  ditch  by  the  us  •  of 
it.  If  sin  is  to  be  attacked,  there  is  not  a  single  coward  among 
all  God's  elect.  And  if  any  hope  they  belong  to  that  number,  who 
dare  not  commence  hostilities  with  sin,  they  had  better  know  soon, 
that  when  the  marriage  supper  is  spread,  and  those  who  were 
ready  have  gone  in  with  the  bridegroom  to  the  marriage,  they 
must  In;  in  outer  darkness. 

Fourthly.  The  apostle,  in  the  case  before   us,   displayed  great 
Christian  wisdom  and  prudence.      I  know  that  some  would  suppose 
that  the  very    opposite  of  this  was  true  ;  that  if  he  wished  to  put 
down  idolatry  and  convert  the  heathen,  he  must  go  to  their  feasts, 
and  eat  their  sacrifices,  and  drink  their  oblations,  and  by  no  means 
separate  himself  from  their  society,  lest  he  lose  his  influence  over 
them.     He  must  not  push  matters  so  far  for  fear  of  a  reaction  that 
should  frustrate  all  his  hopes.     But    Paul  had    more  wisdom,  and 
knew  that  in  order  to  cure  idolatry  he  and  his  brethren  must  stand 
wholly  aloof  from  it,  and  thus  render  those  ashamed  who  practised 
it.     Had  he  attended  freely  their  feasts,  and  took    all  his   weaker 
brethren   with   him,  he  would    have    done    mischief  in    two  ways. 
The  heathen  would  never  have  abandoned  their  gods,  and  many  of 
the   Christians   would   have  gone   back   to  idolatry  ;  and  thus  the 
whole  work  of  founding  the   Christian  churches  would  have  been 
to  be  done  over.      Exactly  thus  may  we    prescribe  for  the  cure  of 
other  vices.     To  cure  profaneness,  we  must  mingle,  they  say,  with 
the  swearers,  and  smile  at  their  witty  oaths,  and  invite  them  to  our 
houses,  and   employ    them   in   our   service,   and   let   our  children 
hear  them  swear,  and  never  let  them  know  that  we  are  ashamed  of 
them  ;  thus  they  have  the  full  benefit  of  our  chaste  conversation, 
and  we    shall  occasionally  have    opportunity  to  check  them  !      To 
cure  intemperance  we  must  not  be  too  bold  in  our  measures.    ^Ye 
must  not  refuse  to  drink   wine    occasionally,  nor   advise  others  to 
quit  it  wholly  ;  must  not  deprecate  the  sale  of  the  poison,  nor  re- 
fuse to  keep  it  in  our  houses,  nor  refuse  to  deal  it  out  to  the  labor- 
er, or  the  visiter,  nor  forbid  our  children  to  take  it,  nor  cry  down 
the  whole  article  as  useless,  a  curse  and   a  nuisance  ;  all  this  will 
drive  the    intemperate    from  us,  so  that  we  can    have  no  influence 
over  them  to  persuade  them  to  quit  it  !     Exactly  the  opposite  ad- 
vice  that  Paul  would  give.     By  such  prescriptions  we  might  keep 
this  a  drunken  world  for  ever  ;  might  sow  the  seeds  of  inebriation 
in    the    appetite    of  every  child,  till  one  generation    alter  another 
shall  go  down  to  hell  rapidly,  as  a  merciful  God  shall  be  provoked 
to  execute  his  law,  till  at    length  this  lost  world  would  become  de- 


THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING.  5G7 

populated  and  no  millennial  period  ever  come.  Ask  Paul  to  pre- 
scribe, and  he  would  say,   "  Touch  not,  taste  not,    handle  not." 

Sin  is  one  of  the  things  with  which  we  can  make  no  covenant. 
It  is  like  fire  ;  we  are  scorched  to  death  while  we  parley  with  it. 
Let  me  illustrate  my  views  by  an  anecdote.  A  neighbor  of  my 
father's,  a  merchant,  is  said  to  have  been  in  his  store  one  evening, 
and  snuffed  his  candle  and  threw  the  ignited  wick  into  a  barrel  of 
powder.  Quick  as  thought  he  thrust  in  his  hand  and  took  it  out, 
but  was  afterward  on  the  point  of  fainting  when  he  reflected  on 
the  danger  he  had  been  in.  This  was  told  me  as  a  fact  in  my 
childhood.  Be  it  doubted,  if  you  choose,  still  it  illustrates  the 
danger  of  dabbling  with  sin.  He  might  not  deliberate,  nor  ask 
counsel,  nor  proceed  moderately,  or  he  and  his  family  had  perished. 
Just  so  with  sin  :  to  parley  with  it  is  ruin,  to  be  intimate  with  it  is 
death,  to  abide  under  its  power  is  hell. 

Paul  was  wise  in  keeping  no  measures  with  idolatry.  Whether 
to  destroy  it,  or  save  his  brethren,  or  himself,  or  honor  Christ,  was 
his  highest  object,  his  conduct  was  noble.  To  flee  from  it,  and 
have  no  fellowship  with  it,  even  if  he  must  never  taste  flesh  while 
the  world  stood,  was  the  very  course  of  heavenly  wisdom.  He 
would  thus  render  ashamed  the  worshipers  of  idols,  would  exert 
the  strongest  influence  on  the  infant  Church,  and  best  honor  and 
please  his  Master. 

But  the  question  will  rise,  Are  we  obligated  by  Paul's  example  1 
We  surely  are.  He  was  teaching  the  truth  of  God  under  the  in- 
fallible guidance  of  his  Spirit ;  and  whether  he  advances  that  truth 
in  the  form  of  exhortation,  or  of  logical  argument,  or  expostula- 
tion, or  states  the  resolve  to  which  the  Spirit's  influence  had 
brought  his  own  mind,  I  know  of  no  argument  by  which  we  can 
repel  the  truth  under  one  of  these  forms  of  instruction  rather  than 
another.  I  know  of  no  sentiment  more  dangerous  than  thus  to 
cavil  at  truth  because  taught  by  men  we  hate,  or  in  any  particular 
form  of  language.  We  could  easily  in  this  way  destroy  the  influ- 
ence of  more  than  half  the  Bible. 

And  besides,  there  was  nothing  unreasonable  in  his  resolve. 
There  would  be  no  danger  to  health  or  life  from  the  entire  absti- 
nence from  meat  which  he  proposes.  And  the  object  to  be  gained 
was  worth  the  sacrifice.  And  moreover,  the  gospel  enjoins  self- 
denial  on  every  Christian,  and  promises  heaven  on  the  express 
condition  that  we  deny  ourselves  and  take  up  the  cross  and  follow 
Christ.  It  would  seem  surprising,  then,  if  any  should  doubt  but 
that  the  apostle  was  inspired  to  teach  the  churches  this  high  prill- 


568  THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING. 

ciple  of  benevolence,  practised  at  the  expense  of  a  long  protracted 
course  of  self-denial.  It  is  that  redeeming  principle  that  has  saved 
the  Church,  and  will  save  the  world.  Till  Christians  understand 
it,  and  act  upon  it.  they  have  not  learned  the  heavenly  art  of  being 
useful ;  and  if  they  may  even  hope  to  reach  heaven,  must  assuredly 
calculate  to  be  in  that  world  stars  of  the  smallest  magnitude. 

APPLICATION. 

In  applying  further  the  principle  which  actuated  the  apostle  in 
the  case  we  have  reviewed,  I  would  say,  in  the 

1.  Place,  That  honesty  should  lead  every  believer  to  its  adoption. 
We  profess  to  have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  to  have  been 
plucked  as  brands  from  the  burning.  And  we  see  those  around  us 
who  are  urging  their  way  to  hell,  and  we  profess  to  love  them.  If 
possible,  they  should  be  stopped  in  their  career.  And  if  there  is 
the  most  forlorn  hope  that  our  example  would  do  any  thing  to 
stop  them,  our  example  should  be  employed.  Else  how  can  we 
be  honest  in  our  profession.  If  idleness  is  destroying  souls,  (and 
probably  few  sins  are  destroying  more,)  how  can  we  be  honest  if 
we  will  not  refrain  from  wasting  precious  hours  with  prayerless 
idlers,  who,  in  the  hordes  that  indolence  collects  around  them, 
are  learning  and  teaching  the  deadliest  principles  and  the  most 
polluting  practices  1  And  if  drunkenness  is  destroying  souls,  how 
can  we  be  honest  in  our  profession  of  benevolence,  if  there  is  any 
amount  of  sacrifice  within  our  power  that  we  will  not  make  to 
dam  up  and  dry  up  this  broad,  and  deep,  and  dark  river  of  death, 
that  is  hearing  down  to  hell  such  a  mighty  congregation. 

2.  Consistency  of  character  should  lead  us  to  adopt  this  high 
principle  of  Christian  benevolence.  We  profess,  as  Christians, 
that  religion  has  a  value  paramount  to  all  other  interests  combined. 
We  believe  that  interrogatory  assertion,  that  the  whole  world  is 
not  to  be  compared  in  value  to  a  soul.  Hence  any  sacrifice  pos- 
sible should  be  made  to  save  a  soul ;  and  if  the  world  see  us  ready 
to  make  none,  will  God  save  our  character  \ 

Believers  are  accustomed  to  pray  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
may  come,  that  men  may  be  converted  and  saved,  and  we  profess 
to  be  asking  for  large  favors.  But  when  we  have  risen  from  our 
knees,  and  it  is  seen  that  we  can  practice  no  self-denial  to  have 
our  prayers  answered,  can  we  hope  to  conceal  our  hypocrisy"? 
Can  we  have  any  consistency  of  character  in  the  world's  estima- 
tion !  Will  they  hear  us  pray  !  Will  they  have  any  faith  in  our 
tears  !      No,  none. 


THE    ENLIGHTENED    CONSCIENCE    UNBENDING.  569 

3.  It  will  be  seen,  of  course,  that,  we  cannot  be  useful  in  the 
absence  of  this  high  principle  of  Christian  benevolence.  The  world 
honors  and  believes  the  man  whose  actions  tally  with  his  tears 
and  his  professions.  By  him  they  will  be  influenced.  But  they 
must  not  see  us  trying  to  escape  the  cross.  They  must  not  hear 
us  pray,  and  then  not  see  us  do.  We  may  not  rebuke  their  pro- 
faneness,  nor  their  Sabbath-breaking,  nor  their  gambling,  and  then 
edge  along  as  near  as  may  be  to  the  very  crimes  we  have  rebuked. 
We  may  not  reprobate  their  intemperance,  and  yet  drink  tempe- 
rately with  them  out  of  the  same  cup.  We  do  them  no  good  by 
our  admonitions.  They  will  wield  dexterously  that  motto,  "Phy- 
sician, heal  thyself."  Believers  should  not  forget  that  though 
they  may  have  learned  more  than  other  men  of  Bible  truth,  yet  in 
native  unsanctilied  cunning,  the  men  of  the  world  are  bpfore  them, 
and  will  perceive  a  discrepancy  of  character  even  sooner,  perhaps 
than  themselves.  "  The  children  of  this  world  are  wiser  in  their 
generation  than  the  children  of  light." 

4.  Without  that  spirit  of  high  Christian  benevolence  which  will 
lead  us  to  make  great  sacrifices  to  bless  our  fellow-men,  our  reli- 
gion will  not  render  us  happy.  The  child  of  God  is  happy  in 
doing  good.  In  this  God  is  happy.  When  he  had  built  the  world 
and  made  man,  he  surveyed  his  works  with  delight,  because  they 
were  all  good.  When  we  cannot  reflect  that  we  have  done  good, 
the  mind  corrodes  itself  and  is  put  to  pain. 

Finally — We  cannot  be  safe  while  wanting  this  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian benevolence.  Every  soul  that  is  born  of  God  has  it.  It  is 
that  must  prominent  feature  of  the  Divine  image  that  was  lost  in 
the  fall,  and  is  restored  in  regeneration.  "  If  one  loves  not  his 
brother  whom  he  has  seen,  how  can  he  love  God  whom  he  has  not 
seen."  "Hereby  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if 
ye  have  love  to  one  another." 


SERMON   L. 

THE  CONCENTRATED  RESULTS  OF  THE   GOSPEL. 

ISAIAH     LIV.     13. 
And  all  thy  children  shall  be  be  taught  of  the  Lord  ;  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy  children. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  there  is  brought  into  view  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  blessed  effects  of  his  death 
upon  the  beings  whom  he  died  to  redeem.  "  He  shall  see  the 
travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied."  Under  that  new  dispensation 
which  his  mission  should  introduce,  the  barren  should  sing  and  the 
desolate  become  fruitful.  The  Church  is  directed  to  "  enlarge  the 
place  of  her  tent,  and  stretch  forth  the  curtains  of  her  habitation," 
with  the  assurance  of  a  large  increase  of  her  spiritual  offspring. 
She  shall  branch  forth  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  shall  in- 
herit the  Gentiles,  shall  forget  the  shame  of  her  youth,  and  wipe 
off  the  reproach  of  her  widowhood.  Her  Maker,  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  will  be  her  husband  ;  and  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  the  God 
of  the  whole  earth  her  Redeemer.  "  In  a  little  wrath  God  hid  his 
face  from  her  for  a  moment,  but  will  now,  with  everlasting  kind- 
ness, have  mercy  on  her." 

This  language,  though  highly  figurative,  is  yet  easily  under- 
stood. The  prophet  evidently  looked  forward  to  gospel  times,  and 
sung  of  a  period  then  very  distant,  but  in  its  events  more  glorious 
than  any  that  had  gone  by.  We  can  easily  believe  that  he  had  at 
length  a  distant  but  delightful  view  of  the  present  period,  and 
pleased  his  soul  with  the  very  scenes  that  are  now  transpiring  be- 
fore our  eyes,  when  the  children  of  the  Church  should  become 
wise  and  happy.  "All  thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord, 
and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy  children." 

That  God  has  cast  our  lot  in  a  favored  period  of  the  Church, 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  And  the  man  who  is  not  thankful  to  see 
opening  before  himself  and  his  children,  a  prospect  so  rich,  must 
have  a  mind  which  none  will  covet,  and  a  heart  which  is  the  seal 
of  very  sordid  and  groveling  affections.  It  will  be  my  wish,  in 
what   will   now   be    said,  to  awake  your  attention  to  those  objects 


THE    CONCENTRATED    RESULTS    OF    THE    GOSPEL.  571 

which  Isaiah  saw,  and  in  which  he  exulted  some  twenty-five   hun- 
dred years  since.     I  would  then  remark, 

I.  The  present  is  a  period  of  great  interest.  This  is  a  truth 
which  must  impress  the  mind  of  every  thinking  man.  In  addition 
to  what  our  fathers  have  told  us,  we  have  learned  by  our  own  ex- 
perience, that  the  world  is  undergoing  a  vast  moral  change.  So 
rapid  are  the  movements  of  Providence  that  we  can  scarcely  keep 
pace  with  its  present  history. 

1.  This  is  an  age  prominent  in  its  benevolent  exertions.  Our  fa- 
thers, with  all  their  piety,  made  almost  no  exertion  to  better  the 
condition  of  a  miserable  world.  They  held  in  their  hands  the 
charter  of  eternal  life,  but  made  few  inquiries  respecting  the  ex- 
tent to  which  this  blessing  was  enjoyed.  They  often  read  the 
command,  "  Go  ye  unto  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature,"  but  had  no  idea  that  it  was  a  precept  binding 
them  to  disseminate  that  gospel  on  which  they  hung  their  own 
hopes  of  everlasting  life.  Few  of  us  that  have  lived  fifty  years 
have  received  from  our  parents  any  lesson  on  this  subject.  They 
taught  us  those  branches  of  duty  with  which  they  were  acquainted, 
and  put  into  our  hands  that  book  from  which,  through  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  present  generation  has  learned  one 
new  lesson  :  that  those  who  have  the  gospel  must  give  it  to  the 
world. 

Hence  the  Christian  world  has  waked  to  the  subject,  and  the  be- 
nevolent heart  has  learned  to  expand,  and  spread  its  sympathies 
over  all  the  miseries  of  the  apostacy.  Nor  have  the  advocates  of 
that  charity  which  regards  only  the  body,  and  terminates  its  toils 
at  the  sepuh  hre,  any  cause  to  mourn  at  the  change.  Since  the 
Bible  has  been  making  its  way  to  the  habitations  of  poverty,  il  has 
not  diminished  their  wonted  supply  of  bread.  He  that  pities  the 
body  may  have  no  compassion  for  the  soul,  but  he  who  aims  to 
save  the  soul  from  death,  will  feel  for  the  miseries  of  the  body.  The 
charity  of  the  gospel  is  generous  and  impartial. 

Nor  yet  have  the  advocates  of  that  charity  which  begins  at 
home,  the  least  occasion  to  regret  the  exertions  made  in  the  more 
distant  field.  It  was  since  we  cast  our  eye  upon  India,  and  heard 
the  moans  of  Africa,  and  saw  and  wept  over  the  desolation  of 
Palestine,  that  we  have  pitied  strongly  the  wandering  tribes  of  our 
own  America,  and  have  attempted  to  build  up  the  waste  places  m 
our  immediate  vicinity-  We  had  begun  to  translate  the  Scriptmes 
into  other  languages,  that  we  might  export  them  to  other  nations 


o72        THE  CONCENTRATEr  RESULTS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

before  we  had  made  the  inquiry  whether  there  were  not  families 
within  ten  minutes'  walk  of  home  who  had  no  Bible.  The  poor 
in  our  land,  and  under  the  eaves  of  our  sanctuaries,  have  reason 
to  bless  the  day  when  the  Christian  world  began  to  pity  the  distant 
heathen. 

I  Slid  the  Christian  world  had  waked,  I  should  have  said  they 
had  begun  to  wake  :  for  many  who  eat  the  bread  and  drink  the  cup 
of  the  Lord,  are  yet  as  profoundly  asleep  as  though  nothing  new 
ha  1  transpired.  Still  to  some  extent  exertions  are  made  to  carry 
into  effect  the  system  of  the  gospel.  The  Bible  is  going  into 
every  language,  and  missionaries  into  every  country,  and  the  hope 
and  the  promise  is,  that  soon  the  angel  having  the  everlasting  gos- 
pel to  preach  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  will  publish  it  to 
every  kindred,  and  nation,  and  tongue,  and  people.  The  rich  are 
ousting  of  their  abundance,  and  the  poor  their  mite,  into  the  trea- 
sury of  the  Lord.  More  is  done  now  in  a  single  year  to  lessen  the 
miseries  of  the  apostacy,  than  had  been  done  perhaps  in  ages  pre- 
viously to  the  commencement  of  the  present  era. 

And  no  part  of  Christendom  is  yet  impoverished.  Too  little 
has  been  done  to  be  esteemed  a  sacrifice.  We  have  distributed  to 
the  hungry  nothing  but  the  crumbs  of  our  plenteous  board.  We 
have  done  so  little  that  scarcely  a  conscience  in  Christendom  is 
satisfied;  so  little  that  if  our  children  should  hereafter  learn  the 
amount  of  our  charities,  they  would  burn  the  record  that  they 
might  conceal  our  shame.  Philanthropy  must  yet  ten-fold  its  sacri- 
fices, or  the  present  generation  of  the  heathen  must  almost  all  share 
the  destiny  of  their  unpitied  predecessors.  But:  when  all  this  is 
said,  and  said  truly,  the  present  is  comparatively  an  age  of  charity. 
There  begins  to  be  opened  an  avenue  to  the  conscience  and  the 
heart.  There  is  some  pity  where  there  has  been  none,  there  is 
some  interest  felt  where  recently  there  was  indifference  the  most 
profound. 

'1.  The  present  age  is  distinguished  by  a  union  of  interest  and 
effort  among  the  friends  of  the  gospel.  Most  that  was  done  till 
recently  was  the  effect  of  individual  exertion.  The  pious  heart 
was  always  benevolent.  I  should  offend  my  readers  and  myself,  if 
1  should  deny  to  our  de.ir  parents  who  are  resting  in  their  graves 
all  the  sympathy  and  the  charity  which  they  entailed  to  their  ofT- 
spring.  But  benevolent  exertions  during  most  of  the  a^es  that 
have  gone  by  was  personal  ami  insulated.  The  Christian  Church 
had  not  learned  that  union  of  effort  would  augment  her  strength, 
ami  multiply  'he  resources  of  her  charity.     This  discovery  undei 


THE    CONCENTRATED    RESULTS    OK    THE    GOSPEL.  573 

the  aids  of  the  Spirit,  has  produced  those  wondrous  efforts  that 
constitute  the  glory  of  the  present  era.  Our  Bible  and  education 
societies  have  contributed  greatly  to  break  down  those  barriers, 
that  have  so  long  and  so  mischievously  separated  the  followers  of 
the  Lord  Jesus.  How  consoling  to  see  Christians  while  yet  they 
are  firm  in  advocating  what  they  conceive  to  be  thje  doctrines  of 
truth,  lay  aside  the  rigidness  of  their  sect,  and  unite  their  efforts 
to  advance  the  interests  of  a  common  cause,  and  the  honors  of  a 
common  Master.  The  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  which  gives 
high  promise  of  cultivating  vast  tracts  of  the  moral  wilderness, 
have  set  the  Christian  world  an  example,  and  are  acting  with  a 
wisdom  and  an  energy  for  which  every  believer  in  the  Churches 
should  give  thanks.  And  that  union  which  begins  to  exist  at  home, 
on  heathen  ground  is  perfect.  There,  we  are  told,  the  communion 
of  each  Church  is  open  to  the  fellowship  of  others.  The  concert 
of  prayer,  if  no  other  existing  fact  could  be  named,  is  an  instance 
of  united  effort  which  distinguishes  the  present  era  from  all  that 
have  gone  by.  Here  is  united  the  whole  Christian  Church  in  offer- 
ing to  the  God  of  grace,  the  same  prayer  and  the  same  interces- 
sions. Dear  brethren,  whether  you  have  or  have  not  been  happy 
on  these  occasions,  you  may  rest  assured  that  no  feature  of  the 
present  epoch  yields  a  higher  hope  that  the  latter-day  glory  is  nigh. 
God  will  hear  the  entreaty  which  is  poured  into  his  ear  at  the  same 
moment,  from  ten  thousand  lips.  He  will  regard  those  petitions, 
which,  as  that  sun  encircles  the  earth,  is  sent  into  the  court  of 
heaven  from  every  isle  and  continent  where  dwells  a  heaven-born, 
mind.  The  enemies  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  his  Church,  had  never 
such  just  occasion  to  fear  the  total  ruin  of  their  cause  as  at  the 
present  moment.  They  have  hitherto  been  able  to  divide,  and 
have  hoped  by  this  means  to  destroy,  but  they  now  see  formed 
against  them  an  impenetrable  phalanx  by  whose  firmness  all  their 
boasted  prowess  is  covered  with  the  utmost  contempt.  Hence  in- 
fidelity has  quit  the  field,  the  Pope  is  palsied  in  his  chair,  Dagon 
prostrate  before  the  ark,  the  bands  of  Mahomet  are  beginning  to 
be  weakened,  the  Turk  is  beginning  to  perish  by  the  sword,  and 
his  slaves  are  demanding  emancipation. 

3.  The  present  era  is  marked  by  that  general  diffusion  of  know- 
ledge with  which  no  former  age  has  been  blessed.  I  refer  now  to 
that  kind  of  knowledge  which  moves  the  springs  of  action,  a 
knowledge  of  the  present  state  of  the  world.  The  groans  of  the 
wretched  have  been  unheeded,  because  they  have  not  been  heard. 
id   no  conception  a  few  years  since,  that  six  or  seven  hun- 


57-1  THE    CONCENTRATED    RESISTS    OF    TIE    GOSPEL. 

dred  millions  of  our  fellow-creatures  had  never  heard  of  a  Savior. 
We  had  not  explored  the  vast  tracts  of  moral  desolation,  nor  had 
taken  the  gauge  and  dimension  of  human  misery,  depression  and 
contempt.  The  prince  of  this  world  hid  the  extent  of  his  domi- 
nions, and  concealed  the  immensity  of  their  unnumbered  popula- 
tion, in  the  mists  that  issued  from  the  bottomless  pit.  No  en- 
croachments were  made  upon  his  kingdom,  because  the  great 
mass  of  the  Christian  community  had  never  known  the  magnitude 
of  his  empire.  Believers  had  long  prayed,  "Thy  kingdom  come, 
thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  in  heaven,"  but  they  had  never  con- 
ceived to  what  narrow  limits  that  kingdom  was  confined,  and  of 
how  little  a  portion  of  his  promised  inheritance  the  Prince  of 
peace  had  taken  actual  possession. 

B  it  on  these  subjects  there  is  now  poured  in  upon  the  Christian 
community  a  beam  of  light.  The  vehicles  of  religious  intelligence 
visii  now  the  humblest  cottage,  and  awaken  prayer  and  charity , 
wherever  the  Bible,  through  the  Divine  blessing,  has  produced  a 
heavenly  temper.  We  are  becoming  as  familiar  with  India,  and 
with  the  isles  of  the  Pacific,  as  if  they  had  floated  into  our  vici- 
nity, and  were  in  the  circle  of  our  neighborhood.  The  unread 
servant-boy  peruses  the  records  of  Christian  research,  reads, 
learns  the  list  of  charity,  and  weeps  at  the  funeral  of  the  mission- 
ary. Thus  is  beginning  to  be  touched  every  spring  of  charity, 
thus  is  brought  upon  his  knees  every  believer  that  has  the  smallest 
interest  at  the  court  of  heaven.  And  the  happy  result  is,  that  the 
Christian  world  is  organizing.  There  is  making  a  simultaneous 
attack  upon  the  various  outposts  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness. 
The  willow's  mite  mingles  with  the  charities  of  the  wealthy,  and 
hastens  to  constitute  that  river,  which  carries  fertilization  and  life 
to  the  famishing  population  of  a  world. 

4.  The  present  is  an  era  of  self-devoiion.  In  the  ages  past,  if 
any  section  of  the  Church  waked  to  their  duty,  and  would  have 
sent  the  bread  of  life  to  the  hungry,  they  found  it  almost  impossi- 
,i  •  •  an  agent  who  wo  ild  go  and  dispense  their  charity. 
He  must  know,  before  he  could  be  employed,  that  lie  should  be 
well  supported,  .and  mighl  soon  return  :  that  he  should  be  under 
the  protect  ion  of  human  law,  and  that  his  life  should  not  be  exposed 
to  the  paw  of  the  lion,  and  the  mouth  of  the  crocodile.  But  God, 
at  the  juncture  when  they  are  needed,  has  raised  up  men  for  the 
service,  whose  minds  are  subjected  to  none  of  these  cowardly 
misgivings.  They  oiler  themselves,  with  all  their  wealth,  ami 
tbeir  children.     They   ask    nothing    but  their   raiment   and   their 


THE    CO.NCENTRATED    RESULTS    OF    THE    GOSPEL.  575 

bread,  wish  never  to  return,  have  no  anxiety  for  human  protec- 
tion, brave  the  terrors  of  a  trackless  wilderness,  and  can  sleep 
sweetly  in  the  socie.y  of  beasts  and  savages.  If  thirty  families, 
farmers  and  mechanics,  are  needed  for  some  distant  and  hazard- 
oiis  mission,  one  hundred  are  ready.  It  is  true  that  there  is  a  lack 
of  able  and  well-educated  ministers,  even  yet,  but  this  arises  from 
a  distressing  deficiency  of  the  number,  and  not  from  a  want  of  a 
spirit  of  self-devotion.  Thousands  are  wishing  for  a  share  in  this 
work,  if  they  can  but  be  fitted  for  the  service.  They  will  pledge 
themselves  to  serve  you  in  any  country,  to  traverse  any  desert, 
or  cross  any  sea,  or  surmount  any  dangers,  if  you  will  give  them 
opportunities  for  preparation  ;  and  will  refund  your  charities  if 
iheir  hearts  faint  at  the  service. 

If  the  occasion  would  permit,  I  could  mention,  as  distinguishing 
the  present  era,  a  number  of  other  particulars  equally  interesting. 
God  prospers,  remarkably,  the  enterprises  of  his  people.  There 
is  a  vast  increase  of  general  knowledge,  and  general  happiness. 
The  bonds  of  slavery  are  breaking.  The  terrors  of  despotism  are 
softening.  The  rights  of  conscience  are  beginning  to  be  better 
understood.  The  art  of  war  is  slowly  coming  into  d-suse.  The 
unhappy  begin  to  know  their  condition.  The  ignorant  invite  in- 
struction. The  heathen  are  contributing  to  furnish  themselves 
the  means  of  science,  and  the  bread  of  life.  Infidelity  is  ashamed 
of  its  tenets.  The  governments  of  the  earth  are  beginning  to  aid 
in  raising  the  degraded  and  the  lost  to  happiness  and  heaven. 
And  much  as  the  philanthropist  may  still  find  to  weep  over,  he 
will  descry  in  the  present  movements  of  the  world  many  things 
that,  give  promise  of  a  happier  age  at  hand,  when  he  may  wipe 
away  his  tears. 

II.  It  is  important  that  our  children  be  educated  for  the  per, 
ivhich  t/teij  are  to  live.  If  the  text  contains  a  promise,  then  it  also 
points  out  a  duty.  "All  thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord." 
That  parent  has  forgotten  the  first  dictate  of  affection,  who  does 
not  wish  that  his  children  may  be  wise,  useful,  and  happy,  and 
who  does  not,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  prepare  them  to  act 
well  their  part  iii  the  generation  with  which  they  must  mingle. 

1.  The  rising  generation  should  be  well  instructed  in  science  and 
religion,  that  they  may  act  well  their   part  in  the  arje  that  is  open- 
ing.     Else    tl    y    can   neither  be   useful,   respectable,   nor   happy 
The  time  \ia^  been,  when   men  could   have  been  respectable,  with 
out  any  knowledge  of  books  or   of  science,  but   those   dark   age* 


THE  CONCENTRATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

have  gone  by.  The  Bible  and  the  tract,  and  the  vehicle  of  reli- 
gious intelligence,  and  even  the  voluminous  commentary,  are  to 
be  put  into  the  hands  of  every  child  throughout  Christendom. 
And  he  must  be  able  to  read  and  understand  their  contents,  or  he 
will  wish  that  bis  father  had  been  a  Turk,  or  a  Hindoo,  and  that 
bis  mother  had  borne  him  on  the  banks  of  the  Caspian,  or  at  the 
source  of  the  Ganges.  He  will  be  interested  in  the  excursions  of 
the  missionary,  and  must  be  able  to  trace  his  track  on  the  chart, 
and  feel  the  perils  of  his  station.  He  must  lead  in  the  operations 
of  charity,  and  must  know  how  to  minute  and  express  his  thoughts. 
Perhaps  he  must  become  an  ambassador  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
must  have  his  mind  enlarged  in  the  pursuit  of  general  science.  I 
know  you  intend  to  select  his  employ,  he  must  follow  the  track 
you  have  chosen.  No.  He  will  choose  for  himself,  or  rather 
God  will  choose  for  him.  When  you  are  laid  in  your  grave,  he 
will  hear  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  will  be  afraid  to  disobey,  and  will 
enter  and  labor  in  his  vineyard.  He  will  leave  his  plow,  his 
trade,  or  his  clerkship,  and  will  go  at  the  call  of  some  benighted 
community,  to  carry  them  the  Book  of  the  covenant,  and  the  mes- 
sage of  mercy.  And  when  he  shall  wish  to  be  useful,  if  he  find 
himself  ignorant  and  disqualified,  he  will  blame  that  father,  whose 
memory  he  loves  to  revere,  but  who  unkindly  introduced  him  into 
an  enlightened  age,  with  an  uncultivated  mind. 

And  our  daughters,  as  well  as  our  sons,  must  be  equipped  for 
the  peculiar  duties  of  the  age.  The  gospel  has  always  raised  the 
female  sex  to  an  importance  which,  in  lands  not  blessed  with  its 
light,  they  cannot  reach.  It  was  to  be  expected  that  an  age  like 
the  present  would  bring  them  into  a  still  more  important  station. 
And  they  have  shown  their  wisdom  by  their  exertions  to  dissemi- 
nate that  gospel  which  has  rendered  them  free,  enlightened,  happy. 
And  they  will  be,  hereafter,  the  guardians  of  their  sex.  And  they 
must  then  be  equipped  for  the  service  to  which  they  will  assuredly 
be  called,  and  will  be  ashamed  of  their  parents,  if,  when  we  are 
in  our  graves,  they  shall  find  themselves  too  illiterate  to  take  an 
interest,  and  act  a  high  and  holy  part,  in  the  scenes  of  this  illus- 
trious age. 

A  parent  can  hardly  %c  more  unkind  to  his  children  than  to  ne- 
stled their  improvement,  at  a  period  like  the  present.  It  would 
be  cruel  lo  leave  them  in  the  midst  of  enlightened  society  with 
minds  suited  to  the  taste  of  a  Turk,  or  a  Tartar.  I  should  be 
afraid,  in  such  a  case,  that  they  would  hate  my  memory,  and 
trnmple  with  contempt  upon  my  ashes. 


THE    CONCENTRATED    RESULTS    OF    THE    GOSPEL.  577 

*Z  We  must  not  merely  attend  to  theii  mental  improvement,  we 
must  teach  them  charity.  The  suffrage  s  of  Christendom  have 
been  taken,  and  it  is  resolved  that  the  miseries  of  the  world  must 
be  relieved.  But  this  relief  will  cost  us  something  more  than 
"Be  ye  warmed,  ami  be  ye  filled."  We  are  pained,  and  so  will 
be  our  children,  if  we  or  they  must  know  of  miseries  which  we 
may  not  alleviate.  While  the  eye  is  pouring  forth  its  tears,  the 
hand  will  distribute  its  bounty.  But  in  this  matter  much  will  de- 
pend on  habit.  We  could  give  you  the  names  of  men  who  have 
prayed,  "  Thy  kingdom  come,"  with  great  fervency  this  half  cen- 
tury, but  have  never,  perhaps,  given  the  price  of  a  Bible  to  aid  the 
increase  of  that  kingdom.  And  now,  when  the  claims  of  the  per- 
ishing millions  are  understood,  every  such  prayer  they  offer  is 
their  disgrace.  Our  children  must  be  taught  to  be  consistent.  If 
they  will  need  mental  improvement,  because  they  are  to  live  in  ;in 
enlightened  age,  they  will  no  less  need  a  spirit  of  Christian  be- 
nevolence, because  they  are  to  live  in  a  liberal  age.  Hence,  while 
they  are  mere  children  they  should  be  taught  to  cast  their  little 
mites  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord.  When  they  read  the  pathetic 
story  of  a  burning  widow,  or  an  immolated  babe,  or  a  suffering 
missionary,  tell  them,  while  the  tears  are  flowing,  that  they  must 
send  those  heathen  a  Bible,  and  contribute  to  the  support  of  that 
missionary.  Carry  them  with  you  to  the  monthly  concert,  and 
enrol  their  little  names  upon  the  list  of  charity:  thus  will  you 
prepare  them  to  fill  some  distinguished  station  among  their  en- 
lightened and  liberal  contemporaries.  They  will  be  pillars  and 
polished  stones  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  will  do  you  honor 
when  the  weeds  shall  be  growing  upon  your  sepulchres. 

But  if  our  children  should  carry  into  manhood  the  opposite  cha- 
racter ;  should  they  be  ignorant,  and  covetous,  and  infidel  ;  should 
they  set  themselves  to  oppose  the  work  of  the  Lord,  and  dam  up 
the  streams  of  charity,  and  exhibit  a  dark,  and  contracted,  and 
illiberal  spirit  ;  as  sure  as  God  is  true  there  is  nothing  before  them 
but  disappointment  and  shame.  They  will  cover  our  graves  with 
reproach,  and  attach  a  stigma  to  our  name  which  will  adhere  to  it 
till  it  has  perished.  In  the  conduct  of  the  child  tin'  world  will 
rea  I  the  character  of  the  parents,  and  the  dead  will  be  arraigned 
and  condemned  at  the  tribunal  of  the  living. 

The  means  of  avoiding  this  doom  are  in  our  hands.  Let  us 
make  our  chi'.dren  acquainted  with  what  God  is  doing,  let  us  put 
into  their  hand  and  pour  into  their  ears  the  weekly  intelligence, 
and  water  the   "Vice  with   prayer,  and    then,  whether  we  live  to 


578        THE  CONCENTRATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

see  the  effects  or  not,  our  children  will  rise  up  and  call  us  blessed 
But, 

3.  They  must  have  the  benefit  of  our  example.  If  we  are  found 
opposing  the  work  of  the  Lord,  are  unwilling  to  be  enlightened, 
and  are  vexed  at  every  solicitation  of  charity,  we  shall  have  child- 
ren in  our  own  likeness,  and  they  will  live  only  to  prolong  our 
disgrace.  But  if  we  march  up  to  the  work  of  the  Lord  ourselves; 
if  our  children  hear  us  pray  earnestly  for  the  devoted  missionary, 
and  see  us  afflicted  when  we  have  missed  any  opportunity  to  give 
of  our  substance  to  the  Lord,  and  glad  when  opportunity  presenls, 
and  generous  in  our  contributions ;  they  will  naturally  imbibe  the 
same  spirit,  and  we  shall  be  honored,  and  God  will  be  served  in 
our  offspring.  If  we  are  afraid  that  a  course  like  this  will  render 
us  poor,  and  injure  our  children,  it  is  either  because  we  lack  the 
necessary  information,  or  doubt  the  truth  of  the  promise.  It  is 
plainly  written  and  easily  understood,  "  Give  early  of  thy  sub- 
stance to  the  Lord  ;  so  shall  thy  barns  be  filled  with  plenty,  and 
thy  presses  burst  out  with  new  wine."  Now  what  parent  that  be- 
lieves this  text  to  be  the  word  of  the  Lord,  would  not  rather,  far 
rather,  that  his  children  could  have  a  claim  to  this  promise,  than 
any  possible  human  security  for  the  stability  and  the  increase  of 
their  fortune  ]  It  affixes  to  every  bond  we  hold  the  seal  of  heaven  ; 
secures  the  timely  shower,  the  prosperous  breeze,  the  Avisdom 
necessary  to  plan  our  concerns,  and  the  happy  combination  of  cir- 
cumstances, in  every  hour  when  we  shall  need  the  interference  of 
a  heavenly  friend. 

Let  us,  then,  leave  our  children  a  well-selected  library,  a  mind 
well  cultivated,  a  conscience  awake  to  duty,  a  heart  habituated  to 
feel  the  woes  of  another,  and,  depend  upon  it,  our  estates  will  be 
more  secure,  and  our  offspring  better  provided  for,  than  if  we 
should  leave  them  with  the  opposite  habits,  in  the  possession  of  a 
kingdom. 

Do  you  sav,  none  but  God  can  do  all  this  for  our  children  1 
True  :  and  all  that  is  required  of  us  is,  that  we  wish  it  done,  that 
we  entreat  him  to  do  it,  that  we  set  the  example  and  use  the 
melius  required.  Then  if  our  children  will  not  be  obedient,  we 
em  have  peace  in  death,  and  the  curse  of  being  their  destroyer, 
will  he  removed  from  our  shoulders.  But  we  need  have  no  such 
fears.  The  frequent  and  extensive  revivals  with  which  God  is 
Messing  the  churches,  gives  encouraging  promise,  that  from 
among  the  rising  generation  there  is  to  be  selected  an  army  of 
combatants,  who  ate  to  march  under  the  captain  of  their  salvation 


THE  CONCENTRATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  GOSPEL.         579 

to  victory  and  glory.  There  is  more  hope  that  our  children  will 
be  saved,  than  there  has  been,  with  respect  to  any  generation  that 
has  ever  inhabited  the  globe.  If  this  is  the  period  predicted  in 
the  context,  and  there  are  many  indications  that  it  is,  then  the 
promise  is,  "  Thy  children  shall  all  be  taught  of  the  Lord."  Or 
if  this  prediction  is  not  to  receive  its  full  accomplishment,  till  the 
lapse  of  a  century,  still  its  partial  accomplishment  may  be  the 
inheritance  of  our  children. 

III.  The  course  described  will  render  them  happy.  "  Great  shall 
be  the  peace  of  thy  children."  The  evident  indications  of  Provi- 
dence are,  that  there  has  dawned  a  new  era  of  the  Church.  If 
then  we  do  our  duty  to  our  children,  set  the  example  and  enforce 
the  precepts  required,  our  hope  may  be  that  they  will  be  among 
the  ornaments  of  the  risen  and  rising  generation.  They  will  go 
into  life  with  habits  suited  to  the  sphere  in  which  they  are  to  act. 
They  will  associate  with  a  benevolent  community,  will  have  a 
delightful  employ,  will  witness  most  glorious  displays  of  the  wis- 
dom and  power  of  God,  and  will  doubtless  have  those  communica- 
tions of  the  Spirit  which  create  the  best  possible  enjoyments  of  a 
rational  mind.  If  these  hopes  are  not  all  a  dream  what  a  blessing 
it  now  is  to  be  a  parent.  When  our  hearts  have  ached  for  our 
children,  how  such  a  hope  would  have  cheered  us.  If  they  may 
live  and  act  worthily  amid  the  scenes  of  such  a  period,  it  is  quite 
enough.     Amen 


SERMON    LI 

THE  BRIDGELESS  GULF, 

luke  xvi.  26. 
And,  besides  all  this, between  as  nnd  yon  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed  :  so  that  they  which  would 
l>n<-  from  hence  to  you,  cannot ;  neither  can  they  pass  to  us,  that  would  come  from  thence. 

The  evident  meaning  of  the  text  is,  that  the  rich  man  could  ex- 
pect no  relief  from  heaven.  Not  only  could  Lazarus  bring  him 
none,  but  none  could  be  brought.  There  was  no  communication 
between  the  two  worlds.  They  were  forever  separated  by  an  im- 
passable gulf!  and  whether  its  bottomless  caverns  will  ever  be  ^li- 
ed, or  a  bridge  erected,  I  shall,  at  present,  leave  those  to  guess, 
who  venture  to  doubt  the  plainest  text,  who  dare  to  die  in  their 
sins,  who  hope  to  reach  heaven  by  the  way  of  hell,  and  who  hang 
that  forlorn  hope  upon  a  straw. 

Two  points  the  parable  settles  :  that  the  wicked  shall  be  pun- 
ished, and  that  they  shall  be  punished  after  death.  The  rich  man 
had  received  his  good  things.  Now  the  beggar  receives  his  ;  and 
the  gulf  that  separates  them  is  impassable.  Christ  did  not  make 
Abraham  say  that  the  rich  man  had  received  part  of  his  good 
things,  and  that  the  gulf  was  not  passable  at  present.  We  seem  to 
be  taught  the  irreparable  loss  of  his  soul.  To  say  the  contrary 
is  to  charge  Christ  with  using  a  figure  calculated  to  deceive,  and 
this  is  to  blasphemously  impeach  his  truth  and  his  goodness. 

Christ  would  not  have  represented  the  rich  man  ns  dying,  and  then 
lifting  up  his  eyes  in  torment,  if  sinners  were  not  punished  after 
death.  Nor  would  he  have  represented  him  as  separated  from  the 
smallest  comfort  by  an  impassable  gulf,  if  there  were  any  possible 
relief  for  those  who  once  make  their  bed  in  hell  ! 

Ami  those  who  deny  that  there  is  any  hell  but  th3  grave,  will 
pain  nothing,  when  they  understand  this  parable.  Be  it  the  grave 
or  not,  the  rich  man  found  it  a  place  of  torment  ;  a  place  where 
sensitive  beings  enjoy  no  comforts,  not  even  a  drop  of  water  to 
cool  their  tongues  ;  a  place  partitioned  off"  from  heaven  by  a  gulf 
impassable.  1  will  here  stop  to  quote  one  or  two  texts  more,  to 
show  the  weakness  as  well  as  wickedness  of  supposing  that  the 
Scriptures  recognise  no   other  hell    but  the  ?rave      "  The  wicked 


THE    BRIDGE^ESS    GUL1 .  581 

shall  be  turned  into  hell,"  and  so  will  the  righteous,  if  this  senti- 
ment be  correct — for  the  righteous,  as  well  as  the  wicked,  com- 
monly find  a  grave.  He  who  does  not  cut  off  a  right  hand  and 
pluck  out  a  right  eye  that  offends,  is  in  danger  of  having  his  whole 
body  cast  into  liell.  But  if  hell  be  only  the  grave,  the  whole  body 
must  be  cast  thither,  whether  the  offending  member  be  amputat- 
ed or  not.  We  read,  that  God  spared  not  the  angels  that  sinned, 
but  cast  them  down  to  hell.  Did  any  one  ever  suppose  that  the 
revolting  angels  were  buried  in  the  earth  1  Who  that  has  com- 
mon sense,  and  can  use  it,  ever  thought  of  putting  spirits  in  a 
grave  1  Besides,  we  read  of  the  fire,  the  brimstone,  the  darkness, 
and  the  torments  of  hell  !  Can  this  hell  be  the  grave  ?  My  dear 
hearers,  I  cannot  spend  your  time  to  confute  an  error  so  weak. 
Its  advocates  must  be  left  to  their  own  stupid  infatuation. 

I  shall  proceed  to  inquire,  whether  the  miserable  inhabitants  of 
hell  have  any  hope  of  relief  \ 

I.  If  their  endless  punishment  is  not  revealed  in  the  Scriptures, 
it  could  not  have  been.  I  mean  by  this  remark  that  every  varied 
form  of  words  and  expression  is  used  in  the  Scriptures,  to  express 
this  idea,  that  could  be.  After  the  process  of  the  last  judgment, 
the  wicked  are  to  go,  accursed,  into  everlasting  fire  ;  where  they 
are  to  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power.  And  where  the 
smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever  and  ever  j  and 
where  they  shall  be  tormented  day  and  night,  for  ever  and  ever. 
The  words  here  used,  are  declared  by  the  most  approved  lexico- 
graphers in  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages  to  mean  eternal; 
having  no  end.  The  same  words,  and  others  like  them,  are  used 
in  many  texts,  to  express  the  duration  of  the  miseries  of  the 
damned.  And  if  they  do  not  express  endless  duration,  there  are 
no  words  in  those  languages  that  do.  And  can  we  believe  that 
they  who  used  those  languages  had  never  received  the  idea  of  an 
eternity,  or  if  they  had  the  idea,  had  no  words  with  which  to  ex- 
press it  \  If  then,  the  Deity,  in  revealing  his  will,  made  use  of 
the  strongest  words  which  human  language  afforded,  to  express 
endless  punishment,  and  yet  has  failed,  how  could  he  have  revealed 
this  truth  if  it  had  been  truth  1  It  seems  impossible,  unless  he 
had  adopted  some  other  mode  of  making  known  his  will. 

I  cannot  stop,  brethren,  to  hear  the  quibbling  of  those  who, 
although  they  acknowledge  that  the  fire  will  burn  for  ever,  believe 
that  the   wretched  victims  will   be   released.     It   is  as  frequently 


582  THE    BRIDGEI.ESS    GULF. 

and  as  strongly  expressed,  that  the  finally  impenitent  shall  be  pun 
ished  for  ever,  as  that  the  fire  shall  for  ever  burn.  And  it  would 
be  impeaching-  the  character  of  God  to  suppose,  that  he  would 
feed  the  flames  of  Tophet,  while  there  was  no  employ  for  its  fires. 
"  Their  worm  shall  not  die."  "  They  shall  be  tormented  day  and 
night,  for  ever  and  ever." 

But  as  to  the  main  doctrine  — what  would  men  have  had  him 
say,  that  they  might  believe  it  1  If  he  had  said,  "  They  shall  never 
escape  from  hell,  would  they  believe  him  !  This  he  has  said. 
The  very  name  of  that  place  of  misery  indicates,  that  there  is  no 
escape.  It  is  called  a  prison.  "Agree  with  thine  adversary 
quickly,  whilst  thou  art  in  the  way  with  him  ;  lest  at  any  time  the 
adversary  deliver  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge  deliver  thee  to 
the  officer,  and  thou  be  cast  into  prison.  Verily  I  say  unto  thee, 
thou  shalt  by  no  means  come  out  thence  till  thou  hast  paid  the 
uttermost  farthing."  And  as  prisons  are  not  usually  left  unbarred 
or  unlocked,  so  we  hear  Christ  say  of  this  prison.  "  I  am  he  that 
liveth,  and  was  dead,  and  behold  I  am  alive  for  evermore  ;  and 
have  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death."  And  to  secure  the  prisoners 
still  more,  they  are  reserved  "  in  chains  under  darkness."  Their 
place  of  abode  is  also  termed  a  pit,  a  furnace,  and  a  lake  of  fire. 
These  terms  imply  a  place  of  fearful  confinement.  The  text  as- 
sures us  that  an  impassable  gulf  confined  the  rich  man  in  this 
perdition. 

Had  he  said,  they  shall  never  reach  heaven,  or  be  in  the  place 
where  his  people  are,  and  where  he  is,  would  this  satisfy  those  who 
who  try  to  doubt  1  This  he  has  said.  u  Sinners  shall  not  stand 
in  the  congregation  of  the  righteous."  "The  unrighteous  shall 
not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  Christ  said  to  some  of  the 
Jews,  "Ye  shall  die  in  your  sins;  whither  I  go  ye  cannot  come." 
And  in  another  place  he  says,  "  Where  I  am,  thither  ye  cannot 
come."  And  the  text  again  bars  the  finally  impenitent  out  of  hea- 
ven, by  an  impassable  gulf.  "  They  shall  never  see  life,  but  the 
wrath  of  God  abideth  on  them." 

Had  he  said,  Sinners  shall  never  be  forgiven,  would  this  have 
given  satisfaction  ?  This  he  has  said.  Said  the  Lord  Jesus,  "He 
that  shall  hlaspheme  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  hath  never  forgive 
ne>s,  hut  is  in  danger  of  eternal  damnation."  And  we  read  again, 
that  to  those  who  sin  wilfully,  after  they  have  received  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins.  It 
is  predicted,  that  those  who  regard  not  the  works  of  the  Lord,  nor 
the  operations  of  his  hands,  he  shall  destroy,  and  not  build  them 


THE    BRIDGELESS    GULF.  583 

up.  This  does  not  look  like  restoring  sinners  to  happiness  after 
their  sufferings.  This  would  be  building  them  up.  But  God  in- 
tends to  destroy  them  and  not  build  them  up. 

God  threatens  sinners  that  he  will  destroy  them  with  double, 
with  everlasting,  and  perpetual  destruction.  He  intends  to  con- 
sume them  in  his  wrath.  He  intends  to  make  them  a  perpetual 
desolation.  They  are  destined  to  die  the  second  death.  It  is  the 
divine  purpose  that  they  shall  perish  forever.  He  intends  to  blot 
out  their  names  forever.  They  are  to  be  the  subjects  of  endless 
despair.  They  are  to  weep,  and  wail,  and  gnash  their  teeth. 
Such  will  be  their  hopeless  and  miserable  state,  that  they  shall 
seek  death,  but  death  shall  flee  from  them.  These  expressions  all 
look  like  irrecoverable  ruin.  And  if  the  Bible  does  not  teach  this 
doctrine,  it  is  of  all  books  the  most  difficult  to  understand.  In- 
stead of  being  that  simple,  intelligible  book,  which  I  have  always 
conceived  it  to  be,  I  despair  of  learning  one  truth  from  it.  I 
would  sell  it  for  the  fraction  of  a  cent,  and  abandon  myself  to  the 
fortuitous  light  of  unintelligent  nature. 

II.  If  the  punishments  of  the  wicked  are  not  endless,  we  have 
no  security  in  the  Scriptures,  that  the  saints  will  be  for  ever  happy. 
Each  truth  rests  on  the  same  species  of  evidence.  The  same 
words  are  used,  and  the  same  form  of  expression  in  both  cases. 
God  has  sworn  that  the  one  shall  live  and  the  other  die — the  one 
be  destroyed,  the  other  saved — the  one  redeemed,  the  other  damn- 
ed! The  one  is  to  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment,  the  other 
into  everlasting  life.  The  smoke  of  the  torment  of  the  one  is  to 
ascend  up  for  ever  and  ever,  and,  co-extensively  with  it,  the  other 
is  to  cry,  alleluiah  !  Not  a  text  can  be  found  that  more  strongly 
expresses  the  duration  of  heaven's  joys,  than  the  miseries  of  hell. 
The  Christian's  hopes,  then,  of  immortal  blessedness  are  all  a 
dream  !  He  may  yet  learn  the  dreadful  secret,  that  after  tasting 
the  joys  of  heaven,  he  may  suddenly  sink  to  the  bottomless  pit, 
and  some  fiend  of  darkness  rise  and  fill  his  seat.  And  let  Gabriel 
know  that  the  prince  of  darkness,  whom  he  thought  to  be  an  out- 
cast forever,  may  yet  walk  with  him,  arm  in  arm,  through  the 
streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  he,  perhaps,  be  sent  to  fill  the 
infernal  throne!  When  men  embrace  such  sentiments,  they  scat- 
ter firebrands,  arrows,  and  death  ;  and  give  them  their  wish,  they 
fill  the  middle  and  the  upper  world  with  tears 

III.  If  sinners  are  to  be  released  from  punishment,  it  must  be  Co 


Otii  THE    BR1DGELESS    GULF. 

the  principle  of  mercy,  or  of  justice.  Let  us  view  both  sides  of 
this  question. 

Are  they  to  be  saved,  finally,  by  mercy  1  Does  this  idea  com- 
port with  the  sacred  Scriptures'?  According  to  Matthew,  sinners 
are  to  remain  in  the  prison  of  hell  till  they  pay  the  uttermost  far- 
thing. Or,  as  Luke  has  it,  till  they  have  paid  the  very  last  mite. 
They  ire  also  to  suffer  as  much  as  their  sins  deserve.  They  are 
to  receive  the  due  reward  of  their  deeds.  They  are  to  drink  of 
the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God,  which  is  poured  out  without  mix- 
ture, that  is,  without  mixture  of  mercy,  into  the  cup  of  his  indig- 
nation, and  are  to  be  tormented  with  fire  and  brimstone,  in  the 
presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb. 
Now,  if  they  are  to  pay  the  last  mite,  if  there  is  to  be  no  mixture 
of  mercy  in  their  cup,  and  if  they  are  to  suffer  the  due  reward  of 
their  deeds,  how  can  they  be  saved  by  mercy  ?  When  one  has 
paid  the  debt,  is  there  any  mercy  in  giving  him  his  discharge  1 
Does  not  justice  demand  his  release  1  If  the  hour  ever  comes 
when  sinners  shall  deserve  no  further  punishment,  will  not  all  hell 
rise  in  one  united  band,  and  press  into  the  court  of  heaven,  to  sue 
fur  their  immediate  discharge,  on  the  principle  of  right?  And 
will  a  righteous  God  deny  them  their  suit  1 

Do  any  feel  disposed  to  take  the  other  side,  and  advocate  the 
sinner's  final  emancipation  on  the  principle  of  justice  ?  Then  let 
this  matter  be  fairly  viewed.  The  Scriptures  represent  salvation 
as  the  result  of  mercy.  "By  grace  we  are  saved,  through  faith, 
and  that  not  of  ourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God."  To  this  point  is 
the  whole  tenor  of  Scripture.  By  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no 
flesh  living  be  justified. 

Grace  is  to  be  the  theme  of  the  heavenly  song.  The  redeemed 
of  the  Lord  shall  for  ever  praise  him  who  washed  them  from  their 
sins  in  his  blood.  Now  if  any  should  finally  make  their  way 
into  heaven,  whom  mercy  has  not  redeemed,  they  could  never 
join  the  song,  or  if  they  made  the  attempt,  there  would  be  endless 
discord. 

Besides,  brethren,  when  the  sinner  shall  have  suffered  all  that  he 
deserves,  and  justice  demands  his  release,  it  is  absurd  to  speak  of 
his  being  saved.  From  what  is  he  saved  1  Not  from  deserved 
punishment,  for  no  punishment  is  deserved.  If  any  can  have  so 
base  an  idea  of  God,  as  that  he  would  continue  to  punish  sinners 
after  they  have  ceased  to  deserve  it,  then  we  might  conceive  of 
their  being  saved  from  the  effects  of  tyranny.  And  then  indeed  it 
would  be  absurd  to  speak  of  the  sinner's  being  saved  by  the  same 


THE    BR1DGELESS    GULF.  585 

hand  that  still  wished  unjustly  to  punish.  If  any  then  imagine 
that  all  will  reach  heaven  at  last  who  have  fallen  under  the  wrath 
of  God,  let  them  not  speak  of  them  as  saved.  There  can  be  no 
salvation  but  for  those  who  are  exposed  to  ruin,  and  when  they 
have  paid  the  uttermost  farthing,  sinners  are  no  longer  exposed. 
And  yet  who  ever  thought  of  any  reaching  heaven  but  those  who 
are  saved  by  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  the  renewing  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Neither  on  the  principle  of  mercy  or  of  justice, 
then,  is  there  any  redemption  from  hell.  And  who  can  conceive 
of  any  third  principle  as  a  ground  of  reprieve  from  the  pangs  of 
the  second  death  \ 

IV.  Salvation  is  represented  as  being  through  sanctification  of 
the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth.  But  did  we  ever  read  in  the 
Scriptures,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  should  descend  and  operate  upon 
the  hearts  of  the  damned  !  And  is  hell  a  place  where  men  are 
likely  to  come  to  the  knowledge  or  the  love  of  the  truth  \  Under 
his  tuition,  who  is  a  liar  and  the  father  of  lies,  can  we  hope  for 
such  effects  ?  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  those  who  enter  the  place 
of  misery  hoping  one  day  to  make  their  escape,  will  there  learn  one 
truth,  which  they  are  so  unwilling  to  learn  here.  They  will  learn, 
to  their  everlasting  cost,  that  till  then  they  have  always  believed 
a  lie.  They  will  learn  that  he  who  has  the  keys  of  hell  will  never 
unlock  their  prison.  In  this  truth  their  faith  will  then  be  strong — 
everlasting. 

V.  The  Scriptures  repiesent  Christ  as  the  medium  of  salvation 
to  all  who  reach  heaven.  There  is  no  other  name  given  under 
heaven  among  men  whereby  we  can  be  saved.  But  Christ  will 
have  done  his  work  of  salvation  before  any  are  redeemed  from 
hell.  We  are  taught  that  Christ  must  reign  till  he  hath  put  his 
enemies  under  his  feet,  and  that  he  shall  then  deliver  up  the  king- 
dom to  his  Father.  This  passage  is  worthy  of  particular  remark. 
Christ  delivers  up  the  mediatorial  kingdom,  immediately  after  he 
has  sentenced  the  wicked  to  everlasting  fire.  After  this  period 
there  can  be  no  Christ  to  redeem  them.  He  has  then  gathered  in 
his  elect,  and  gone  to  seat  them  at  the  marriage  supper,  and  ha? 
left  his  enemies  to  contrive  a  way  of  salvation  for  themselves. 
The  finally  impenitent  are  not  given  to  Christ,  for  those  who  are 
given  to  him  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  one  be  able  to 
pluck  them  out  of  his  hands.  But  those  who  go  to  the  place  of 
despair  perish.^  and  therefore  are  not  given   to  Christ  and  will  not 


."3S6  THE    BRIDGELESS    GULF. 

he  saved  by  him.  Thus  the  argument  chases  the  sinner  down  to 
hell  and  leaves  him  there,  with  no  Savior  to  redeem  him.  How 
he  shall  be  able,  unassisted,  to  burst  its  bars,  or  quench  its  flames, 
or  quit  its  caverns,  I  leave  those  to  guess  who  dare  run  the  dread- 
ful risk. 

VI.  The  finally  impenitent  die  with  a  wrong  temper  of  heart, 
and  must  undergo  a  thorough  change  of  temper  and  character,  01 
there  could  be  no  salvation  for  them.  Indeed  it  would  not  be  sal- 
vation were  they  taken  from  the  place  of  torment  but  left  in  pos- 
session of  their  evil  hearts  of  unbelief.  Salvation  consists  in  being 
saved  from  the  dominion  of  sin.  Those  who  are  rescued  from 
hell  then,  must  first  be  made  holy.  Now  it  would  seem  very 
strange  that  God  should  send  them  to  that  polluted  world  to  ac- 
quire purity.  Hell,  it  seems,  is  the  school  where  men  are  quali- 
fied for  heaven,  and  he  their  instructor  who  was  too  vile  to  live  in 
heaven  ! 

Can  we  believe  that  the  flames  of  the  pit  will  have  any  tendency 
to  purify  1  Afflictions  in  the  present  world  make  wicked  men  no 
better.  "  Why  should  they  be  stricken  any  more,  they  will  revolt 
more  and  more  V  The  merest  wretches  that  ever  appeared  in  the 
shape  of  men,  have  been  those  who  had  been  subjected  to  almost 
perpetual  affliction.  And  it  would  seem  as  though  every  stroke 
made  them  more  stubborn.  And  why  should  the  rod  of  divine 
wrath  have  a  different  effect  in  hell  1  That  men  will  for  ever  grow 
worse  in  that  world  I  can  believe,  but  to  believe  that  they  shall 
grow  better,  requires  credulity  which  I  do  not  possess. 

And  the  decree  of  Heaven  with  regard  to  them  is,  "  He  that  is 
unjust,  let  him  he  unjust  still,  and  he  that  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy 
still."  Evil  men  and  seducers  wax  worse  and  worse.  Men  are 
to  perish  in  (heir  iniquities,  and  there  is  neither  promise  nor  inti- 
mation that  they  shall  ever  be  cleansed.  How  then  can  they  ever 
be  qualified  for  that  world  where  nothing  impure  shall  ever  enter  1 

VII.  We  read  that  wicked  men  are  to  have  their  portion  at  last 
with  devils.  "  Depart,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  If  then  they  are  ever  redeemed, 
their  associates  in  misery  will  doubtless  be  redeemed  with  them. 
But  we  read  that  Christ  did  not  take  upon  him  the  nature  of  an- 
gelfl  nor  die  for  them.  Devils  have  no  share  in  his  blood,  nor  any 
hope  of  emancipation  through  his  merits.  This  question  was  long 
Bince  settled.      They  must  remain  in  their  chains,  and  there  is  full 


THE    BRIDGELESS    GULF.  587 

reason  to  apprehend  that   men  will  for  ever  have  their  part  with 
them  in  the  lake  that  burnetii  with  fire  and  brimstone. 

OBJECTIONS. 

I  feel  it  my  duty  to  answer  a  few  of  the  more  specious  objec- 
tions to  this  doctrine.  The  more  common  objection  is  that  drawn 
from  the  mercy  of  God.  The  argument  is,  that  God  is  too  be- 
nevolent too  inflict  so  sore  a  punishment  on  his  creatures.  It 
seems  they  are  afraid  to  admit  the  idea  of  endless  punishment  lest 
the  sentiment  should  tarnish  the  divine  glory.  If  they  are  sin- 
cere in  using  this  argument  they  will  manifest  their  sincerity  by 
holiness  of  life.  They  will  make  it  their  constant  effort  to  obey, 
and  have  others  obey,  the  divine  law.  And  if  we  do  not  see  this, 
we  shall  doubt  whether  they  oppose  the  doctrine  wc  advocate, 
from  respect  to  the  divine  character.  But.  be  their  motive  what 
it  may  the  argument  is  flimsy.  It  is  founded  on  this  hypothesis, 
that  it  is  more  important  that  God  should  appear  merciful  than 
that  he  appear  holy,  just,  and  true.  God  is  good,  but  he  will  for- 
ever hate  those  who  are  filthy  and  polluted.  God  is  good,  but  he 
is  so  just  that  he  will  render  to  every  one  according  to  his  works. 
God  is  good,  but  he  is  so  true  to  his  word  that  every  threatening 
he  has  uttered  he  will  execute.  If  then  any  are  saved,  in  their 
salvation  mercy  and  truth  must  meet  together,  righteousness  and 
peace  embrace  each  other.  We  are  incompetent  to  say,  what 
divine  goodness  operating  in  unison  with  the  other  attributes  of 
Deity  may  do,  or  what  it  may  refuse  to  do. 

In  this  world  some  suffer  all  their  life.  From  the  cradle  to  the 
grave  they  hardly  draw  a  breath  in  comfort.  And  these  unhappy 
sufferers  are  not  always  conspicuous  for  wickedness.  We  see  in- 
fants suffer  from  the  day  of  their  birth  till  they  find  an  early  grave. 
Now  if  all  this  is  consistent  with  the  goodness  of  God,  it  may 
comport  with  the  same  goodness,  to  leave  those,  who  have  spent 
all  their  lives  in  sin,  and  gone  down  to  hell  in  unbelief,  to  suffer 
for  their  sins  for  ever. 

Besides,  brethren,  mercy  must  have  some  channel,  through 
which  it  may  flow  out.  While  God  pardons  rebels  he  must  still 
maintain  the  dignity  of  his  character,  and  must  support  the  honor 
of  his  law  and  government.  And  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only 
medium  of  mercy  from  God  to  sinners.  Him  the  wretched  sinner 
has  rejected  till  he  gives  up  the  mediatorial  kingdom.  Hence 
there  is  no  channel  through  which  mercy  may  be  communicated 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  pit.     God   will  remain   merciful  and  gro» 


5S8  THE    BRIDGELESS    GULF. 

cious  for  ever,  but  his   mercy  will   avail  those   nothing   who  have 
dammed  up  its  streams. 

Much  is  made  of  that  text  where  Christ  is  said  to  have  gone  by 
his  Spirit,  and  preached  to  the  spirits  in  prison.  It  seems  impos- 
sible that  any  one  sliould  have  gathered  from  this  text  that  Christ 
went  aud  preached  to  the  inhabitants  of  hell.  When  Peter  wrote 
they  were  spirits  in  prison  :  but  he  does  not  say  they  were  when 
Christ  preached  to  them  by  his  Spirit.  Indeed,  we  are  assured 
that  this  took  place  at  a  time  when  once  the  long-suffering  God 
waited  in  the  days  of  Noah  while  the  ark  was  preparing.  During 
this  time,  that  holy  man,  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ  preached 
to  them,  and  they  continued  disobedient.  Now  they  are  spirits  in 
prison. 

For  argument's  sake,  let  us  suppose  that  Christ  did  go  and 
preach  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  pit.  What  would  he  preach  1 
Doubtless  the  same  doctrines  which  he  preached  on  earth.  He 
would  demonstrate  to  them  that  the  lire  should  never  be  quenched, 
nor  the  worm  die.  He  would  assure  them  that  they  should  by  no 
means  come  out  thence  till  they  had  paid  the  uttermost  farthing. 
He  would  repeat  to  them  the  divine  decree,  "  He  that  is  filthy,  let 
him  be  filthy  still."  Could  he  contradict  what  he  had  preached  to 
them  on  earth  } 

Provided  he  did  preach  to  them  the  same  doctrines  which  he 
delivered  on  earth,  what  would  be  the  effect  1  Would  those  be 
profited  by  his  preaching  there  who  rejected  him  here  1  Would 
those  who  perished  from  Nazareth  be  any  better  pleased  with  di- 
vine sove  eignty  and  election,  than  when  they  led  Christ  to  the 
brow  of  the  hill  to  cast  him  down,  because  he  taught  these  doc- 
trines (  Would  those  who  condemned  the  Prince  of  life,  those 
who  platted  the  crown,  and  those  who  drove  the  nails,  and  then 
went  down  to  hell — would  they  now  choose  him  as  their  Redeem- 
er 1  Have  the  flames  of  the  pit  melted  the  hard  heart?  Shall 
we  wait  till  men  have  known  the  bitterness  of  being  damned,  be- 
fore we  recommend  Christ  to  them  \  Brethren,  have  any  tidings 
leached  you  from  the  pit  !  The  preaching  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ — -what  effect  does  it  have  in  the  infernal  prison  1  Does  ary 
revolting  spirit  ground  his  arms'!  Are  any  hosannahs  to  the  Son 
of  David  heard  to  resound  through  the  vaulted  caverns  of  hell  ! 
My  brethren,  falsehood  is  inconsistent  with  all  truth,  and  always 
finds  its  way  beset  with  contradiction  and  absurdity.  Embrace 
the  truth,  and  it  is  consistent  and  can  be  defended  witho.it  an  ef- 
fort. 


THE    BRIDGELESS    GULF  539 

Much  is  said  about  Christ's  descending  into  Hell,  ana  great  ex- 
ertions made  to  prove  that  this  is  the  only  hell.  It  is  true  that  the 
same  word  sometimes  means  the  grave,  and  sometimes  the  place 
of  misery.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  however,  that  words  are  used 
in  the  latter  sense  not  used  in  the  former.  The  grave  is  never 
called  a  lake  of  fire,  or  a  furnace  of  fire,  or  a  place  of  outer 
darkness.  If  we  should  admit,  what  is  not  true,  that  sheol  in  He- 
brew, and  hades  in  Greek,  mean  nothing  more  than  the  grave,  we 
should  lose  nothing.  The  question  is  settled  in  texts  where  these 
words  ;ire  not  used. 

And  what  if  it  could  be  proved  that  Christ  descended  to  the  bot- 
tomless pit '!  There  was  a  divine  promise  that  his  soul  should  not 
be  left  in  hell.  The  wicked  have  no  such  assurance.  He  is  not 
there  now. 

If  Christ  went  to  hell,  it  is  not  said  that  he  went  to  redeem  its 
prisoners.  We  arc  not  told  that  he  bore  home  to  heaven  with  him 
any  of  the  spoils  of  hell.  We  are  not  told  that  he  conveyed  thith- 
er a  drop  of  water  to  cool  the  parching  tongues. 

Much  is  said  of  Christ's  restoring  all  things,  and  destroying  die 
works  of  the  devil.  These  texts,  they  say,  settle  the  point  that 
all  will  be  saved.  It  is  surprising  how  men  will  reason  when  they 
have  first  resolved  how  they  wish  a  thing  to  be.  Suppose  a  re- 
bellion break  out  in  a  human  government,  and  some  brave  general 
be  sent  to  restore  order,  would  this  imply  the  indiscriminate  par- 
don of  all  the  rebels  1  If  he  should  imprison  some,  and  execute 
others,  and  intimidate  others,  so  that  the  rebels  grounded  their 
arms  and  forsook  the  standard  of  revolt,  we  should  say  that  order 
is  restored.  So  Christ  must  reign  till  he  has  put  all  his  enemies 
under  his  feet.  Then  he  is  to  give  up  the  mediatorial  kingdom 
to  the  Father.  There  is  nothing  said  about  his  pardoning  them 
all.  Every  knee  shall  bow  to  him;  but  it  is  not  said  that  every 
enemy  shall  be  brought  to  love  him.  A  conquered  enemy  bows 
to  his  conqueror.  Every  one  shall  confess  him  to  be  Lord  ;  but  it 
is  not  said  that  all  shall  hive  him,  and  elect  him  as  theirhord.  His 
enemies  shall  feel  and  confess  his  power,  and  be  trodden  under 
his  feet.  During  his  reigll  they  shall  be  cast  into  prison,  and  he, 
as  Mediator,  wil  go  out  of  office,  leaving  them  in  bonds.  The 
works  of  the  devil  are  destroyed  when  his  plan  is  frustrated,  his 
hopes  cut  off,  his  emissaries  ashamed,  and  his  kingdom  demolish- 
ed. His  works  are  destroyed  when  he  and  all  his  coadjutors  are 
safely  secured  in  hell.     Then  order  is  restored   in  the  divine  gov 


590  THE    BRIDGELESS    GULF. 

eminent,  and  is  the  better  secured  if  some  are  made  the  everlast- 
ing monuments  of  his  wrath. 

Much  is  made  of  those  texts  where  Christ  is  said  to  be  a  pro- 
pitiation for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  where  he  is  called  the 
Savior  of  the  world,  and  where  he  is  said  to  be  the  Savior  of  all 
men.     The  evident  meaning  of  these  texts  is, 

That  Christ  died  for  men  and  not  for  devils ;  for  our  world  in 
distinction  from  any  other. 

That  he  died  for  sinners  of  one  nation  as  well  as  another  ;  for 
Jews  and  Gentiles. 

That  he  made  an  atonement  adequate  to  the  pardon  of  all  men; 
so  thai  whosoever  will  may  come  and  take  the  water  of  life  freely. 
And 

That  he  does  save  from  temporal  evils,  and  from  present  de- 
served wrath  all  men.  Through  the  merits  of  Christ,  the  basest 
of  all  men  are  allowed  a  probation,  are  kept  out  of  hell  while  the 
offers  of  pardon  can  be  made  them,  and  they  have  opportunity  to 
form  their  character  for  eternity. 

In  connection  with  these  texts,  we  find  woes  and  curses  de- 
nounced against  those  who  reject  Christ,  making  it  manifest  that 
finally  all  will  not  be  interested  in  his  blood.  The  context  in  each 
verse  limits  its  meaning.  For  instance,  in  that  text  where  Christ 
is  said  to  be  the  Savior  of  all  men,  it  is  added,  "  especially  of  those 
that  believe."  Now  if  all,  believers  and  unbelievers,  are  to  reach 
heaven  at  last,  how  could  Christ  be  in  any  special  sense  the  Savior 
of  believers  \  But  if  all  men  are  saved  by  him  from  many  tem- 
poral evils,  and  believers  from  eternal  misery,  the  text  is  plain. 
And  provided  honesty  and  prayer  be  our  commentaries,  the  other 
text9  are  equally  plain 

Instead  of  sinners  being  redeemed  from  hell,  the  dreadful  pro- 
bability is,  that  their  miseries  will  endlessly  increase.  That  they 
will  continue  to  be  disobedient  and  refractory,  there  is  no  room  to 
doubt.  Restraint  being  removed,  they  will  doubtless  feel  and  dis- 
play more  desperate  wickedness  than  in  the  present  life  ;  and  we 
cannot  believe  that  God  will  release  them  from  obligations  to  obey 
and  love  him,  because  they  have  become  less  disposed.  The  same 
law  which  is  binding  on  us,  will  be  in  fidl  ferce  in  hell.  If,  then, 
God  continue  to  mark  iniquity  against  them,  and  to  punish  that 
iniquity,  their  torments  must  for  ever  increase.  And  this  doc- 
trine we  seem  to  be  taught,  when  we  are  told  that  death  and  hell 
shall  be  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  Instead,  then,  of  their  prospect 
brightening,  it  will  darken.     The  clouds  that  hover  round  the  pit 


THE    BRIDGELESS    GULF.  591 

will  become  more  ard  more  impenetrable  for  ever  ;  as  often  as 
they  raise  their  eyes  their  hopes  will  sink.  This  dreadful  point  I 
will  not  press 

Now,  my  readers,  if  I  have  advocated  the  truth,  the  saints  will  love 
it;  but  if  I  have  advocated  error,  those  will  love  it  who  know  not 
God  and  who  obey  not  the  gospel.  This  is  always  a  fair  touchstone 
of  truth  Whatever  sentiments  we  embrace,  if  we  would  recom- 
mend them,  we  must  do  it  by  a  holy  life.  On  whichever  side  of 
this  question  the  truth  lies,  there  will  be  seen  the  most  holiness  ; 
for  truth  has  a  sanctifying  influence,  while  error  has  the  contrary 
effect.  Several  instances  have  happened  within  our  day,  of  men 
murdering  themselves  and  their  families,  having  first  embraced  the 
opinion  that  all  would  be  happy  beyond  the  grave  I  confess  I 
feel  afraid  of  sentiments  that  can  so  steel  the  heart,  that  a  man 
can  embrue  his  hands  in  the  blood  of  his  children.  And  if  you 
please  to  term  these  extreme  cases,  look  at  those  which  are  com- 
mon. Where  do  you  find  the  most  religion,  the  most  benevolence, 
the  most  humility,  the  most  prayer,  the  tenderest  conscience,  the 
most  meekness,  and  the  most  heavenly-mindednessl — in  those 
who  embrace,  or  in  those  who  reject  the  doctrine  of  unlimited 
punishment  1  Where  you  see  these  effects,  there  is  truth  ;  and 
where  there  is  error,  these  effects  are  not  seen. 


SERMON  Lll. 

THE  PRESENCE  OF  GOD  THE  GLORY  AND  THE  GUIDE  OF  HIS 

PEOPLE. 

exodus  xxxrir.    16. 
For  wlien  in  shall  it  be  known  how  that  1  and  thy  people  have  found  grace  in  thy  sight?    la 
ii  not  in  thai  thou  goest  with  us?    So  shall  we  be  separated,  I  and  Uiy  people,  from  all  the  people 
that  arc  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 

After  the  disgraceful  affair  of  the  golden  calf,  wlncn  resulted 
in  the  death  of  three  thousand  of  the  men  of  Israel,  Moses  as  usual 
interceded  with  God  that  he  would  forgive  and  would  still  love 
his  people.  God  at  length  so  far  regarded  his  intercessions  as  to 
say  that  Moses  might  still  lead  the  people  to  the  land  of  promise, 
and  added,  "Mine  angel  shall  go  before  thee."  But  to  that  man 
of  God  this  was  not  enough,  and  he  still  interceded  that  God  him- 
telf,  and  not  a  created  angel,  might  guide  him  to  the  promised 
rest.  From  this  last  and  inimitably  eloquent  plea  we  extract  the 
text:  "For  wherein  shall  it  be  known  how  that  I  and  thy  people 
have  found  grace  in  thy  sight  !  Is  it  not  in  that  thou  goest  with 
us?  So  shall  we  be  separated,  I  and  thy  people,  from  all  the 
people  that  are  upon  the  face  of  the  earth." 

Finding  himself  so  far  successful,  Moses  was  not  yet  satisfied, 
but  asked  permission  to  see  the  divine  glory.  And  God,  having 
put  him  in  the  cleft  of  the  rock,  and  covered  him  with  his  hand, 
made  all  his  goodness  pass  before  him  and  proclaimed  himself 
gracious  to  whom  he  would  be  gracious,  and  merciful  to  whom  he 
would  show  mercy.  Here  we  might  stay  to  remark,  that  the  glory 
of  God  is  his  goodness.  .Moses  asked  the  Lord  to  show  him  his 
glory,  and  God  made  his  goodness  to  pass  before  him.  We  might 
remark  again,  that  goodness  never  appears  so  inviting,  as  when 
exhibited  in  the  shape  of  grace  and  mercy.  And  further,  that  God 
is  a  sovereign  in  these  exhibitions  of  his  glory.  Hs  will  be 
gracious  to  whom  he  will,  and  will  show  mercy  to  whom  he  will. 
We  might  learn  too  from  the  context,  that  in  our  present  state 
we  cannot  hear  a  full  view  of  the  divine  glory.  When  we  ask 
God  to  show  us  himself,  we  may  well  beseech  him  to  first  cover 
ms  with   his  hand,  or  hide   us   ,,i   the   cleft  of  a  rock.      It  is  more 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  GOD  THE  GLORY  AND  GUIDE  OF  HIS  PEOPLE.       593 

than  probable  that  even  in  heaven  we  shall  not  be  able  to  bear  the 
full  exhibitions  of  his  nature  ;  but  we  shall  see  him  in  the  Lord 
Jesus.  In  him  there  will  be  such  a  softening  down  of  the  burning 
glories  of  the  Godhead  that  we  may  see  him  with  open  face.  But 
we  must  proceed  to  a  particular  consideration  of  the  text. 

How  would  it  be  known  to  the  nations  bordering  upon  Israel 
that  they  had  found  grace  in  the  sight  of  God,  unless  notwith- 
standing their  sins  he  would  still  go  before  them,  and  conduct 
them  to  his  rest.  His  presence  would  render  them  a  distinct  and 
separate  people,  and  would  mark  them  out  as  the  Lord's  peculiar 
inheritance.  In  what  will  now  be  said  the  text  will  be  considered 
as  applicable  not  merely  to  that  people,  but  to  the  people  of  God 
in  every  age.  The  doctrine  which  I  shall  attempt  to  illustrate  is 
this  : 

The  presence  of  God  vrith  his  people  distinguishes  them  from  the 
world,  and  thus  becomes  the  best  possible  evidence  of  their  adoption. 

By  the  presence  of  God  we  are  to  understand  the  manifestations 
he  makes  to  them  of  his  glory,  the  views  he  gives  them,  and  the 
correspondent  affections  of  heart  which  he  draws  out  toward  him- 
self, his  government,  and  his  kingdom.  The  real  believer  who  has 
known  the  pleasure  of  these  manifestations  will  ask  for  no  further 
explanation.  He  has  adopted  it  as  his  dialect  in  his  closet,  Lord, 
lift  thou  up  the  light  of  thy  countenance  upon  me,  and  has  felt  the 
pleasure  of  saying  afterward,  Thou  hast  put  gladness  into  my 
heart,  more  than  when  their  corn  and  their  wine  increased.  There 
is  no  believer  who  is  not  acquainted  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
with  the  joy  that  God's  presence  gives,  who  has  not  at  times  been 
alone,  and  found  God(|h  the  place  of  retirement,  and  can  under- 
stand us  when  we  speak  of  the  believer  as  being  with  God,  and 
enjoying  God.  On  this  point  then  I  shall  not  enlarge,  but  proceed 
to  show  how  the  presence  of  (Jod  operates  to  distinguish  his 
people  from  the  world,  and  how  this  distinctness  is  evidence  of 
their  adoption. 

I.  I  am  to  show  how  the  presence  of  God  with  his  peo- 
ple operates  to  render  them  distinct  from  all  other  people  ;  "  So 
shall  we  be  separated,  I  and  thy  people,  from  all  the  people  that 
are  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  "  We  easily  see  how  all  this  was 
literally  fullilled  in  *.he  case  of  Israel.  While  God  led  them 
through  the  desert  by  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire,  and  was  pre- 
sent in  the  tabernacle  and  afterward  in  the  temple  to  respond  to 
all  their  petitions,  to  guide  and  light  them  in  the  way,  to   protect, 


594  THE    PRESENCE    OF    GOD 

and  feed,  and  cheer,  and  comfort  them,  we  easily  see  that  there 
could  be  no  people  like  them.  Egypt  and  Babylon,  and  Syria,  and 
Philistia  had  no  such  guide  and  protector.  No  power,  strong  to 
save,  and  wise  to  guide,  marched  in  the  van  of  their  multitude,  and 
spread  over  tliem  the  wing  of  his  protection  and  mercy.  All  their 
deliverances  were  by  might  and  by  power ;  but  Israel  had  only  to 
stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of  the  Lord,  or  when  they  went. 
forward  had  only  to  follow  the  cloud  that  moved  before  them. 
Hence  every  foe  was  afraid  of  their  coming,  and  every  danger 
kept  its  distance  till  they  had  reached  the  place  of  their  rest. 
Tims  they  were  rendered  a  separate  people,  and  the  presence  of 
their  Lord  was  a  wall  of  fire  round  about  them,  and  the  glory  in 
the  midst  of  them.  And  the  Divine  presence  distinguishes  his 
people  now. 

1.  By  elevating  their  views.  It  is  the  glory  of  man  that  he  is 
an  intellectual  being.  He  was  not  born  like  the  brute  to  be  the 
mere  slave  of  appetite,  and  at  best  the  child  of  instinct.  He  can 
perceive,  and  think,  and  reason,  can  contemplate  on  the  character 
and  works  of  his  Maker.  But  the  apostacy  threw  him  down  from 
this  elevation,  and  tended  to  make  him  a  reptile  as  well  as  a  rebel. 
It  rendered  him  disaffected  to  the  objects,  that  it  was  his  elevation 
and  his  honor  to  contemplate.  It  excluded  God  from  all  his 
thoughts,  and  put  in  his  place  the  creature  he  had  made.  Hence 
would  you  survey  every  thought  of  the  ungodly,  and  trace  every 
track  of  the  mind,  through  its  devious  and  degraded  course,  you 
would  lind  it  exhausting1  all  its  energies  in  low  and  debasing 
thought,  thought  whose  highest  objects  are  material,  and  whose 
highest  Hights  do  not  transcend  the  stai^r  heavens,  and  seldom 
rise  so  high.  It  holds  more  generally  the  tenor  of  its  way,  amid 
the  appetites  and  cares  and  woes  of  a  dying  body.  Hence  its 
paramount  concerns  are,  what  shall  I  eat,  and  what  shall  I  drink, 
and  wherewithal  shall  I  be  clad,  and  how  shall  we  obtain  wealth, 
and  honor,  and  influence  \  How  shall  I  become  the  greatest 
among  my  fellows,  and  the  leader  among  my  equals!  How 
shall  I  chase  away  want,  and  care,  and  fear  of  death  \  With 
thoughts  like  these,  all  low,  and  sordid,  and  debasing,  the 
mind  labors  till  the  smi.es  of  God  invite  it  upward.  Even 
when  partially  sane; i lied,  if  God  hides  his  face,  and  there  remains 
nothing  to  look  upon,  and  nothing  to  contemplate  but  created  ob- 
ject6,  the  heavenly  mind  of  necessity  must  become  sordid  and 
terrene.  The  Christian  forsaken,  is  but  a  worm  or  mole,  and  must 
feed  on  dust  and  ashes. 


THE  GLORY  AND  GUIDE  OF  HIS  PEOPLE.  505 

But  the  presence  of  God  elevates  the  mind.  It  rises  when  he 
is  seen,  to  higher  and  better  thoughts,  and  finds  and  breathes  a 
sublimer,  purer  atmosphere.  The  Christian  has  sometimes  been 
afraid  to  live,  lest  he  should  lose  the  heavenly  vision,  and  become 
again  an  alien  and  a  slave.  He  has  shunned  the  society  of  his 
dearest  friends,  as  in  a  sense  beneath  his  elevation,  and  incapable 
of  sharing  in  his  pleasures.  He  has  viewed  his  Christian  brethren 
as  too  darkened  in  their  views  and  too  sordid  in  their  taste,  to 
climb  with  him  the  Pisgah,  where  he  surveys  the  fields  of  promise. 
Now  this  is  the  only  employment  where  the  mind  can  be  said  to 
be  at  home,  and  be  furnished  its  legitimate  occupancy.  The  man 
assumes  in  such  an  hour  the  attitude  he  held  in  Eden,  when  all 
the  beauty  that  bloomed  about  him  was  viewed  as  but  the  mirror 
in  which  he  saw  distinctly  his  Creator  : 

»« These  are  thy  glorious  works,  parent  of  good ; 
Almightyl  this  thy  universal  name  : 
How  glorious  these,  thyself  how  glorious  then  ;" 

and  is  led  to  cry  in  the  same  elevated  language, 

"  Give  what  thou  canst,  without  thee,  we  are  poor. 
And  with  thee  rich,  take  what  thou  wilt  away." 

Hence,  only  during  these  happy  periods,  does  the  mind  find  its  na- 
tive, sublime,  and  dignified  employment. 

2.  The  presence  of  God  with  his  people  gives  the  heart  its  ?io- 
blest,  happiest  employment.  Man  is  not  merely  qualified  to  think 
nobly,  but  to  feel  nobly.  When  his  thoughts  are  properly  em- 
ployed, if  the  heart  does  not  feel  corresponding  affection,  more 
than  half  the  man  is  still  enslaved  and  miserable.  True,  it  seldom, 
perhaps  never,  happens,  that  the  man  is  thus  divided,  half  a  tenant 
of  the  upper  world,  and  half  of  this.  Men  may  think  of  God  phi- 
losophically, and  may  find  the  subject  of  their  thoughts  elevating 
and  pleasant.  But  if,  while  the  mind  converses  with  God,  the 
heart  is  hard,  and  cold,  and  sordid,  it  cannot  rise  to  any  very  great 
elevation.  It  may  speculate  about  his  attributes,  and  names,  and 
operations,  but  in  its  sublimest  flights,  all  that  makes  heaven  glad 
is  hid  ;  all  that  angels  see,  and  admire,  and  adore,  is  covered  with 
the  veil  of  night.  Hence  said  one  of  the  best  of  men,  "  An  unde- 
vout  astronomer  is  mad." 

But  when  God  is  present  with  his  people,  he  does  not  suffer 
them  merely  to  stand  and  philosophize  about  the  exteriors  of  his 
being.     They  look  upon  him  without  a  veil,  and  are  happy.     The 


"9G  THE    PRESENCE    OF    GOD 

eye  affects  the  heart,  and  draws  out  into  active  and  delightful  ex- 
ercise,  its  strongest  and  its  best  affections.  God,  who  is  seen,  is 
loved  supremely.  All  his  attributes  are  lovely,  and  his  name  is 
lively,  and  his  law  is  lovely,  and  his  kingdom  lovely.  He  would 
have  tlie  view  continue  for  ever,  and  if  it  might  continue  would 
be  satisfied.  He  gains  in  such  an  hour  his  best  ideas  of  heaven, 
and  when  the  vision  is  fled,  and  he  would  think  of  heaven,  he  en- 
deavors  to  recall  what  he  felt  in  that  hour  when  his  faith  was 
strong,  and  God  was  nigh.  Indeed  the  Christian  is  furnished  from 
these  seasons  with  his  best,  his  happiest  contemplations,  and  often 
experiences  the  benefit  when  the  period  of  his  joy  is  gone  by. 
They  go  to  form  his  character,  and  to  render  him  a  distinct  man, 
From  the  best  of  those  who  have  never  enjoyed  such  delightful 
seasons ;  which  leads  me  to  remark, 

3.  That  the  presence  of  God  with  his  people  tends  to  form  and 
mould  them  to  uprightness  of  Christian  deportment.  I  know  there 
is  a  rapturous  glow  of  religious  joy,  which  is  mistaken  for  the  Di- 
vine presence,  but  which  bears  no  heavenly  fruits.  When  the 
rapture  ceases,  it  leaves  the  man  proud,  and  vain,  and  selfish. 
He  compasses  himself  about  with  sparks  of  his  own  kindling,  and 
walks  in  the  light  of  his  own  fire.  He  imagines  himself  the  fa- 
vorite of  heaven,  as  he  could  not  else  have  been  admitted  to  see, 
as  he  terms  it,  the  Divine  glory. 

Now,  when  the  soul  has  been  with  God,  the  effects  are  precisely 
the  opposite  of  all  this.  It  renders  the  believer  humble.  We 
cannot  see  God,  without  discovering  by  contrast  our  own  true 
character : 

"  The  more  thy  glories  lure  my  gaze, 
The  humbler  I  shall  lie  ; 
Thus  while  I  sink,  my  joys  shall  rise 
Unmeasurably  high." 

No  apostle  appears  to  have  been  admitted  to  more  intimate 
views  of  God  than  Paul,  yet  none  was  humbler.  Many  of  those 
expressions  of  lowliness,  which  have  enriched  the  prayers  of  God's 
people  in  all  ages  of  the  Christian  Church  were  uttered  by  him 
who  had  been  caught  up  into  the  third  heaven,  and  had  seen  things 
that  were  unutterable.  He  was  ever  after  less  than  the  least  of 
all  saint-,  was  not  meet  to  be  called  an  apostle,  and  was  heard  to 
cry  out,  "0  wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shnll  deliver  me  from 
the  body  of  this  death."  The  same  will  always  be  the  effect  of 
Beeing  God.      "  I  have  heard  of  thee  with  the  hearing  of  the  ear, 


THE    GLORY    AND    GUIDE    OF    HIS    PEOPLE.  597 

but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee,  wherefore  I  abhor  myself,  and  re- 
pent in  dust  and  ashes."  Ezekiel  and  John,  when  they  saw  God, 
fell  on  their  faces.  Hence  a  sight  of  God  will  not  fail  to  render 
our  deportment  humble. 

It  will  also  produce  deadness  to  the  world.  Uncover  to  our 
view  the  glories  of  a  better  world,  and  this  must  fade  and  lose  its 
brightness.  How  mean  and  poor  will  appear  the  enjoyments  and 
the  interests  of  the  present  state,  to  one  who  has  held,  if  but  for 
an  hour,  uninterrupted  communion  with  God.  Nothing  that  is 
seen  and  temporal,  can  have  any  glory  or  any  worth  afterward, 
that  can  be  deliberately  compared  with  what  was  seen  in  God. 
Hence  there  will  be  a  suppression  of  covetousness  and  envy,  and 
of  all  the  passions  that  grow  out  of  them,  and  the  deeds  which 
these  passions  generate.  Hence,  when  you  meet  with  one  whom 
nothing  but  gain  will  satisfy,  who  will  cry  after  his  gains,  as  one 
did  when  he  missed  his  idols,  "Ye  have  taken  away  my  gods,  and 
what  have  I  more,"  you  may  presume,  without  much  fear  of 
mistake,  that  he  has  never  tasted  of  that  joy  of  which  we  have 
spoken.  He  has  seen  no  better  things  than  those  that  are  earthly 
and  sensual,  and  they  have  become  his  supreme  good.  Moses 
would  not  wish  to  stay  in  the  wilderness,  after  he  had  climbed 
Pisgah.  Nor  would  Peter  and  John,  after  they  had  seen  transfi- 
gured the  Lord  Jesus,  have  any  wish  to  quit  the  place. 

The  presence  of  God  generates  a  heavenly  mind,  makes  every 
thing  earthly  look  small  and  insignificant,  and  tends  to  render  the 
man  a  pilgrim  and  a  stranger.  Hence  a  life  of  godliness,  a  course 
of  conduct  that  has  supreme  reference  to  the  life  to  come.  The 
man  becomes  so  changed,  that  the  world  takes  knowledge  of  him 
that  he  has  been  with  Jesus.  He  cannot  enter  again  into  all  the 
little  cares  and  quarrels  that  previously  engrossed  his  mind. 

4.  The  presence  of  God  inspires  pure  and  heavenly  hopes.  There 
must  sit  a  gloom  upon  the  brow  of  impenitence,  when  there  is  any 
thought.  The  impenitent  man  who  is  happy  and  who  covers  his 
face  with  a  smile,  while  there  hang's  over  him  the  wrath  of  God, 
is  an  object  of  painful  contemplation.  Not  that  there  is  any  vir- 
tue in  despair,  or  any  merit  in  gloom  and  melancholy  ;  but  how 
can  he  be  happy  who  casts  his  eye  along  the  track  of  life  and  sees 
awaiting  him  ever,  the  horrors  of  the  death-bed,  and  all  beyond  is 
the  blackness  of  darkness  forever  1  And  there  can  be  but  little 
hope  of  a  better  doom  till  God  has  smiled  upon  the  soul.  Then 
there  are  generated  high  and  heavenly  hopes.  The  mind  argues 
thus,  God  would  not  give  me  these  comforts  merely  to  render  me 


,jOS  THE    PRESENCE    OF    GOD 

miserable.  He  would  not  thus  lift  the  veil  that  covers  eternity, 
and  show  me  himself  and  some  of  the  glory  that  surrounds  him, 
and  then  shut  those  "lories  up  for  ever  from  my  view.  As  reason- 
ed the  wife  of  Manoah  on  his  suggestion  that  because  they  had 
seen  God  they  must  die,  *' If  the  Lord  were  pleased  to  kill  us,  he 
would  not  have  received  a  burnt  offering  and  a  meat  offering  at 
our  hands:  neither  would  he  have  showed  us  all  these  things,  nor 
would  as  at  this  time  have  told  us  such  things  as  these." 

Thus  every  believer  will  argue,  when  he  has  evidence  that  he 
has  experienced  true  Christian  joy,  has  seen  the  reconciled  face  of 
God.  He  will  say  within  himself,  God  has  not  done  all  this  in  an- 
ger ;  it  cannot  be  in  his  heart  to  thus  render  every  earthly  scene 
dull,  and  raise  my  hopes  of  what  he  will  one  day  do  for  me,  when 
lie  has  no  such  kind  intentions.  Should  a  prince,  who  had  power 
to  choose  his  successor,  but  had  no  heir  to  whom  it  was  expected 
he  would  bequeath  the  throne,  call  some  beggar  frequently  into 
his  palace  and  put  on  him  the  royal  vestments  and  the  crown, 
would  he  not  gather  the  hope,  and  gather  it  legitimately,  that  the 
prince  intended  that  one  day  he  should  wield  a  sceptre  \  Else 
why  tantalize  him  with  the  investiture  of  the  royal  equipments  1 
And  if  God  never  intends  to  bring  his  people  to  heaven,  why  give 
them  these  foretastes  of  his  glory  1  Why  lift  up  upon  them  the 
light  of  his  countenance  and  put  gladness  into  their  hearts,  such  as 
cannot  be  created  by  the  increase  of  corn  and  wine,  when  no  fa- 
vor is  intended  him  beyond  what  earthly  objects  can  produce  1 
Thus  the  presence  of  God  inspires  hope  ;  scatters  the  gloom  that 
hangs  over  the  mind  ;  and  casts  upon  the  prospect  the  light  of  life. 
The  good  man  becomes  of  course  a  cheerful  man.  He  can  pass 
through  many  a  dark  scene  joyful  and  happy.  He  has  songs  in 
tin'  night,  and  is  thus  made  to  differ  from  all  others. 

Thus  the  presence  of  God  with  his  people,  signalizes  them  by 
elevating  their  views,  by  furnishing  the  heart  its  noblest,  happiest 
employment,  by  moving  them  to  uprightness  of  Christian  deport- 
ment, and  by  inspiring  pure  and  heavenly  hopes. 

5.  The  presence  of  God  with  his  people,  distinguishes  them  by 
enlightening  and  sanctifying  their  consciences.  There  is  probably  no 
point  in  which  God's  people  differ  more  from  the  world  than  in 
the  superior  sensibility  of  their  consciences.  1  know  we  meet 
with  numerous  instances  where  there  is  a  profession  of  godliness, 
but  a  total  destitution  of  moral  sensibility,  but  I  know  too  that  in 
no  such  case  can  there  be  the  grace  of  God.  He  who  does  not 
aim  to  have  a  conscience  void  of  offence  toward  God  and  toward 


THE    GLORY    AND    GUIDE    OF    HIS    PEOPLE.  599 

man,  manifests  that  he  neither  understands  ttie  law  nor  the  gospel, 
nor  has  felt  the  sanctifying  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Nor  can 
there  be  a  doubt  but  the  presence  of  God  with  his  people  tends, 
more  than  all  other  things,  to  put  right  this  power  of  the  soul. 
Siu  has  disordered  its  judgment,  and  unbelief  keeps  it  disordered. 
But  when  God  is  nigh,  and  is  looking  into  our  inward  parts,  then 
conscience  can  be  heard,  and  will  speak,  and  her  sentence  will  be 
according  to  truth.  And  when  this  happens  often,  there  is  found 
the  habit  of  correct  judgment.  And  conscience  will  carry  her 
faithful  news  into  the  dark  hour.  We  have  seen  the  apostate, 
who  really  never  did  enjoy  the  presence  of  God,  still  very  wretch- 
ed, because  he  had  come  in  contact  with  truth  and  had  impercep- 
tibly learned  what  is  duty.  And  we  have  always  seen  the  back- 
slider miserable  because  once  he  did  approach  near  to  God,  and 
when  there  had  his  conscience  corrected  by  the  law  and  the  testi- 
mony. Hence  he  could  never  wander  so  far  as  to  forget  wholly 
what  once  he  knew  of  truth  and  duty.  It  is  true  that  as  he  wan- 
dered his  conscience  became  less  and  less  sensible,  and  would  at 
length,  but  for  the  covenant  faithfulness  of  God,  have  been  seared 
as  with  a  hot  iron.  With  the  apostate  this  jften  becomes  the  fact, 
though  probably  not  always  in  the  present  life.  But  the  believer 
will  have  a  conscience  more  or  less  correct  in  proportion  as  he 
walks  with  God.  You  never  knew  the  case  when  the  believer  had 
been  spending  the  Sabbath  in  near  communion  with  God,  when  he 
could  spend  the  evening  in  a  light  and  trifling  manner.  You  never 
saw  him  come  warm  from  his  closet  and  wrong  or  backbite  his 
neighbor.  When  you  see  him  worldly,  and  forgetful  of  duty, 
proud,  coutentious,  envious,  or  idle,  you  know  assuredly  that  he 
has  had  no  communion  with  God  that  day.  When  you  see  in  him 
on  any  occasion  a  want  of  regard  to  duty,  you  infer  infallibly,  that 
he  has  been  for  some  time  without  any  visit  between  his  Savior 
and  his  soul.  Show  me  the  man  who  has  just  quitted  his  labor  to 
go  alone  and  pray,  because  he  could  not  wait  the  ordinary  season 
of  retirement,  and  that  man  will  not  speak  wrongly,  or  deal  un 
mercifully  with  bis  beast.  Show  me  any  two  men  who  are  con 
tending,  and  I  can  predict  with  certainty  that  one  of  them  at  leas' 
is  not  thirsting  for  God,  for  the  living  God.  There  is  a  total  and 
unchangeable  dissonance  between  communion  with  God,  and  al 
iniquity.  Bring  up  the  conscience,  as  it  is  brought  up  in  an  hour  oi 
spiritual  enjoyment,  to  a  close  contact,  to  a  strict  and  rigorou* 
comparison  with  the  testimonies  of  the  Lord,  and  its  prompt  and\ 
if  necessary,  desoerate  fidelity  will  bear  unequivocal  witness  to  the 


GOO  THE    PRESENCE    OF    GOD 

truth  tnat  God  has,  while  it  was  near  to  him,  stamped  upon  it  his 
own  impress.  And  it  will  often  wear  the  image  it  has  received, 
when  the  memory  of  that  season  of  fellowship  has  almost  fled. 

II.  That  all  this  is  evidence  of  their  adoption.  "  Wherein  shall  it 
be  known  how  that  I  and  thy  people  have  found  grace  in  thy  sight  1 
\>  it  not  that  thou  goest  with  us  ?  So  shall  we  be  separated,  I  and 
thy  people,  from  all  the  people  that  are  upon  the  face  of  the  earth." 

I  use  the  word  adoption  without  the  wish  to  force  this  upon  you 
as  precisely  the  thought  sustained  in  the  text.  If  you  please,  sub- 
stitute re/)rfitance.  The  idea  is,  how  should  it  be  known  that  the 
family  of  Jacob  were  God's  peculiar  people,  his  inheritance,  but 
by  their  distinctness  of  character  and  conduct  from  all  others. 
Perhaps  adoption  is  a  term  as  suitable  as  any  other.  Their  dis- 
tinctness of  character  becomes  evidence  of  their  adoption,  by  the 
peculiar  characteristics  of  that  distinction. 

The  Mohammedans  are  a  distinct  and  peculiar  people.  They  have 
a  system  of  laws  that  bind  no  other  people,  and  a  form  of  cere- 
monies and  a  mode  of  propagating  their  faith  such  as  no  other 
people  have  adopted ;  but  all  this  is  no  evidence  that  they  are  the 
people  of  God.  And  I  might  illustrate  the  same  truth  by  other 
comparisons.  Hence,  if  we  find  a  people  who  are  like  no  others, 
this,  by  itself,  will  prove  nothing  respecting  their  relationship  to 
Go  I. 

But  we  mark  in  the  people  of  God,  as  the  surrounding  nations 
ilid  in  the  Israelites,  a  distinctness  that  is  evidence  of  their  adop- 
tion :  it  consists  in  their  conformity  to  the  will  of  God.  The  Jew- 
ish family  had  their  laws  from  heaven.  In  all  their  movements 
they  made  inquiry  of  the  Lord,  who  gave  them  immediate  direc- 
tion, and  thus  signalized  them  from  any  people  who  had  ever 
crossed  that  desert,  or  had  ever  been  known  or  heard  of  in  that 
age  or  country.  Men  had  carried  their  idols  with  them,  and  had 
repeated  their  sacrifices  and  their  prayers  to  gods  who  could  nei- 
ther hear,  nor  speak,  nor  save.  But  no  people,  till  Israel  journeyed 
to  the  laud  of  promise,  had  ever  been  led  day  and  night  by  a  pillar 
of  cloud,  and  found  immediate  guardianship  and  protection  when- 
ever they  were  in  straits  and  difficulties.  But  if  God  were  so 
angry  that  he  would  not  accompany  Israel,  their  peculiarity  would 
cease  ;  the  nations  would  see  that  they  were  not  defended  nor 
guided,  and  would  fall  upon  them  and  make  them  an  easy  prey. 
God  could  only  testify  his  love  to  them,  and  his  care  of  them,  by 
eontinuin  r  his  presence  and  his  glory  in  the  midst  of  them.    This 


THE    GLORV    AND    GUIDE    OF    HIS    PEOPLE  G01 

"Moses  saw  and  felt,  when  he  prayed,  as  in  the  text,  "  Wherein 
shall  it  be  known  how  that  I  and  thy  people  have  found  grace  in 
thy  sight  1  Is  it  not  that  thou  goest  with  us  1  So  shall  we  be 
separated,  I  and  thy  people,  from  all  the  people  that  are  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth." 

So  that  peculiarity  in  the  people  of  God,  which  the  ungodly  see, 
and  which  it  is  desirable  they  should  see,  in  every  age,  consists 
in  their  conformity  to  the  mind  and  will  of  God.  They  rectify 
their  consciences  and  their  lives  by  the  Scriptures,  practice  the 
duties  it  enjoins,  cultivate  the  temper,  and  form  the  habits,  and 
speak  the  language  it  teaches.  And  no  farther  than  this  is  the 
case,  have  they  evidence  to  themselves,  or  can  give  evidence  to 
others,  that  they  are  the  people  of  God. 

The  men  of  the  world  have  the  Bible  in  their  hands,  but  though 
they  believe  it  to  bo  the  word  of  God,  they  feel  themselves  disin- 
clined to  model  their  character  after  its  precepts.  Hence,  if  they 
see  about  them  a  people  who  in  this  respect  differ  from  them,  who 
make  it  their  chief  concern  to  obey  the  precepts  of  the  Lord,  and 
form  a  character  after  the  pattern  given  in  that  holy  book,  it  is 
inferred  from  this  peculiarity  that  they  are  the  people  of  God. 

They  would  not  thus  regard  the  Divine  precepts,  but  from  duti- 
ful respect  and  affection  to  their  author.  Many  duties  are  en- 
joined that  are  unpleasant,  that  require  self-denial,  that  curb  the 
appetites,  and  restrain  the  passions.  Men  are  commanded  to  deny 
themselves,  to  take  up  their  cross,  to  crucify  the  flesh,  with  its 
affections  and  lusts,  to  return  good  for  evil — but  duties  like  these 
can  only  be  pleasant  where  there  is  a  spirit  of  obedience,  whore 
there  is  love.  Hence,  if  any  man  distinguishes  himself  from  the 
men  of  the  world,  by  his  obedience  to  the  Divine  precepts,  they 
infer  from  this  singularity  of  character,  that  he  loves  God,  reveres 
his  authority,  and  esteems  his  favor  a  high  and  distinguished 
blessing  They  are  entirely  conscious  that  they  feel  no  such 
regard  to  the  authority  of  God,  and  make  no  such  estimate  of  his 
friendship  and  his  love  ;  and  very  naturally  infer,  from  the  conduct 
of  the  dutiful  Christian,  that  he  has  a  different  temper  from  (hat 
which  they  possess  themselves.  Thus  the  singularity  of  the  be- 
liever, when  it  consists  in  his  obedience  to  God — and  there  must 
be  this  obedience,  or  there  can  be  no  evidence  of  faith — becomes 
proof  decisive  to  all  about  him  that  he  loves  God,  and  is  a  member 
of  his  family. 

When  men  have  practised  singularities  that  God  has  not  enjoined, 
and  have  thus  calculated  to  do  him    honor    they  have  but   covered 


G02  THE    PRESENCE    OF    GOD 

themselves  with  shame.  "  The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and 
drink,  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 
"  For  he  that  in  these  things  serveth  Christ,  is  accepted  of  God, 
and  approved  of  men."  God  has  not  specified  how  his  children 
shall  fceA,  or  dress,  or  walk.  He  has  appointed  them  no  unmean- 
eremonies,  by  which  he  would  have  them  designated.  He 
has  not  required  them  to  wear  a  breastplate,  a  cross,  or  a  crescent. 
He  has  not  enjoined  a  coat  of  sackcloth,  nor  a  veil,  nor  a  sad 
countenance,  nor  torn  garments,  nor  lacerated  limbs.  By  no  such 
means  may  men  become  singular,  and  suppose  that  they  are  thus 
doing  any  part  of  duty.  But  in  obeying  the  commandments  of 
God,  it  is  their  duty  to  differ  from  all  who  are  not  obedient,  and 
to  dilfer  in  this  respect  as  widely  as  possible.  Would  to  God  that 
no  believer,  from  this  time  till  the  last  day,  would,  in  one  single 
case,  neolect  a  duty,  or  be  guilty  of  a  deed  forbidden,  to  please  or 
conform  himself  to  the  men  of  the  world.  If  they  please,  let  them 
pronounce  us  rigid.  To  be  rigid  in  duty,  should  be  our  choice  j 
it  is  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  bless  the  world  by  our  example, 
and  certainly  is  giving  the  highest  possible  expression  of  our  love 
to  God. 

While  in  this  respect  we  are  seen  to  be  a  distinct  people,  we 
not  only  give  evidence  that  we  love  God,  but  that  God  loves  us. 
It  is  well  known  that  men  are  not  by  nature  disposed  to  obey  the 
Lord.  They  do  not  love  himself  nor  his  law,  and  their  language 
is,  "  Depart  from  us,  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways." 
Such  is  known  to  be  the  native  character  of  every  man.  Now,  if 
from  a  race  of  beings  who  are  thus  hostile  to  their  Maker  and 
their  duty,  it  is  seen  that  God  has  chosen  to  himself  a  people,  and 
made  them  willing  in  the  day  of  his  power,  is  giving  them  his  law, 
which  they  cheerfully  obey,  it  becomes  manifest  that  God  loves 
them,  and  has  adopted  them,  and  is  sanctifying  them,  and  will 
finally  bring  them  to  his  kingdom.  As  they  become  more  and 
more  unlike  those  about  them,  they  become  more  and  more  like 
Go  I.  He  instamps  upon  them  his  own  image.  Christ  is  formed 
id  them  the  hope  of  glory.  Thus  the  singularity  of  God's  people 
is  evidence  to  the  world  of  their  adoption. 

REMARKS. 

1.  We  see  whence  we  are  to  gather  the  hope  that  we  are  be- 
lievers. We  arc  to  obtain  that  hope  from  the  same  source,  in  a 
measure,  and  in  a  great  measure,  from  whence  others  arc  justified 
in  entertaining  a  hope  res]  ecting  us, — -our  unlikeness  of  character 


THE    GLORY    AND    GUIDE    OF    HIS    PEDPI.E.  G03 

and  conduct  from  the  character  and  cond  ict  of  the  men  of  the 
world.  It  is  true,  that  the  people  of  God  have  Christian  feelings, 
which  of  themselves  is  evidence  that  they  are  the  children  of  God, 
"  the  Spirit  bearing  witness  with  our  spirits  that  we  are  the  child- 
ren of  God."  But  while  all  this  is  true,  it  is  also  true  that  o^ 
feelings  need  themselves  to  be  tested,  whether  they  are  genuine 
Christian  feelings.  There  are  feelings  that  are  mere  enthusiasm,, 
which  yet  engender  a  strong,  but  ill-grounded  hope  of  eternal  life. 
But  we  have  in  the  subject  before  us  one  sure  criterion  of  the 
genuineness  of  our  feelings.  If  they  are  Christian  feelings,  they 
will  lead  to  the  formation  of  a  character,  and  the  exhibition  of  a 
conduct  wholly  distinct  from  the  character  and  conduct  of  the 
men  of  the  world.  They  will  operate  to  render  us  humble,  and 
watchful,  and  prayerful,  and  heavenly-minded.  They  will  render 
us  meek,  and  patient,  and  benevolent,  and  merciful. 

We  see  in  many  professors  of  godliness,  notwithstanding  much 
that  is  considered  piety,  certain  things  which  bring  their  piety 
into  doubt,  certain  principles,  which,  notwithstanding  their  appa- 
rent zeal,  casts  a  cloud  upon  their  godliness,  and  conforms  their 
to  the  men  of  the  world.  We  have  seen  ambition,  and  pride,  and 
vanity.  There  are  certain  men  in  every  country,  and  in  every 
age,  who  can  never  be  edified  but  where  they  can  be  conspicuous, 
where  they  can  be  leaders.  We  can  always  anticipate  their  opinion 
of  any  plan,  by  observing  where  it  will  place  them.  We  have  seen 
envy  operate  to  render  those  unhappy  who  profess  to  love  the 
Lord  Jesus,  when  others  had  more  attention,  and  were  more  hon- 
ored than  themselves.  We  have  even  seen  some  of  the  noblest 
Christian  enterprises  defeated  by  the  jealousies  of,  as  we  hope, 
God's  people.  We  have  seen,  and  have  often  seen,  mingled,  the 
hottest  zeal,  and  the  spirit  of  slander,  the  warmest  prayers,  and  the 
coldest  charity.  Thus  the  spirit  of  the  world  has  gone  into  a  warm 
profession,  has  approached  the  very  altar,  and  has  cursed  the 
sacrifice. 

A  religion  that  does  not  transform  us  into  the  image  of  Christ, 
should  never  be,  the  basis  of  Christian  hope.  We  may  have 
changed  our  associates,  and  in  a  measure  our  employment,  and 
still  may  wear  essentially  the  same  character  as  before.  If  we 
are  unlike  the  world,  we  shall  see  the  contrast  as  well  as  others. 
We  shall  have  at  hand  every  day  the  means  of  judging  whether 
indeed  "  we  are  risen  with  Christ,  and  are  seeking  those  things 
that  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God." 
And  in  the   mean  time,  the  world  will  take    knowledge  of  us  thai 


CO'i  THE    PBE3ENCE    OF    GOD 

we  have  been  with  Jesus  ;  and  though  they  may  cast  out  our 
names  as  evil,  will  yield  us  that  highest  honor,  the  honor  of  being 
in  some  measure  like  him.  And  we  need  not  then  fear  but  God 
will  make  us  happy,  our  hope  will  be  strong,  and  our  Christian 
consolations  many.  God  will  graciously  guide  us  by  his  counsel, 
and  afterward  receive  us  to  glory. 

2.  Would  believers  be  useful  to  those  around  them,  it  must  be, 
not  by  becoming  like  them,  but  unlike  them.  In  this  way  only  can 
they  give  evidence  that  they  have  enjoyed  communion  with  God, 
or  that  they  are  in  the  habit  of  holding  fellowship  with  him.  But 
it  not  unfrequently  happens,  whether  from  a  desire  to  be  useful, 
God  knows,  that  Christians  endeavor  to  become  conformed  to  the 
maxims  and  the  spirit  of  the  world.  They  have  been  known  to 
say,  and  perhaps  they  have  believed,  that  by  putting  on  the  char- 
acter and  imitating  the  conduct  as  far  as  might  be,  of  ungodly 
men,  they  could  be  the  more  useful.  But  has  it  so  happened  1 
When  the  believer  has  gone  with  them  to  the  place  of  rendezvous, 
did  he  restrain  them,  or  did  they  corrupt  him  \  When  he  took 
the  social  cup,  did  he  teach  them  to  use  it  temperately,  or  they 
him  to  become  intemperate  1  Did  his  presence  there  make  them 
ashamed  of  sin,  or  did  they  soon  render  him  ashamed  of  his  Sa- 
vior, his  piety,  and  his  prayers  1  Did  he  render  their  consciences 
so  disturbed  that  they  quit  the  place,  or  did  they  render  his  so  cal- 
lus that  he  gave  them  no  molestation.  Did  he  finally  lead  them 
to  the  sanctuary,  or  did  they  tempt  him  to  lounge  away  his  Sabbath 
upon  his  bed  !  Did  they  accompany  him  to  the  place  of  prayer, 
or  did  they  bring  him  at  length  to  vacate  his  own  seat  1  Did  their 
characters  finally  conform  to  his,  or  his  to  theirs  1  That  passage 
then  in  the  history  of  Paul  has  been  perverted,  in  which  he  says 
he  became  all  things  to  all  men  that  he  might  gain  some.  It  can- 
not mean  that  he  endeavored  to  conform  his  character  to  the  charac- 
ter of  the  ungodly  that  he  might  save  them.  It  can  mean  nothing 
more  than  that  he  adapted  his  arguments  to  the  people  he  \Aould 
save.  When  he  reasoned  with  a  Jew,  he  would  reason  with  birr. 
out  of  his  own  Scriptures,  and  when  with  the  Athenians  he  would 
argue  from   the  language  of  their  own  poets. 

No,  brethren,  when  we  would  do  good  to  ungodly  men,  we  must 
aim  at  as  wide  a  contrast  as  possible  between  ourselves  and  them. 
If  they  are  light  we  must  be  sober  minded,  if  they  are  profane  we 
musl  pray,  if  they  curse  we  must  bless,  if  they  are  worldly  minded 
We  musl  be  heavenly  minded.  Thus  every  deed  of  ours  is  useful 
to  them,  and  thus  c  nly    when  we  differ   from   them   exactly   when 


THE    GLORY    AND    GUIDE    OF    HIS    PEOPLE.  605 

they  are  at  issue  with  the  law  of  God.  Were  this  the  fact  with 
every  professor  of  godliness,  sin  would  not  thus  be  justified  by 
our  example  and  every  transgressor  would  feel  himself  reproved 
by  our  conduct.  Their  own  consciences  would  then  do  their  of- 
fice and  they  would  blush  at  their  own  impiety.  We  should  then 
hedge  up  their  path  to  perdition  with  thorns,  and  should  render 
the  way  of  transgressors  hard.  They  would  see  our  good  works, 
and  many  of  them,  we  hope,  would  be  induced  to  glorify  our  heav- 
enly Father.  They  would  take  knowledge  of  us  that  we  had  been 
with  Jesus.  They  would  see,  that  as  in  so  many  instances  in 
which  we  differ  from  them  they  are  wrong,  they  are  probably 
wrong  in  every  point  of  difference. 

3.  The  subject  shows  us  in  what  light  we  are  to  view  those 
Christians  and  those  ministers  of  religion  who  make  it  their  great 
aim  to  break  down  all  distinction  in  appearance  between  godliness 
and  ungodliness.  They  look  for  no  change,  and  wish  for  none 
in  those  who  are  admitted  to  their  communion,  and  they  have  been 
heard  to  say  that  regeneration  is  all  a  dream.  It  often  grieves  them 
when  they  see  awakenings,  and  they  sneer  at  the  alarms  of  such 
as  have  gained  some  view  of  their  real  condition,  and  have  fled  for 
refuge  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before  them  in  the  gospel. 
They  would  have  the  man  who  has  begun  to  put  his  trust  in  the 
Lord,  keep  on  him  all  that  belonged  to  him  as  a  man  of  the  world, 
and  be  as  vain,  and  gay,  and  sportive,  and  prayerless,  as  when  he 
stood  in  the  ranks  of  death.  They  have  their  motive  in  all  this. 
They  would  hope  for  heaven  themselves,  while  no  change  of  heart 
and  life  has  even  rendered  them  dissimilar  from  the  oreat  mass  of 
the  ungodly,  and  they  would  have  the  real  Christian  act  like  them, 
that  they  may  have  the  better  ground  to  hope,  that  in  the  end  it 
shall  be  well  with  them.  But  their  souls  are  lost  if  believers  act 
according  to  their  wishes,  as  they  are  then  confirmed  in  all  their 
delusions. 

4.  The  subject  shows  us  that  a  discriminating  gospel  is  the  only 
useful  gospel.  If  the  truth  is  exhibited  so  indefinitely,  that  men 
never  learn  their  own  characters,  they  never  will  see  the  necessity 
of  a  change  of  character.  Men  must  know  what  they  are,  and 
what  God  requires  them  to  be,  else  there  is  no  hope  "  that  the 
gospel  will  prove  to  them  a  savor  of  life  unto  life."  The  whole 
design  of  the  gospel  ministry  is  to  take  a  people  from  the  world, 
and  make  them  wholly  unlike  the  mass  from  which  they  are  taken, 
and  train  them  up  to  that  familiarity  of  character  and  conduct 
which  God  requires.     Its  first  and  its  last  lesson  to  believers  must 


GOG  THE    PRESENCE    OF    GOD 

be,  "  We  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  tl  at  ye  may 
show  forth  the  praises  of  him  who  hath  culled  you  out  of  darkness 
into  his  marvellous  light."  And  when  the  gospel  loves  this  pecu- 
liar feature,  it  loves  all  its  worth.  When  it  allows  men  of  all  char- 
acter to  hope  for  heaven,  the  praying  and  the  prayless,  the  humble 
and  proud  ;  the  world-loving  and  the  heavenly-minded  ;  the  tem- 
perate and  the  dissipated  ;  the  attendant  upon  God's  worship,  and 
God's  ordinances,  and  the  Sabbath-breaker,  the  gospel  then  be- 
comes as  the  Koran.  It  even  becomes  in  such  circumstances  the  sa- 
vor of  death  unto  death  ;  seals  in  eternal  slumber  the  eyes  it 
should  open,  sears  the  conscience  it  should  enlighten,  and  hardens 
the  heart  it  should  sanctify.  It  becomes  a  soft  harmonious  lullaby, 
under  which  men  slumber  more  profoundly  than  if  no  accents  fell 
upon  the  ear.  It  would  be  the  policy  of  all  who  give  any  credit 
to  the  Divine  testimony,  to  wish  a  gospel  that  disseminates,  and 
catting  off  every  false  hope,  urges  on  the  Christian  to  every  affec- 
tion and  every  deed,  by  which  the  man  of  God  is  commanded  to 
distinguish  himself  from  the  mass  of  the  ungodly  around  him.  It 
should  catch  from  the  lips  of  the  Lord  Jesus  that  saying,  "Be  ye 
followers  of  me  as  dear  children,"  and  that  other  saying,  "  He  that 
is  perfect  shall  be  as  his  Master." 

5.  We  see  the  imperious  duty  of  Christian  Churches  to  render 
their  enclosures  sacred.  A  Church  is  of  no  use  as  a  light  to 
lighten  a  dark  world,  if  that  Church  embodies  the  principles  of  the 
world,  and  imitates  its  examples.  Let  one  profane  man  live  un- 
reproved  and  undisciplined  in  a  Christian  Church,  and  that  Church 
as  such  cannot  be  said  to  bear  testimonv  against  profanity.  Let 
there  be  one  drunkard  there,  and  they  bear  no  testimony 
a  gain  si  intemperance.  One  adulterer,  and  they  bear  no  testimony 
against  fornication.  One  swindler,  and  they  do  not  testify  against 
dishonesty.  One  who  deserts  the  communion  and  the  sanctuary, 
and  they  nullify  the  very  ordinances  which  are  the  seals  of  their 
fellowship.  One  who  denies  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  they 
virtually  give  up  their  erred  and  their  covenant,  the  basis  of  their 
union.  And  then  what  is  the  use  of  a  Christian  Church,  when  it 
bears  no  testimony  gainst  sin,  and  when  it  has  no  character  dis- 
tinct from  the  world  !  Why  enclose  a  few  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  world  with  creeds,  and  covenants,  and  sacraments,  if  no  rea- 
son can  be  offered  why  they,  rather  than  others,  should  be  embraced 
within  these  enclosures  \ 

But  would  any  Church  of  Chris!  render  itself  useful,  its  course 
is  plain.     We   must   purge    ourselves,    and    watch  and  purge   our 


THE    GLORY    AXD    GUIDE    OF    HIS    TSOrLE.  G07 

brethren,  till  our  character  differs,  and  we  are  separated  from  all 
the  people  who  are  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  Then  and  not  till 
then  will  our  light  shine  before  men,  "  that  they  seeing  our  good 
works  mny  glorify  our  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  We  ar:  not  to 
forget  what  we  have  covenanted.  We  have  engaged  to  come  out 
from  the  world  and  be  separate  ;  to  deny  ourselves  all  ungodliness, 
and  every  worldly  lust,  and  to  live  soberly  and  righteously  and 
godly  in  the  present  evil  world.  We  have  vowed  that  we  would 
follow  the  Lord  wholly;  that  we  would  take  up  our  cross  and 
follow  Jesus  ;  that  we  would  crucify  the  flesh,  with  the  affections 
and  lusts,  and  being  risen  with  Christ,  would  seek  those  things 
that  are  above  where  Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  And 
to  faithfully  perform  these  vows,  both  as  individuals  and  as  a  Church, 
is  to  claim  our  constant  vigilance,  and  should  employ  our  daily 
prayers.  May  the  Lord  continue  his  presence  with  vou,  and  thus 
distinguish  you  from  all  people,  and  make  it  known  that  vou  have 
found  grace  in  his  sight. 


SERMON    LI  II. 
THE  GOSPEL  RECLUSE. 

PSALM   LV.    6. 
Oh  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove  !  for  then  would  T  fly  away  nnd  be  at  i  JSl, 

When  a  sentiment  like  this  originates  in  spleen,  in  disappointed 
ambition,  in  the  reluctant  subjugation  of  a  proud  mind,  it  is  wholly 
the  result  of  depravity,  and  is  unlovely.  One  may  be  sick  of  the 
world  because  the  world  is  sick  of  him,  and  may  wish  to  retire 
from  its  noise  because  he  cannot  enjoy  more  of  its  confidence,  its 
honors,  and  its  wealth.  He  sees  in  himself  a  merit  that  others  do 
not  discern,  a  worth  and  a  greatness,  where  others  behold  only 
pride  and  vanity.  Hence  generally  a  charge  of  ingratitude,  a 
want  of  discernment,  knavery  and  villany,  all  because  he  has  not 
the  place  he  has  assigned  himself,  a  seat  higher  than  others  are 
willing  he  should  occupy. 

Now  a  spirit  like  this  deserves  only  contempt,  not  sympathy. 
It  is  the  sorrow  of  the  world  that  worketh  death.  If  the  man  has 
•no  humility  it  would  seem  he  might  have  discernment  enough  to 
put  himself  in  his  proper  place. 

Now  there  was  nothing  of  all  this  in  the  mind  of  David,  when 
he  uttered  the  sentiment  of  the  text.  He  was  sick  of  sin,  and  tired 
of  witnessing  the  conduct  of  wicked  men,  and  would  absent  him- 
self from  the  busy  scenes  of  life  if  he  might,  because  he  longed  to 
quit  his  contact  with  moral  pollution.  He  was  tired  of  violence, 
oppression  and  wrath,  of  scandal  and  strife,  and  deceit  and  guile, 
and  hypocrisy.  The  comforts  of  social  life  were,  for  the  time 
being,  overbalanced  by  the  miseries  it  produced,  and  he  would 
quit  the  one  if  he  might  fly  from  the  other. 

To  distinguish  nicely  between  these  sensations  and  those  which 
arc  the  result  of  mere  dejection,  is  of  great  practical  importance. 
To  wish  an  asylum  from  moral  pollution,  and  shut  our  eyes  upon 
wrong,  is  a  gracious  affection  ;  but  to  be  discontented  with  our  lot, 
and  vexed  with  the  world  because  it  will  not  love  and  honor  us, 
is  but  the  paroxysm  of  pride,  and  vanity,  and  ambition.  And  if 
the  two   exercises  are   closely  examined  they  will  not  be  found  to 


THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE.  G09 

resemble  each  other  very  minutely.  He  who  would  retire  from 
the  world  because  of  its  moral  pollution,  and  the  consequent 
abridgment  of  its  comforts,  is  still  active  in  making-  it  better. 
He  weeps  over  its  miseries,  and  prays  earnestly  to  heaven  for  that 
sanctifying  influence  that  can  heal  the  plagues  which  afflict  it.  He 
vould  by  no  means  retire  from  the  world,  if  he  can  do  anything 
to  make  it  better.  He  would  not  quit  the  post  of  duty,  nor  spend 
all  his  energies  in  complaints  and  frowns  and  despondencies.  He 
would  mingle  with  the  world  just  enough  to  apply  to  its  plagues, 
every  remedy  in  his  power,  for  its  comfort  and  its  cure.  While 
the  man  of  mere  discontent  cares  not,  if  he  can  be  happy  himself, 
if  every  woe  he  witnesses  should  prove  incurable.  He  wishes 
only  a  rest  for  his  own  spirit.  If  the  world  would  only  honor  him, 
and  love  him,  it  might  remain  as  miserable  as  sin  can  make  it, 
and  not  a  tear  would  drop  from  his  eye. 

I.  It  will  be  my  object  in  what  follows  to  notice  some  of  the  things 
that  afflict  the  good  man  and  contribute  to  render  him  sick  of  the  world. 
"  0  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove  !  for  then  would  I  fly  away  and  be 
at  rest."  If  he  be  a  man  of  enlarged  mind,  he  casts  Iris  eye  over 
the  world,  and  surveys  at  one  view  the  whole  surface  of  its  desola- 
tions. It  is  a  world  that  God  built  for  the  advancement  of  his 
glory.  There  are  scattered  over  it  wondrous  monuments  of  his 
wisdom  and  his  power.  It  rolls  with  other  worlds,  which  have 
not  like  this  become  disobedient,  and  like  them  is  lighted  and 
warmed  and  moved  by  the  hand  of  God.  But  sin  has  rendered  it 
a  vast  wilderness.  On  its  surface  it  wears  marks  of  the  curse, 
which  we  cannot  believe  could  be  traced  on  other  planets.  Much 
of  it  is  a  stormy  ocean,  and  much  of  the  residue  an  uncomely  and 
fruitless  wilderness,  from  which  heaven  withholds  its  showers,  or 
has  given  it  up  to  be  the  prey  of  darkness  and  frost,  and  storms  ; 
where  roam  tlie  beast  of  prey,  and  where  lurk  the  deadly  reptile, 
raging  with  hunger  and  armed  with  death. 

But  all  this,  dreary  as  is  the  prospect  which  it  presents  to  one 
who  would  have  God  honored  in  all  his  works,  is  nothing  compared 
with  the  moral  desolations  which  are  seen  at  the  same  glance. 
The  intelligent  population  of  this  world  has  become  apostate,  and 
has  covered  it  with  a  deformity  more  disgusting  than  its  oceans, 
its  storms,  its  deserts,  or  its  beasts  of  prey.  Three-fourths  of  its 
population  have  made  no  effort  to  become  acquainted  with  their 
Creator,  will  not  even  use  the  light  that  shines  around  them,  and 
worship,  instead  of  God,  a  beast  or  a  block.     They  know  not  that 


G10  THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE. 

any  part  of  them  is  immortal,  and  make  no  provision  but  for  the 
life  that  now  is.  Tims,  the  mind  is  lost,  ami  the  vast  tracts  of 
idolatry,  as  to  any  praise  that  God  receives,  might  as  well  have 
been  the  exclusive  territory  of  the  ape  and  the  owl.  Then  we 
should  have  had  before  us  a  less  afilieting  view.  But  the  heathen 
are  depraved  and  miserable  and  yet  immortal.  Intelligence,  when  it 
becomes  alienated  from  its  author,  proves  an  engine  of  misery. 
Beasts  of  prey  cannot  be  as  wretched  as  men.  Hence  the  dark 
places  of  the  earth  arc  full  of  the  habitations  of  cruelty.  The 
heathen  delight  in  devouring  each  other.  Their  wars  are  perpetual, 
and  bloody  and  desperate.  Their  forms  of  religion  are  about  as 
sruel  as  their  wars.  Their  human  sacrifices  outdo  in  frequency 
and  honor  our  utmost  corruptions.  Prisoners  of  war  are  offered 
lo  their  infernal  deities  or  devoured  as  delicious  morsels.  Females 
are  en  masse  a  band  of  slaves,  children  are  destroyed  at  pleasure, 
and  the  sick  exposed  to  perish  by  their  nearest  friends.  Thus 
heathen  lands,  except  when  there  is  some  special  counteracting 
influence,  can  only  have  at  best  a  sparse,  and  cruel,  and  miserable 
population.  But  to  the  man  of  faith  this  is  not  all.  The  heathen 
have  souls  that  must  live  for  ever,  and  enough  of  God  can  be  known 
from  his  works,  to  render  them  without  excuse  for  not  loving  and 
serving  him.  Hence  we  shall  see  them  in  the  judgment,  and  shall 
see  every  final  idolater  condemned.  Wretched  then  as  they  are 
in  this  life,  there  are  more  consummate  miseries  for  them  in  the 
life  to 'come.  For  the  invisible  things  of  God  from  the  creation 
are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are  made, 
even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead,  so  that  they  are  without 
excuse. 

Hence  when  the  good  man,  surveying  the  scenery  about  him, 
casts  his  eye  to  the  limit  of  his  landscape,  how  gloomy  must  be  his 
contemplations,  lie  sees  six  hundred  millions  of  the  population 
of  the  globe,  immortal  like  himself,  and  like  himself  pressing  on  to 
the  judgment,  hut  ignorant  of  the  way  of  salvation,  and  destined 
by  the  plainest  testimony  of  Scripture  to  persist  in  their  forget  ful- 
ness  of  God,  and,  on  their  way  to  ruin,  employing  their  intelligence 
to  render  each  other  as  miserable  ;is  possible.  How  gloomy  to  the 
good  man  is  such  a  prospect!  How  can  he  fail  to  recogn  ise,  in  the 
millions  of  the  miserable,  his  brethren  and  his  kindred,  and  how 
can  Ik-  suppress  the  wish  that  he  could  quit  a  world  so  disloyal  and 
reprobate  1  He  will  be  doing  all  he  can  to  lessen  the  woe  he 
laments,  but  when  all  he  can  do  is  done,  there  will  remain  so  much 
misery    as    to    make    him    sigh    for    a    better  world;    and    he  will 


THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE.  611 

involuntarily  utter  the  language  of  the  text,   "  O  that  I  had  wings 
like  a  dove,  for  then  would  I  fly  away  and  be  at  rest." 

I  have  embraced  among  the  heathen  the  follower  of  Mahomet. 
We  cannot  contemplate  those  sections  of  the  earth,  overrun  by 
the  men  of  that  religion,  with  emotions  any  les3  gloomy  than  those 
with  which  we  survey  the  heathen  world.  Their  character  is  so 
universally  savage  and  their  religion  so  bloody,  as  to  even  place 
them  among  the  most  forbidding  of  the  human  race.  All  Ma* 
hoinmedan  countries  are  the  seat  of  war,  robbery,  assassination, 
shivery,  and  crime  of  every  hue.  They  constitute  one  broad  em- 
pire of  ignorance,  iniquity,  and  death,  where  reigns  the  prince  of 
darkness  in  undisturbed  and  appalling  sovereignty.  Every  man 
holds  his  life  by  a  very  frail  tenure,  from  the  monarch  to  the 
menial  ;  every  mind  is  dark,  every  heart  totally  polluted,  every  con- 
science misinformed.  Light  is  put  for  darkness  and  darkness  for 
light.  Their  hope  is  a  lie,  and  the  heaven  they  expect  a  paradise 
of  polluted,  sensual,  and  beastly  enjoyment.  Hence  no  territory 
is  surveyed   with  more  disgusting  and  horrid  sensations. 

But  when  the  good  man  limits  his  view  to  the  fields  of  Christen- 
dom, still  is  there  much  in  his  prospect  to  fill  his  soul  with  pain, 
and  make  him  sigh  for  a  lovelier  world.  There  are  parts  of  Chris- 
tendom where  religion  has  not  produced  the  blessedness  it  might. 
Their  religion  is  concise,  and  dark',  and  dubious.  It  fetters  the 
intellect,  the  conscience,  and  the  affections,  clouds  the  objects  of 
Christian  attachment,  and  casts  a  horrid  confusion  and  uncertainty 
upon  every  object  of  faith.  Upon  all  Catholic  countries  it  cannot 
be  denied,  that  there  shines  merely  the  twilight  of  revelation.  <  rod 
committed  to  them  his  word,  but  they  have  so  corrupted  its  light, 
that  they  have  become  afraid  of  the  sacred  book,  and  have  commit- 
ted it  to  the  flames.  Hence  many  districts  of  Christendom  are 
about  as  dark  as  pagan  lands,  and  can  be  said  to  have  only  the  ap- 
pendages of  the  gospel ;  and  their  population,  instead  of  being  guid- 
ed to  heaven  are  lost  and  bewildered  amid  the  mazes  of  an  awful 
and  complicated  superstition.  From  these  darker  shades  pel 
emerges,  till  in  a  few  small  districts  she  is  seen  to  enjoy  her  free- 
dom and  her  beauty.  Thus  Christendom  itself  presents  a  dreary 
aspect,  and  is  lighted  rather  by  a  taper  than  by  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness. 

Hence  much  of  this  sacred  territory  is  an  almost  continued 
scene  of  quarrel  and  of  blood.  The  badge  of  authority  is  the 
sword,  and  men  arc  made  decent  and  subordinate  by  the  fear  of 
death,  rather  than  by  the  laws  of  the  Lord  Jesus      An  armed  force 


C12  THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE. 

protects  the  king,  and  gives  efficiency  to  the  laws  and  the  magis- 
l i;it r.  Nations  professedly  Christian  can  draw  the  sword  upon 
one  another,  and  either  army,  as  God  shall  give  them  the  victory, 
return  to  offer  praise  in  his  sanctuary.  Could  the  heathen  know 
all  this,  how  could  they  be  persuaded  to  believe  our  religion  from 
heaven  !  What,  the  Lamb  of  God,  the  author  of  a  religion  quarrel- 
some, and  bloody,  and  pitiless. 

Nor  can  even  this  be  said  to  be  Christendom's  foulest  stain. 
There  comes  a  curse  from  Africa  upon  all  her  fields,  for  having 
carried  her  sons  into  bondage,  for  having  bred  war  in  her  bosom, 
for  having  crimsoned  the  sea  with  the  blood  of  her  children,  torn 
from  their  parents,  and  borne  like  beasts  to  the  market,  to  die  by 
plague  or  famine,  or  what  is  sometimes  considered  worse  than 
death,  to  bleed  under  the  lash  of  a  task-master  till  sufferings  and 
toil  consume  them.  If  a  few  sections  of  Christendom  have  begun 
to  wipe  off  this  blot,  it  still  is  seen  to  adhere,  like  leprosy,  and 
cries  to  heaven  for  judgments.  God  will  avenge  a  deed  that  has 
begotten  so  much  pain,  that  has  spread  so  wide,  and  has  so  long 
protracted  its  cruelties  and  its  misery. 

But  all  this  must  distress  the  good  man.  Must  he  trace  the 
very  territory  to  which  there  is  due  from  heaven  a  storm  of  wrath  1 
Must  he  walk  the  streets,  and  sleep  on  the  very  ground  where  a 
righteous  God  will  yet  avenge  iniquity  1  How  can  he  fail  to  en- 
ter into  the  views  of  the  Psalmist,  and  long  for  the  wings  of  a 
dove,  that  he  may  hasten  his  escape  from  the  windy  storm  and 
tempest. 

But  the  good  man  need  not  look  so  far  to  see  cause  of  pain. 
He  may  limit  his  view  to  his  own  country,  and  still  wish  an  asy- 
lum from  the  pollution  and  the  misery  that  lie  spread  out  before 
him.  The  men  at  the  head  of  our  government,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
arc  very  few  of  them  men  of  piety.  We  hear  of  their  splendid 
balls  and  parties,  but  when  did  they  once  meet  to  unite  their 
prayers  in  behalf  of  their  country  ?  A  few  of  them  may  be  at  the 
place  of  worship  on  the  Sabbath,  but  how  many  spend  that  day  in 
mirth  and  festivity  1  What  is  there  about  the  hall  of  legislation  to 
remind  a  stranger  that  its  inmates  are  the  representatives  of  a 
Christian  people,  a  people  in  the  midst  of  whom  God  is  their  glory, 
and  about  whom  lie  is  a  wall  of  fire  1  If  there  should  come  down 
upon  ns  a  storm  from  heaven,  who  would  turn  his  eye  to  the  gen- 
eral "-overnment,  ns  the  place  whence  there  would  ascend  the 
prayers  that  might  avert  the  calamity'?  When  men  are  selected 
to  fill  the  highest  offices  in  the  land,  who  does  not  know  that  reli- 


THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE.  G13 

gion  constitutes  no  part  of  their  qualification  1  not  to  say  what  I 
fear  is  true,  that  religion  would  rather  tarnish  than  adorn  the  can- 
didate. We  remember  the  occasion  when  it  was  long  a  question, 
and  at  length  determined  on  the  side  opposite  to  justice  and  mer- 
cy, whether  we  would  extend  the  privilege  of  holding  men  in 
bondage,  to  territories  where  the  curse  had  not  gone.  And 
yet  we  are  a  Christian  nation,  and  profess  that  our  territory  makes 
every  man  free,  and  gives  all  equal  rights.  But  why  might  we 
break  the  bond  that  bound  us  to  our  mother  country,  and  still 
hold  our  fellow  men  bond-slaves  for  life  1  Their  right  in  us  was 
the  right  of  power — the  right  that  the  sword  gives,  not  heaven. 
And  what  other  right  has  any  in  his  slave  1 

I  remember,  too,  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States  justify  a 
disregard  of  the  Sabbath.  The  mail,  with  all  its  noise  and  reti- 
nue, may  disturb  on  its  route  every  house  of  worship,  and  carry 
its  noisy  and  profane,  and  God-provoking  influence  into  every  vil- 
lage, and  that  by  the  direct  authority  of  the  general  government, 
nd  in  contempt  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  petitioners  who  have 
preferred  their  prayers  till  they  have  no  hope  of  success. 

Thus  from  the  very  spot  whence  should  issue  none  but  the  laws 
of  piety  and  righteousness,  where  should  be  congregated  the  men 
who  would  rule  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  whence  there  should  go 
out  a  commanding  Christian  influence,  to  operate  through  all  the 
parts  of  an  extensive  and  complicated  legislation, — from  that  very 
spot  there  flow  out  streams  of  moral  putrefaction,  to  contaminate, 
as  far  as  heaven  will  permit,  the  whole  body  politic. 

Let  the  same  principles  that  are  supreme  at  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, go  to  regulate  the  social  intercourse  of  all  our  cities  and 
villages,  and  it  is  impossible  not  to  see  that  we  should  be  a  mise- 
rable people.  If  one  chances  to  violate  the  laws  of  honor,  or  is 
conceived  to  have  erred,  he  can  wipe  away  the  reproach  only  by 
the  exposure  of  his  life.  He  must  stand  a  mark  for  the  fatal  ball, 
or  be  dubbed  a  coward,  and  lose  his  character.  Thus  when  the 
blackest  crimes  should  receive  their  punishment,  they  find  a  pat- 
tern ;  where  should  prevail  wisdom,  originates  the  most  consum- 
mate folly  ;  where  should  be  generated  the  laws  of  kindness,  there 
issues  a  permit  to  any  man,  who  will  do  it  honorably,  to  spill  the 
blood  of  his  neighbor  and  his  friend.  Thus  the  heart  faints  and 
sickens  when  it  should  receive  its  strongest  and  kindliest  impulse, 
and  the  good  man  turns  from  the  seat  of  the  general  government, 
as  from  a  scene  too  disgusting  to  contemplate.  Its  palaces  are 
splendid,  its   equipage    costly,  its   fare   sumptuous,   its   assemblies 


Gil  THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE. 

large,  anJ  gay,  and  brilliant,  but  God  is  scarcely  acknowledged 
there,  and  there  reigns  throughout  all  its  circles,  a  lightness  and 
a  vanity  that  is  tbe  very  antipode  of  beaven.  And  when  we  leave 
the  spot,  and  look  upon  the  servants  of  the  general  government  in 
their  varied  dispersions,  our  disgust  is  very  little  diminished. 
We  cannot  say  that  integrity,  or  piety,  or  wisdom,  has  received 
very  largely  the  honors  or  the  emoluments  of  the  general  govern- 
ment. There  has  not  prevailed  a  disposition  to  employ  those  ser- 
vants, that  we  should  employ  to  administer  upon  our  estates,  or 
that  we  would  wish  might  be  the  guardians  of  our  children.  There 
have  been,  I  know,  some  good  men  in  the  general  government. 
and  they  have  employed  some  servants  and  ministers,  who  have 
acted  in  the  fear  of  God,  but  the  mass,  I  believe,  it  will  not  be 
denied,  have  not  been  governed  by  the  fear  of  God.  And  still 
they  are  the  men  of  our  choice,  and  this  is  the  most  painful  thought, 
for  the  sin  lies  at  our  own  door.  We  rise  from  our  knees,  and 
hand  in  our  suffrage  for  the  man  who  never  prays,  and  would  con- 
sider himself  insulted,  if  one  should  urge  him  to  the  duty.  Thus 
the  good  man  is  disgusted,  and  wishes  to  soar  away  and  be  at  rest. 

And  as  we  pass  down  through  all  the  subordinate  branches  of 
civil  government,  our  prospect  is  not  very  greatly  cheered.  En- 
mity to  God  and  his  kingdom  is  not  considered  a  disqualification 
for  managing  the  best  interests  of  civil  society.  The  men  that 
hate  the  Law  of  God,  profane  his  name,  and  will  not  keep  his  sab- 
baths, nor  honor  his  sanctuary  ; — it  is  confessed  we  do  not  con- 
sider the  interests  of  a  Christian  community  very  safe  in  their 
hands. 

Is  it  asked  whether  we  would  make  piety  the  test  of  office,  we 
answer,  no.  But  we  would  have  other  qualifications.  We  would 
have  every  man  in  office  fear  an  oath,  and  not  deliberately  swear 
to  do  a  duty  which  he  has  already  resolved  not  to  do.  We  would 
have  him  a  man  whose  conscience  is  enlightened  by  the  testimony 
of  God.  We  would,  that  he  regarded  the  Sabbath,  and  would  not 
converse  profanely,  would  be  the  friend  of  morality,  and  science, 
and  religion.  We  would  not  have  him  intemperate,  nor  impure, 
nor  infidel.  We  would  have  him  respect  the  name  of  God,  and 
the  people  of  God,  and  all  the  institutions  of  religion.  Less  than 
this  in  the  men  of  office  ought  not  to  satisfy  a  Christian  community. 

But  as  the  good  man  surveys  the  civil  government,  how  little 
of  all  this  does  he  sometimes  discover  in  the  men  of  office.  They 
are  often  the  patterns  of  vice,  and  often  more  yet  its  patrons. 
The"  will   swear  themselves   into   office,  by   pledges  they  never 


THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE.  G15 

afterward  think  of,  and  which,  at  the  time  of  the  oath,  they  mean 
not  to  redeem.  They  are  often  found  the  enemies  of  the  Church, 
and  of  the  truth,  of  the  Sabbath,  of  the  sanctuary,  of  revivals  of 
religion,  and  the  whole  code  of  Christian  morality.  Hence  how 
lono-  have  good  men  petitioned  and  prayed,  till  they  have  quit 
praying,  that  such  amendments  may  be  made  in  the  laws  that 
guard  the  morals  of  the  community,  as  to  secure  their  execution, 
but  all  to  no  purpose. 

Now,  in  view  of  all  this,  how  can  the  good  man  fail  to  wish 
that  he  may  live  in  a  better  community,  and  be  governed  by  men 
that  have  a  conscience,  and  act  in  the  fear  of  God  1  How  can  it 
please  him  to  commit  the  temporal,  and,  to  a  great  extent,  the 
immortal  interests  of  his  offspring,  to  the  rule  and  the  authority 
of  men  who  have  no  impressive  sense  of  their  future  accounta- 
bility. A  lodge  in  the  desert,  where  nature  only  can  be  seen  to  rule 
by  the  fixed  laws  of  God,  and  vice  is  banished,  offers  him  an  asy- 
lum that  has  many  charms  above  the  partial  misrule  of  unsanctifled 
authority. 

When  the  good  man  takes  a  view  of  the  churches,  he  has  still 
occasion  for  pain.  He  sees  often  a  lackness  of  discipline,  that 
tarnishes  their  beauty-,  weakens  their  strength,  mars  their  fellow- 
ship, and  greatly  retards  their  usefulness.  Men  of  ungodly  life 
are  suffered  to  eat  the  children's  bread;  men  of  profaneness,  in 
temperance,  and  debauchery  ;  men  who  neither  pray  nor  repent, 
but  cast  their  whole  weight  into  the  scale  of  error  and  irreligion. 
So  slow  is  the  work  of  discipline  in  many  churches,  that  men  are 
constantly  dying  in  their  communion,  who  have  been  notoriously 
ungodly  for  years;  and  of  whose  piety  there  never  was  indulged  a 
hope.  There  are  among  the  professed  people  of  God  contentions, 
backbiting,  envy,  and  wrath.  They  sit  down  together  at  the  table 
of  the  Lord,  and  covenant  to  love  one  another,  but  their  vow  does 
not  bind  them.  They  can  exhibit  toward  each  other  every  un- 
londness  witnessed  among  the  men  of  the  world.  Now  who 
would  not  desire  a  better  world  than  this  t  Who,  that  dares  to  be 
alone,  would  not  covet  a  lodge  in  some  vast  wilderness,  that  Ins 
eyes  might  not  see  a  world  which  the  Lord  Jesus  built  for  him- 
self, so  polluted  and  destroyed1?  Who  would  not  wish  to  belong 
to  a  better  community,  to  be  conversant  with  wiser  men,  to  enjoy 
a  more  kind  and  friendly  society,  and  have  fellowship  with  a  more 
pure  and  godly  brotherhood  1  "  O  that  I  had  wings,  like  a  dove, 
then  would  1  fly  away  and  be  at  rest." 

We  have  noticed  what  occasion  the  good  man  has  to  utter  th« 


616  THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE. 

sentiment  of  the  text,  when  he  takes  some  of  the  more  ex. ended 
views  of  the  objects  around  him.  And  we  shall  find  that  his  dis- 
gust continues  when  he  narrows  the  rule  down  to  himself. 

If  he  casts  his  eye  over  the  town  in  which  he  dwells,  he  can 
seldom  fail  to  see  what  must  disgust  a  heavenly  mind.  The  varied 
shadi  s  of  political  and  religious  sentiment,  the  party  feelings,  the 
jarring  interests,  the  prejudices  and  the  quarrels,  are  calculated  to 
render  one  very  sick  of  human  life,  and  if  they  beget  not  the  wish 
to  quit  the  world,  will  render  endeared  the  scenes  of  retirement 
and  meditation.  There  is  too  little  seen  that  deserves  the  name 
of  friendship.  Between  very  few  is  there  a  compact  so  firm,  that 
the  most  trifling  affair  of  interest  will  not  sunder  the  fellowship, 
and  create  envy  and  strife.  Every  public  measure,  though  the 
most  useful  and  necessary,  must  have  some  to  oppose  it,  by  which 
it  becomes  almost  impossible  to  promote  our  own  convenience  and 
comfort.  How  often,  in  many  parts  of  Christendom,  has  the  lo- 
cation of  the  sanctuary,  or  a  school-house,  or  public  road,  riven 
and  ruined  a  pleasant  and  flourishing  town.  Men  have  made  sac- 
rifices to  gratify  their  will,  which  if  made  for  the  general  good, 
would  have  cradled  controversy  to  sleep  in  an  hour. 

Why  must  there  be  men  in  every  little  circle,  who  can  be  pleased 
with  nothing  that  pleases  others  1  Why  must  we  calculate  that 
every  good  measure  will  make  some  one  angry  1  This  might 
easily  be  made  a  happy  world,  if  a  very  few  would  calculate  to  let 
the  general  voice  govern  them.  And  how  does  it  happen  that  men 
do  not  suspect  themselves  in  th  i  wrong,  when  they  are  for  ever  on 
the  list  of  opposition,  when  their  attitude  is  that  of  hostility  when- 
ever they  act  with  other  men  in  public  measures  1  The  little  pas- 
sions of  childhood  are  carried  with  some  men  into  their  maturer 
years.  They  make  themselves  offended  at  some  measure,  and 
can  then  no  more  be  reasoned  with  than  you  could  reason  with  a 
tempest.  To  try  to  please  them  but  increases  the  spleen  that  con- 
trols them.  "I  have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  have  not  danced,  I 
have  mourned  unto  you  but  ye  have  not  lamented." 

Thus  all  measures  that  regard  the  general  good  are  more  or  less 
defeated,  except  when  public  good  yokes  itself  with  private  inter- 
est, while  a  spirit  of  condescension  would  render  this  a  pleasant 
world.  Now  t he  good  man,  if  his  mind  be  at  all  enlarged,  must 
turn  from  all  this  with  disgust,  and  must  sometimes  feel  ashamed 
that  he  belongs  to  a  community  so  degenerate. 

If  lie  cists  his  eye  into  the  domestic  circle,  where  it  would 
seem   we    might   look   for  happiness  if  any  where  in  this  desert. 


THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE.  G17 

there  is  there  but  little  to  cheer  his  soul.  The  marriage  contract 
is  so  often  not  the  result  of  affection,  but  convenience,  that  har- 
mony in  many  cases  is  not  to  be  expected.  The  husband  and  the 
wife  have  distinct  interests,  and  a  distinct  character,  and  hope,  and 
purpose.  The  kind  attentions  that  nourish  domestic  joy,  are  put 
off  with  the  marriage  robes,  and  the  result  is  not  that  sweetness 
which  love  produces,  but  a  scene  of  jarring  and  noise,  or  at  best, 
the  attitude  of  mere  forbearance.  Hence,  as  we  should  expect, 
there  goes  down  through  the  children  the  same  spirit  of  selfish- 
ness and  discord  that  reigns  in  the  hearts  of  the  parents.  Thus 
where  should  be  cradled  every  virtue,  where  should  be  nursed  the 
kindest  endearments,  where  our  country  and  the  Church  of  Christ 
should  rest  their  hopes,  there  is  sometimes  found  the  embryo  of 
all  public  litigation,  and  strife,  and  confusion.  The  seeds  thus 
sown  in  the  domestic  circle  are  nourished  in  the  schools,  and  thus 
are  early  matured  for  operation,  all  the  principles  of  depravity 
that  go  to  wither  all  that  is  flourishing,  and  deform  all  that  is  fair, 
and  blight  all  that  is  promising  in  this  ill-fated  world. 

When  the  good  man  contemplates  the  Christian  character,  not 
as  presented  in  the  word  of  God,  but  as  exhibited  in  actual  life 
around  him,  he  still  has  before  him  a  picture  that  fills  him  with 
disgust  and  with  tears.  The  very  men  who  are  bound  for  heaven 
have  carried  into  their  religion  so  much  of  worldly  maxim  and  of 
human  passion,  as  to  put  a  blast  upon  the  only  fertile  spots  that 
stud  this  desert  world. 

One  believer  has  about  him  all  that  is  gay,  and  vain,  and  trifling, 
in  the  higher  circles  of  the  ungodly,  with  scarcely  difference 
enough  to  beget  the  hope  that  he  is  born  of  God.  He  breathes 
an  atmosphere  where  the  humble,  and  retiring,  and  self-condemn- 
ing spirit  of  the  gospel  is  very  much  a  stranger.  Another  has 
carried  into  his  religion  the  coarseness  and  the  vulgarity  that  bet- 
ter comports  with  sin  than  piety  ;  and  would  hardly  seem  consist- 
ent with  the  benevolence  of  the  gospel.  Another  would  seem  too 
dull  and  stupid  to  have  partaken  of  that  Spirit  which,  as  a  well  of 
water,  is  represented  as  springing  up  into  everlasting  life.  One 
has  rather  the  rashness  of  a  heaven-daring  sinner,  than  the  gentle- 
ness of  the  lamb  ;  while  another  has  carried  his  maxims  of  pru- 
dence to  a  pitch  that  forbids  the  discharge  of  any  duty  which  the 
most  ungodly  do  not  approve.  We  see  one  who  is  too  willing  to 
shrink  from  every  public  duty,  who  will  hide  in  a  corner,  that  he 
may  not  be  called  upon  to  pray  ;  while  another  has  no  enjoyment 
but  as  he  may  go  forward   and  be  conspicuous   in  every  measure 


Glo  THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE. 

of  piety  ;  lias  more  enjoyment  when  he  may  teach  than  when  he 
must  learn,  when  he  may  lead  in  the  prayer  than  when  he  must 
join  with  his  brother.  One  believer  so  neglects  his  worldly  con- 
cerns, as  to  come  under  the  censure  of  not  providing  for  his  own, 
and  especially  those  of  his  own  house,  while  another  suffers  him- 
self to  be  pressed  with  the  cares  of  the  life  that  now  is,  to  an  ex- 
tent thai  seems  hardly  to  comport  with  the  exercise  of  a  heavenly 
mind.  When  once  we  meet  with  the  Christian  character  in  ah 
its  native  loveliness,  meek,  humble,  watchful,  prayerful,  heavenly- 
minded,  prompt  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty,  but  willing  to  be 
unnoticed  and  unknown;  diligent  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit, 
serving  the  Lord — when  once  we  see  it  thus  clothed  in  all  the  at- 
tributes which  it  must  wear  in  heaven,  we  meet  with  it  often  so  de- 
formed as  hardly  to  recognise  in  its  countenance  the  features  of 
the  heavenly  family.  With  these  deformed  beings  the  believer 
must  mingle  ;  must  come  into  close  and  friendly  alliance  ;  to  them 
must  be  bound  in  everlasting  covenant  ;  and  from  their  number, 
deformed  as  they  are,  must  select  the  best  associates  he  shall  find 
till  he  reaches  heaven.  Hence,  why  be  surprised  if  the  wish  es- 
capes him  that  he  could  fly  away  and  be  at  rest,  could  go  and 
mingle  with  the  general  assembly  of  the  Church  of  the  first-born. 
whose  names  are  written  in  heaven,  and  enjoy  there  the  society 
of  those  who  have  put  off  the  body  of  sin  and  death,  and  are  clothed 
upon  with  their  house  from  heaven. 

But  when  all  this  is  said,  there  still  is  no  object  in  all  this  pol- 
luted, and  disloyal,  and  miserable  world,  with  which  he  is  so  much 
disgusted  as  with  himself.  When  the  circle  of  his  contemplations 
is  contracted  till  it  embraces  nothing  but  his  own  deformed,  and 
polluted,  and  wretched  heart,  then  does  he  put  forth  his  most  ar- 
dent wish,  and  prefer  his  warmest  prayer,  that  he  may  be  permitted 
to  fly  away  and  be  at  rest.  There  is  no  object  that  disgusts  him 
so  much,  for  in  no  other  case  is  pollution  so  nigh  him,  or  so  dis- 
tinctly seen.  It  often  seems  to  him  impossible  that  his  heart 
should  have  been  renewed,  and  he  be  still  so  depraved.  He  is 
conscious  of  putting  forth  at  times  every  depraved  and  base  affec- 
tion. He  finds  himself  giving  to  created  objects  the  regard  due 
only  to  God.  Every  comfort  Jehovah  gives  is  liable  to  be  erected 
into  an  idol,  and  loved  with  supreme  attachment.  He  often  finds 
himself  disinclined  to  obey  the  law  of  God,  esteeming  his  com- 
mandments grievous.  He  receives  without  due  gratitude  the 
bounties  of  heaven,  or  blesses  only  his  own  wisdom  and  prudence 
for  the  benefits  which    God   bestows.     When    he    has  sinned,  he 


THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE.  613 

finds  his  heart  hard  and  impenitent.  If  he  has  any  glimpse  of 
God,  or  of  heaven,  and  attempts  to  rise  to  some  tone  of  hiodiei 
devotion,  he  finds  his  wretched  heart  attracted  back  by  some  ob- 
ject of  sense,  and  coveting  his  ease  and  his  indulgences.  I  have 
put  off  my  coat,  how  shall  I  put  it  on  1  I  have  washed  my  feet, 
how  shall  I  defile  them  ?  To  obey  his  Redeemer  requires  of  him 
a  self-denial  and  an  enterprise  for  which  his  heart  is  not  prepared. 
He  knows  he  has  fallen,  but  cannot  put  forth  the  effort  necessary 
for  his  recovery  ;  and  still  does  not  hope  to  be  happy  till  that  ef- 
fort is  put  forth. 

And  if  the  Spirit  of  God  revives  him,  and  this  poor  world  is, 
for  a  time,  blotted  out  ;  and  he  covenants  anew  with  God,  to  walk 
in  his  ways,  and  do  his  commandments  ;  still,  in  the  midst  of  such 
mercy,  compared  with  which,  no  blessing  ever  enjoyed  on  earth 
is  equal,  he  sees  some  object  that  lures  him  away  from  God,  and 
he  follows  it,  and  is  plunged  again  into  darkness  and  distress.  In 
no  other  case,  perhaps,  does  lie  commit  a  greater  crime,  or  do 
himself  a  greater  injury,  or  imitate  more  closely  the  deeds  done 
in  heaven  by  the  fallen  spirits.  When  God  lets  down  so  much  of 
heaven  into  the  soul,  and  permits  his  people  for  a  week  or  a 
month  to  gaze  upon  his  glories,  it  is  no  light  thing  to  provoke  him  to 
eclipse  the  view.  But  the  child  of  God  who  has  ever  been  happy 
with  the  light  of  God's  countenance,  and  is  not  happy  now,  must 
lie  down  under  the  conviction  that  he  has  done  this  very  deed.  God 
will  never  forsake  us,  till  we  forsake  him.  If  he  has  caused  his 
glory  to  shine  upon  us,  he  will  never  darken  the  view  till  our  at- 
tention is  divvied  between  him  and  some  created  object  with 
which  he  abhors  to  have  his  glory  associated.  The  child  of  God 
thus  laments  when  the  vision  is  gone,  in  the  pensive  language  of 
the  poet : 

"  Trifles  of  nature  or  of  art ; 

With  fair  deceitful  charms, 
Intrude  into  my  thoughtless  heart, 

And  thrust  me  from  thy  arms. 

When  r  repent  and  vex  my  soul, 

That  I  should  leave  thee  so ; 
Where  will  those  wild  afi'ections  roll, 
That  let  a  Savior  eto  ?" 

In  every  duty  to  God  he  finds  himself  coming  shoit  of  his  glory 
He  is  ashamed  of  his  prayers,  his  songs,  and  his  sacrifices.  Self 
ishness,  pride,  or  ambition    mingle  at  last  with  all    his  better  mo- 


G20  THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE. 

tives,  and  mar  every  duty.     "The  very  songs  I  frame,"  says  the 
same  poet,  "  are  faithless  to  thy  cause, 

"  And  steal  the  honors  of  thy  name, 
To  build  my  own  applause." 

If  God  makes  him  useful  he  claims  some  of  the  honor,  and  if  he 
does  any  noble  deed  he  expects  his  reward.  He  finds  himself 
loving  too  ardently  the  things  of  time  and  sense,  has  too  many 
cares  and  too  many  ties  that  are  earthly  and  sensual,  that  assimi- 
late him  to  the  beasts  that  perish.  He  could  not  name,  should  he 
attempt  it,  the  Christian  grace  that  thrives  in  his  heart  as  he 
could  wish.  He  lacks  the  humility  that  becomes  a  sinner,  the 
patience  and  the  meekness  that  befit  a  daily  offender,  the  repent- 
ance that  God  demands,  and  the  faith  which  should  purify  his  heart 
and  work  by  love.  His  love  to  God  does  not  measure  itself  by  the 
attributes  to  be  adored,  and  his  esteem  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
falls  infinitely  below  his  character.  His  benevolence  is  partial  and 
limited,  and  shamefully  inoperative.  His  regard  to  the  gospel  is 
measured  and  cold  compared  with  the  interest  he  has  in  it,  and  the 
faith  he  has  professed,  and  the  hopes  he  founds  on  it,  and  the 
beauty  he  thinks  he  has  once  seen  in  it.  When  he  casts  his  eye 
upon  an  impenitent  world  he  views  their  pollutions  with  too  little 
disgust,  their  danger  with  too  small  emotions,  and  their  approach 
ing  destiny  with  too  little  alarm.  He  carries  haste  to  his  closet, 
and  formality  to  the  family  altar,  and  dulness  to  the  sanctuary, 
and  coldness  to  the  communion,  and  unbelief  to  the  Bible,  and 
guilt,  and  shame,  and  apprehension  to  the  chambe*  of  meditation. 
The  amount  of  the  whole  is  a  conscientiousness  that  his  attention 
and  his  affections  are  divided  between  God  and  the  world,  between 
earth  and  heaven.  In  no  one  point  does  he  come  up  to  his  own 
standard.  His  language  is  unclean  !  unclean!  0  wretched  man 
that  I  am  ;   who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  '! 

A  lid  when  the  believer  contemplates  the  dulness  and  darkness 
of  his  own  mind  he  is  far  enough  frombeino-  pleased  with  himself. 
Hi-  dulness  often  renders  it  a  task  to  think,  and  his  darkness  ren- 
ders every  view  lie  t;>  es  confused  and  indefinite.  And  he  knows 
that  the  whole  is  his  crime.  He  could  easily  have  been  more  in- 
tellectual in  his  character,  had  he  not  debased  himself  by  his  sins. 
hail  he  not  limited  his  powers  of  though)  and  reflection  by  too  ex- 
clusive an  attachment,  and  attention  too  exclusive  to  small  and 
mean  objects.  Hence  when  he  would  contemplate  the  character 
of   God  it  is  not  easy  and  natural  for  him    to  soar  away  and  dwell 


THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE.  (J2] 

on  the  Divine  attributes.  Some  little  object,  awakening  a 
little  thought,  and  demanding  no  effort,  calls  him  back  to  the  crea- 
tion, and  God  passes  out  of  his  mind.  As  soon  might  the  domes- 
tic fowl  join  himself  to  the  bird  of  passage,  and  with  untired  wing 
lighl  in  some  foreign  territory,  as  his  mind  sustain  any  prolonged 
interview  with  the  great  objects  of  faith.  Hence  he  seldom  mounts 
and  quickly  tires.  The  meditation  necessary  for  the  application 
of  truth  to  his  own  sanctification  is  often  a  weariness.  His  mind 
has  been  weakened  by  its  mean  employment,  by  its  neglect  of 
thought,  for  the  enterprise  to  which  piety  would  summon  it,  till 
almost  does  it  need  regenerating  as  does  the  heart.  It  often  seems 
to  him  impossible  that  with  such  a  mind  as  his  he  can  ever  be  the 
associate  of  angels,  and  think  without  tiring  as  they  do.  The 
great  truths  of  revelation  are  above  him,  and  the  bible  a  dark  book 
to  him.  Thus  he  is  about  as  much  dissatisfied  with  his  intellect 
as  with  his  heart.  He  wonders  at  the  clemency  of  God,  that  it 
should  ever  have  entered  into  his  heart  to  fit  him  for  heaven,  and  that 
he  does  not  abandon  his  purpose  of  making  him  an  angel.  When 
he  believes  it  possible  that  he  can  ever  be  made  capable  of  sub- 
lime conceptions,  and  soar  away  to  hold  untiring  communion  with 
his  Maker,  then  he  utters  himself  in  the  language  of  the  text,  "  O 
that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove,  then  would  I  fly  away  and  be  at  rest." 

Hence  his  very  great  dissatisfaction  with  his  own  conduct.  His 
settled  purpose  is  to  walk  uprightly.  He  would  do  good,  but 
evil  is  present  with  him.  He  finds  a  law  in  his  members  warring 
against  the  law  of  his  mind.  Hence  his  retrospect  of  life  is  uni- 
formly forbidding.  Duty  has  been  neglected  ;  and  when  done,  done 
in  so  poor  a  manner  as  not  to  deserve  the  name.  And  every  little 
section  of  life  has  been  polluted  with  something  that  should  have 
beer  left  undone  ;  some  wrong  affection  that  should  not  have  been 
exercised,  some  wrong  passion  that  should  not  have  been  indulg- 
ed, some  wrong  corruptions  that  should  not  have  been  conceived, 
some  wrong  hopes  that  should  not  have  been  embraced,  gome 
wrong  apprehensions  that  should  have  been  spurned,  and  many 
wrong  deeds  that  should  never  have  been  committed.  Hence  find 
we  the  bitterest  foe  the  Christian  has,  and  let  him  exhaust  his  elo- 
quence in  berating  him,  and  belittling  him,  and  belying  him,  and 
when  all  is  done,  although  he  will  be  accused  wrongfully,  he  will 
not  have  been  rendered  more  degraded  than  he  is  degraded  in  his 
own  view,  nor  he  exhibited  as  more  unworthy  of  heaven  than  he 
esteems  himself. 

Hence  the  good  man  feels   that  he  has  all  the   character  he   de- 


G22  THE   GOSPEL    RECLUSE. 

serves.  He  has  done  so  much  to  insult  ami  abuse  infinite  purity, 
nas  stained  his  moral  reputation  with  affections  and  deeds  so  at 
war  with  truth,  and  holiness,  and  righteousness,  that  he  wonders 
if  it  be  possible  that  heaven  should  ever  respect  him,  and  angels 
honor  him,  and  the  redeemed  associate  with  him.  Thus  the  be- 
liever is  more  disgusted  with  himself  than  with  any  other  obje«t 
in  all  the  creation  of  God,  would  quit  if  he  might  his  contact  with 
moral  corruption,  would  fly  away  and  he  at  rest. 

Finally,  it  is  to  the  believer  a  source  of  grief  and  pain  that  he 
must  meel  with  opposition  in  every  effort  he  makes  to  meliorate 
the  condition  of  his  fellow-men.  He  sees  the  whole  creation 
groaning  and  travailing  in  pain  to  be  delivered  from  its  bondage 
to  sin,  and  yet  unwilling  to  cast  off  its  yoke. 

Men  arc  ignorant,  and  yet  unwilling  to  be  enlightened.  What 
they  l<n<>w  not  is  precisely  that  which  they  wish  not  to  know,  and 
their  reluctance  to  learn,  not  the  want  of  light,  is  the  grand  cause 
of  their  ignorance.  As  to  God,  they  wish  not  to  retain  him  in 
their  knowledge.  They  are  content  not  to  be  accpiaintcd  with  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  because  they  will  not  have  him  to  reign  over 
thrm.  The  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the  Bible  only  distress 
them,  exhibit  their  depravity,  their  dependence,  their  danger,  their 
demerit,  and  their  destiny.  Hence  they  are  willingly  ignorant. 
They  love  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  are 
evil.  They  hate  the  light,  and  will  not  come  to  the  light,  lest  their 
deeds  should  be  reproved.  Hence  every  effort  of  the  good  man 
to  remove  the  thing  that  pains  him,  to  cure  the  wound  that  rankles 
before  his  eve  and  affects  his  heart,  meets  a  repulse  that  distresses 
him.  His  kindness  is  nicknamed  impudence,  his  tears  are  pro- 
nounced hypocritical,  and  his  motives  selfish.  He  must  go  into 
the  wilderness  and  be  a  hermit,  or  see  a  whole  world  covered  with 
the  shadow  of  death  and  not  weep  for  it,  or  contend  for  the  truth, 
and  carry  in  one  hand  the  sword  for  his  own  defence,  and  with  the 
other  build  the  ruins  of  Jerusalem. 

Men  have  a  misguided  conscience,  and  wish  not  to  be  put  right. 
While  they  may  act  conscientiously,  they  feel  secure,  and  hope  to 
be  forgiven  if  they  err.  The  kings  of  Judah  and  Israel  would  have 
the  prophets  prophecy  smooth  things,  true  or  false.  Men  would 
hope  thai  their  course  leads  to  heaven,  if  it  terminate  in  perdition; 
and  you  offend  them  if  you  rudely  tear  this  hope  from  them.  So, 
many  species  of  game,  when  pressed  in  the  chase,  are  sail  to  hide 
their  heads  iii  the  snow,  and  dream  not  but  that  they  are  quite 
secure  from   the  huntsman   till  the   fatal  monunt  when  they  are 


THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE.  023 

tali  en  and  slain.  Nothing  is  more  offensive  to  the  ungodly  than 
your  efforts  to  convince  them  that  they  are  unsafe.  "There  is  a 
way  that  seemeth  right  unto  a  man,  hut  the  end  thereof  are  the 
ways  of  death."  But  if  they  may  approach  that  death,  and  not 
see  it,  if  yon  will  suffer  them  to  dream  on,  and  not  awake  them  to 
the  reality  that  it  is  a  dream,  they  will  be  your  debtors.  But  tell 
them  of  another  God  than  him  they  worship,  of  another  Savior 
than  him  they  trust  in,  another  gospel  than  that  which  they  have 
believed,  another  hope  than  that  which  they  have  leaned  upon, 
and  another  heaven  than  that  which  they  have  expected,  and  be 
your  creed  the  truth,  or  theirs,  they  are  outraged.  "A  little  more 
sleep,  a  little  more  slumber,  a  little  more  folding  of  the  hands  to 
sleep  :  so  shall  poverty  come  as  one  that  traveleth,  and  thy  want 
as  an  armed  man."  They  wish  not  to  have  their  old  foundations 
torn  up.  They  wish  not  to  begin  in  their  advanced  years  to  learn 
another  gospel.  They  are  quite  satisfied  that  they  are  on  the  way 
to  heaven — yours  may  conduct  to  the  same  destiny,  but  they  can- 
not now  retreat.  "  We  have  loved  idols,  and  after  them  we  will 
go."  "  Our  fathers  worshiped  in  this  mountain,  and  ye  say  that 
in  Jerusalem  is  the  place  where  men  ought  to  worship."  Thus 
the  good  man,  in  attempting  to  cure  the  plagues  around  him,  rolls 
up  a  steep  acclivity  a  ponderous  rock,  that  but  rolls  upon  him,  and 
consumes  his  strength  and  his  spirits. 

Men  have  polluted  hearts,  hut  they  are  unwilling  either  to  know 
that  they  are  polluted,  or  to  have  them  cleansed.  They  are  whole, 
and  see  no  need  of  a  physician,  and  know  not  that  they  are  poor, 
and  miserable,  and  blind,  and  naked.  Tell  them  of  a  fountain 
where  they  can  wash  and  he  clean,  and  they  will  either  deny  their 
need  of  cleansing,  or,  like  him  of  Syria,  they  will  inquire,  "Are 
not  Abana  and  Pharpar,  rivers  of  Damascus,  better  than  all  the 
srs  of  Israel  !  why  may  I  not  wash  in  them  and  be  clean  V' 
Or  they  will  use  the  ancient  proverb  of  Nazareth,  ''Physician,  heal 
thyself."  So  the  maniac  believes  himself  the  only  man  in  the 
community  who  can  reason,  and  supposes  himself  surrounded  with 
madmen.  Men  do  not  thank  you  for  discovering  their  unrighteous- 
ness, and  consider  your  oily  and  your  tears  but  weakness.  It  but 
mortifies  them  that  you  should  presume  to  doubt  but.  that  their 
mountain  stands  strong.  "  I  shall  have  peace,  though  I  walk  in 
r.ation  of  my  own  heart,  to  add  drunkenness  to  thirst." 
O,  how  can  the  good  man  not  weep,  to  see  every  plague  that 
preys  upor  an  ungodly  world  incurable,  and  find  all  his  kindness 
suspected,  and  all  his  benevolence  repulsed!    The  prophet  uttered 


624  THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE. 

himself  like  a  man  of  God,  when  he  said,  "0  that  my  head  were 
waters,  and  mine  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  1  might  weep  day 
and  aight  for  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  people." 

Men  have  polluted  their  morals,  and  are  not  willing  to  know 
that  the  course  they  pursue  renders  them  unhappy.  Their  wars, 
their  litigations,  their  backbitings,  their  pride,  and  envy,  and  am- 
bition, and  avarice,  are  but  so  many  instruments  of  mutual  slaugh- 
ter. If  men  were  content  to  let  others  have  the  life  God  has 
given  them,  and  the  wealth  they  have  accumulated,  and  the  in- 
fluence they  have  acquired,  how  happy  this  world  might  be.  Then 
every  man  would  hold  the  place  that  his  talents  give  him,  and  that 
his  Maker  gives  him,  and  each  would  scatter  blessings  on  all 
around  him.  Moses  might  not  reprove  his  brethren,  when  they 
strove  together.  The  one  that  did  the  wrong  repulsed  his  kind- 
ness, and  he  had  to  flee  for  his  life.  You  cannot  commit  a  greater 
sin,  in  the  world's  esteem,  than  to  persuade  men  that  they  would 
do  well  to  love  one  another.  And  if  you  urge  them  to  be  kind  to 
themselves,  you  have  no  thanks.  Tell  the  profane  man  that  his 
vulgarity  hurts  his  reputation  ;  tell  the  drunkard  that  his  cups  will 
devour  him  ;  tell  the  adulterer  that  his  steps  take  hold  on  hell,  and 
lead  down  to  the  chambers  of  death  ;  tell  the  Sabbath-breaker  that 
God  will  not  have  his  institutions  trifled  with,  and  you  but  utter 
your  charms  in  the  ear  of  the  deaf  adder.  Tell  men  to  save  them- 
selves from  this  untoward  generation,  and  will  they  rave  or  thank 
you  ?  Ah,  the  experiment  has  been  too  often  made  to  allow  a 
doubt  to  remain,  but  that  the  man  of  God  will  be  abused  so  much 
the  more,  by  how  much  he  is  faithful  in  attempting  to  cure  the 
plagues  he  laments.  Hence,  why  wonder  that  the  wish  often 
escape*  him,  ll  0,  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove,  then  would  I  fly 
aw  ay,  and  be  at  rest." 

REMARKS. 

1.  While  such  may  lawfully  be  the  sentiments  of  the  good  man, 
we  may  not  suppose  him  at  liberty  to  quit  the  post  of  duty.  If  the 
world,  or  if  his  country,  or  commonwealth,  or  the  Church,  does  not 
please  him,  it  is  his  duty  to  make  every  possible  effort  to  render 
them  better.  It  may  seem  impossible  that  we  should  do  any  good 
when  so  much  needs  to  he  done.  But  if  every  man  will  exert  the 
powers  God  has  given  him,  he  will  be  accepted.  And  moreover, 
ood  man  will  render  one  little  spot  verdant,  the  gloomy 
picture  we   have   contemplated    will   soon  become  hriohter.     Let 


THE    GOSPEL    RECLUSE.  625 

every  child  of  God  be  what  he  should  be,  and  one  of  the  gloomiest 
shades  in  the  picture  is  gone. 

2.  The  subject  is  calculated  to  endear  the  scenes  of  the  closet. 
If  all  without  is  dark,  then  have  we  the  more  occasion  to  be  alone 
with  God.  "  Come,  my  people,  enter  thou  into  thy  chambers,  and 
shut  thy  doors  about  thee  :  hide  thyself  as  it  were  for  a  little  mo- 
ment, until  the  indignation  be  overpast."  In  the  closet  there  is 
light,  be  every  other  part  of  this  world  shrouded  in  impenetrable 
darkness. 

3.  The  subject  is  calculated  to  turn  our  eyes  to  heaven.  There 
is  a  retreat  provided  for  the  good  man,  where  storms  and  darkness 
never  come.  When  a  few  more  dark  days  have  hurried  over  him, 
he  will  be  furnished  with  angels'  wings,  and  will  soar  away  to  a 
place  of  rest. 

Hence  let  there  be  no  impatience.  Heaven  will  be  the  more  wel» 
acme,  and  the  more  pleasant  for  what  we  here  endure. 


SERMON  L1V. 

THE  EVENING  OF  LIFE  SORROWFUL. 

PSALM    XC.    10. 

The  days  <>f  our  years  ;»r<-  three  score  years  and  ten  j  and  if  by  reason  of  strength  tJi<>y  be  foui 
■urn'  years,  yet  is  Iheir  strength  labor  and  sorrow  :  for  it  is  9non  cut  off,  and  we  tiy  away. 

To  those  who  do  not  credit  the  history  of  the  Apostacy,  and 
who  si  ill  believe  that  there  is  one  God,  and  that  he  is  good,  there 
must  be  something  mysterious  in  the  history  of  man.  Why  his. 
flays  so  few,  and  why  those  few  so  filled  with  sorrow  1  Why  so 
protracted,  and  helpless,  and  feeble,  the  years  of  his  childhood  X 
Why  his  members  so  slow  to  do  their  office,  and  why  the  faculties 
of  the  mind  so  tardy  in  their  development! 

Why  do  so  few  arrive  at  any  thing  like  what  may  be  termed  the 
perfection  of  their  nature,  while  the  great  mass  of  the  human  race 
never  put  forth  any  effort  of  thought  that  very  highly  distinguish- 
es them  from  the  beasts  that  perish!  They  reach  the  common 
stature  and  acquire  the  agility  and  the  strength  of  manhood,  with- 
out their  own  care  or  choice,  but  the  mind,  untaught  and  undisci- 
plined, remains  almost  in  its  state  of  infancy,  till  the  body  has 
reached  its  perfection  and  commenced  its  decay. 

Thus  there  begins  a  second  childhood,  at  the  remove  of  but  a 
few  years  from  where  the  first  was  terminated.  The  man  is  seen 
to  stand,  for  a  moment,  a  being  capable  of  some  small  degree  of 
effort,  and  is  then,  while  yet  we  have  hardly  known  him,  merged 
again  into  :ill  the  helplessness  of  a  second  humi  ity.  The  body, 
it  is  true,  retains  its  stature,  but  every  limb  is  palsied,  and  every 
organ  powerless.  The  mind  sinks  with  the  body,  and  seems  at 
length  on  the  point  of  being  extinguished  with  it.  But  that  the 
boob  of  God  lias  taught  us  otherwise,  it  would  hardly  be  a  sin  to 
doubt  whether  the  mind  were  not  material  like  the  body,  and  des- 
tined to  perish  at  that  juncture  when  the  body  begins  to  moulder. 

Now  why,  says  the  infidel,  would  a  good  being  give  to  any  of 
his  creatures,  and  especially  to  man,  the  noblest  of  the  whole,  an 
existence  so  immature,  so  transitory,  and  so  miserable?  Nor  can 
he  ever  gain  a  satisfactory  answer  to    his  gloomy    inquiry,  till  he 


THE    EVENING    OF    LIFE    SORROWFUL.  G27 

believes  that  by  sin  came  death,  and  so  death  hath  passed  upon  all 
men  for  that  all  have  sinned. 

There  is  some  mystery  in  all  this  even  to  the  believer.  In  hid 
creed,  life  is  a  scene  of  probation,  where  the  soul  may  ripen  for  its 
future  destiny.  Hence  why  is  so  large  a  proportion  of  a  life  so 
short,  filled  up  with  incapacity  of  mental  action  1  Why  does  not 
the  mind  come  into  being-  strong  and  vigorous,  prepared  to  do  the 
task  assigned  it  ]  Why  is  not  the  heart  prepared  to  put  forth  at 
the  first,  matured  and  powerful  affections  1  Then  the  character 
might  be  formed  at  once,  and  the  man  might  become,  while  in  the 
present  case  he  is  an  infant,  matured  in  piety,  and  far  less  than 
half  the  probation  now  allowed  him,  would  fit  him  to  be  the  en- 
lightened and  useful  associate  of  angels. 

It  is  true,  that  many  things  could  be  said  to  vindicate  the  ways 
of  God  in  all  this,  and  if  not,  it  would  be  easy  to  show,  that  as  lie 
is  wise  and  good,  and  holds  under  his  entire  government  the  be- 
ings he  created,  he  must  have  directed  wisely  all  the  circumstan 
ces  of  our  probation.  Here  the  humble  believer  could  rest  satis- 
fied, and  would  be  content  to  wait  patiently  till  that  day  when  all 
the  appointments  of  heaven  shall  be  freely  vindicated. 

The  text  brings  into  view  a  period  of  life  peculiarly  laborious 
and  sorrowful  :  the  years  beyond  seventy.  This  is  an  age  at 
which  hut  few  arrive,  and  the  few  who  do,  rather  sigh  and  groan 
than  live.  Not  that  every  man  is  happy  precisely  up  to  that  peri- 
od, and  then  miserable  :  this  would  contradict  experience.  Some 
sink  under  the  weight  of  years  before  they  arrive  at  seventy,  while  a 
fvw  others  carry  through  perhaps  another  score  of  years,  all  the 
vigor  of  undecaying  manhood.  Still  should  we,  from  our  own  ob- 
servation, draw  the  line  between  vigorous  and  pleasureable  man- 
hood and  the  haltings  and  gloominess  of  old  age,  we  should  pro- 
bably fix  it  at  three-score  years  and  ten,  where  it  is  already  fixed 
by  the  pen  of  inspiration. 

In  what  follows,  it  will  be  my  object  to  illustrate  the  truth  oi 
the  text,  and  show  that  the  proper  evening  of  life  must  ordinarily  he 
laborious  end  sorrowful.     This  will  follow, 

1.  From  the  ordinary  weaknesses  of  the  body,  in  that  advanced 
period  of  life.  What  our  Lord  said  to  Peter  with  reference  to  his 
crucifixion,  might  apply  to  every  man  :  "Verily,  verily.  I  say  unto 
thee,  when  thou  wast  young  thou  girdest  thyself,  and  walked st 
whither  thou  wouldest:  but  when  thou  shalt  be  old,  thou  shalt 
sit  etch  forth  thy  hands,  and  another  shall  gird  thee,  and  carry 
thee  whither  thou  wouldest  not."     Very  few  are  permitted  to  carry 


G2S  THE    EVENING    OF    LIFE    SORROWFUL. 

with  them  down  into  the  vale  of  years,  the  vigor  of  youth.  The 
muscles  lose  their  elasticity,  the  eye  grows  dim,  the  ear  is  dull  of 
hearing,  and  the  whole  body  bends  toward  the  grave.  How 
gloomy  to  see  the  old  man  leaning  upon  his  staff,  or  advancing 
with  slow  and  cautious  steps,  and  interrupted  by  every  obstacle 
that  used  to  increase  his  speed,  till  at  length  he  seats  himself  to 
rest,  and  pants  as  if  he  had  made  his  dying  effort.  The  grasshop 
per  has  become  a  burden.  The  slumbers  of  the  night  are  inter- 
rupted with  pain,  and  the  least  exertion  brings  on  an  almost  insup- 
portable lassitude.  He  aches  for  the  repose  of  the  grave,  and 
hopes  for  no  alleviation  till  his  body  has  crumbled  into  dust.  He 
seems  to  live  merely  to  sigh,  and  groan,  and  suffer. 

Nor  can  he  fail  to  draw  the  contrast  between  his  present  and 
his  youthful  days.  It  seems  but  yesterday  when  every  power  per- 
formed its  functions  with  agility,  and  when  he  could  see  none 
about  him  who  were  more  active  and  sprightly  than  himself.  Ac- 
tion was  his  enjoyment,  and  when  he  had  toiled,  his  rest  was  long 
and  sweet.  Now  when  he  has  made  his  mightiest  effort  he  is  still 
a  child,  and  trembles  at  the  shaking  of  a  leaf.  He  anticipates  the 
hour  when  he  must  be  thrown,  in  all  his  imploring  helplessness, 
upon  the  support  of  his  offspring. 

2.  That  period  of  life  is  attended  not  only  with  a  weakness  and 
failure  of  the  bodily  powers,  but  with  a  decay  of  the  mental  ener- 
gies. The  mind  that  had  seemed  to  mature  with  the  body,  seems 
now  to  be  verging  with  it  to  the  brink  of  destruction.  The  power 
of  thought,  of  reflection,  of  association,  and  of  reasoning,  the 
power  of  recollection  and  of  memory,  seem  all  to  partake  of  the 
same  weakness  as  do  the  powers  of  the  body.  How  does  it  affect 
our  hearts,  when  an  a<red  and  venerated  father  begins  to  lose  the 
countenances  of  his  children,  forgets  their  names,  repeats  in  their 
hearing  the  same  tale  told  an  hour  since,  and  now  again  rehearsed 
with  all  the  animation  and  interest  of  novelty — when  it  is  seen  that 
the  plainest  matters  of  fact  are  controverted,  and  the  most  sacred 
pledge  of  confidence  unredeemed — when  the  lapse  of  an  hour 
seems  a  year  or  an  age,  and  the  same  friend  is  accosted  many 
times  during  the  same  interview,  as  then  for  the  first  time  recog- 
nised, and  constrained  to  reply  again  and  again  to  the  same  inter- 
rogation, till  the  Kindest  feelings  become  tire  prey  of  fatigue. 

And,  perhaps,  amid  the  whole,  there  is,  to  the  man  himself,  no 
conviction  of  failure  or  decay.  There  is  the  same  entire  confi- 
dence in  (  verv  dictate  of  the  mind,  as  when  it  remained  unim- 
paired in  the   man  of  fifty.     Occasionally,  perhaps,  we  do  see  all 


THE    EVENING    0^    LIFE    SORROWFUL.  02& 

its  former  excellence.  The  mind  makes  one  effort  before  it  re- 
collects its  weakness,  and  there  is  in  that  effort  all  the  vigor  of 
matured  reflection  ;  but  it  sinks  immediately,  and  then  is  wit- 
nessed the  imbecility  of  childhood. 

I  not  long  since  heard  an  aged  minister  of  Christ  address  his 
people,  extempore,  on  the  concerns  of  futurity,  when  there  was  a 
striking  display  of  this  mixture  of  strength  and  weakness.  One 
moment  he  reached  his  point  by  some  strong,  condensed,  and  con- 
vincing argument  ;  at  the  next  he  had  lost  his  strength,  and  was 
weak  as  other  men.  Now  he  softened  down  the  burning  glories 
of  the  Godhead  till  human  eyes  would  gaze  and  live — and  while 
yet  the  figure  was  scarcely  finished,  the  vision  had  fled  ;  he  raised 
his  hand  to  give  the  sentiment  its  proper  emphasis,  but  his  hand 
remained  stationary,  and  the  audience  were  subjected  to  the  pain 
of  carrying  out  the  sentiment  by  their  own  effort,  or  of  seeing 
fled  for  ever  one  of  the  finest  thoughts  that  ever  dropped  upon  them 
from  human  lips.  Now  it  does  not  concern,  in  the  present  inquiry, 
to  decide  whether  the  mind  is  the  subject  of  a  real  decay,  or  whe- 
ther its  failure  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  derangement  of  the  organs 
through  which  it  operates.  There  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  but  that 
it  will  appear  in  all  its  strength  and  stature,  unimpaired  by  age  or 
effort,  when  once  it  shall  be  dislodged  from  its  crumbling  mansion. 
This  will  be  believed  by  all  who  have  confidence  in  its  immortality. 
But  its  apparent  decay  has  at  present  all  the  effect  of  a  reality, 
producing  in  the  mind  of  the  beholder  all  the  pity,  and  brings  upon 
itself  all  the  diffidence,  the  darkness,  and  the  distress  of  a  real 
approximation  toward  extinction. 

3.  The  period  of  which  we  speak  is  of  course  subjected  to  a 
distressing  depression  of  animal  spirits.  When  there  has  come 
upon  the  members  of  the  body  a  prostration  so  total,  and  upon 
the  mind  a  correspondent  imbecility,  it  cannot  well  be  hoped  that 
there  shall  remain  the  same  flow  of  spirits,  the  same  animation 
and  spirit  of  action,  and  enterprise,  as  when  there  was  felt  all  the 
vigor  and  the  impulse  of  youth.  Hence  we  often  see  the  old  man 
gloomy  and  depressed.  Small  as  are  the  remains  of  his  energy, 
mental  or  corporeal,  he  has  not  sufficient  ambition  to  put  in  action 
the  powers  that  he  does  possess.  He  feels  that  he  is  beginning  to 
lose  all  his  consequence  and  all  his  influence.  He  is  listened  to 
with  the  profoundest  respect,  but  when  his  sentiments  are  commu- 
nicated, he  has  the  mortification  to  know,  thai  having  wholly  mis- 
taken the  point,  or  having  faile  I  to  utter  the  thought  which  he  in> 
tended  to  communicate,  or  from  some  other  cause  to  him  inexph 


630  TIIK    EVENING    OF    LIFE    SORROWFUL. 

cable,  there  is  really  no  weight  given  to  his  argument,  and  all  his 
labor  is  lost.  He  now  begins  to  retire  from  a  community  who 
sive,  at  least,  that  they  can  manage  more  wisely  without  him. 
Bui  be  carries  gloom  and  sorrow  into  his  retirement.  The  mind 
that  has  been  active,  and  has  commanded  attention  and  respect, 
cannot,  without  sonic  degree  of  pain,  see  itself  neglected,  and 
sinking  into  comparative  disesteem.  Hence  we  cannot  wonder  if 
we  sec  crossing  the  cheek,  furrowed  with  age,  the  tear  of  melan- 
choly. Every  dutiful  child,  and  every  man  in  youth  and  middle 
age,  who  respects  himself,  will  readily  wipe  away  that  tear.  But 
when  all  is  done  that  filial  affection  and  gratitude  can  do  to  smooth 
the  aged  father's  path  to  the  sepulchre,  still  that  eye,  now  dim 
with  age,  must  weep,  and  that  mind,  which  sees  decaying  every 
orjran  of  its  communication,  must  naturally  shrink  back  upon 
itself,  and  mourn  that  it  must  so  early  become  obsolete.  And  we 
'hall  still  more  strongly  expect  this  operation  of  old  age,  when 
we  reflect, 

4.  That  the  man  who  has  passed  threescore  years  and  ten,  must 
find  himself  deserted  of  almost  all  the  companions  of  his  youth. 
He  has  lived  to  bury  that  whole  generation  who  were  cotemporary 
with  his  boyhood  and  his  youth.  He  has  parted,  perhaps,  with  the 
companion  of  his  bosom,  and  has  been  present  at  the  interment  of 
almost  all  his  mother's  children.  He  seldom  meets  with  one  who 
can  rehearse  with  him  the  scenes  of  his  early  life,  or  feel  any 
sympathy  in  the  story  of  his  pleasures  or  his  escapes.  He  stands 
like  a  tree  which  was  once  in  the  bosom  of  a  forest,  but  now  is 
left  to  feel  the  full  weight  of  every  storm,  while  the  associates  of 
his  youth,  whose  united  energies  would  obtrude  the  blast,  have  all 
perished  ;  and  his  decaying  boughs  too  strongly  indicate  that  he 
must  soon  yield  the  soil  to  a  later  growth,  and  permit  the  winds 
of  heaven  to  pass  unobstructed.  True,  he  is  surrounded  by  his 
children,  and  they  are  dear  to  him,  and  he  to  them.  They  feel 
every  sigh  he  heaves,  and  would,  were  it  in  their  power,  return 
him  to  his  former  enjoyments.  But  they  cannot  restore  to  him 
the  companions  of  his  youth,  they  cannot  relax  the  rigidities,  or 
brace  the  weaknesses  of  a  broken  constitution.  They  can  only 
nurse  him,  and  smile  upon  him,  while  to  him  the  world  seems 
empty,  as  if  some  pestilence  should  prey  upon  its  whole  popula- 
tion, Leaving  only  here  and  there  a  solitary  individual,  or  as  if 
some  earthquake  should  suddenly  hide  from  our  view  every  human 
being  who  had  known  us  or  loved  us. 

It  is  said  that  the  aged,  while  they  have   a  keen  recollection  of 


THE    EVENING    OF    LIFE    SORKOWFUL.  G31 

what  passed  in  their  youth,  remember  with  difficulty  the  scenes 
of  later  life.  The  impressions  which  the  mind  received  while  it 
was  young-  and  tender  remain,  while  the  events  more  recent  are 
lost.  Hence,  break  up  every  early  connection,  associate  with  the 
grave  and  the  dead  all  the  moving  scenes  of  life,  and  you  have 
covered  t lie  aged  man  with  a  cloud,  from  which  he  will  find  it  dif- 
ficult to  emerge,  till  he  goes  to  his  long  home.  Hence,  it  will  na- 
turally he  expected,  that  the  evening  of  life  will  be  lowering  and 
gloomy.  True,  if  the  man  of  eighty  has  loved  the  Lord  Jesus, 
there  still  remains  ui broken  the  tie  that  binds  him  to  his  best 
friend,  and  the  presence  of  God  may  render  him  happy.  1  have 
read  of  an  aged  Simeon,  who  waited  for  the  consolation  of  Israel, 
and  who  was  enabled  to  sing  and  rejoice  on  embracing  the  infant 
Redeemer.  But  even  Simeon,  in  the  midst  of  his  enjoyments, 
chose  rather  to  depart  in  peace,  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  salvation 
in  some  better  world. 

5.  There  must  accompany  that  period  of  life  of  which  we  speak, 
in  spite  of  every  effort  to  efface  it,  the  strong  impression  that 
every  step  is  upon  the  margin  of  the  grave.  Occasionally,  per- 
haps, the  few  months  that  remain  may  seem  to  the  aged  man  like 
a  thousand  years,  but  his  habitual  conviction  must  be  that  his  race 
is  almost  run.  The  ties  that  have  bound  him  to  life  are  fast  break- 
ing. Every  pang  he  feels  reminds  him  that  his  grave  will  soon  be 
ready.  So  tardy  flows  the  stream  of  life  as  to  assure  him  that 
soon  the  heart  will  beat  no  longer. 

Hence,  should  he  think  of  forming  new  relationships,  he  could 
hardly  hope  that  they  would  exist  till  they  should  become  consoli- 
dated. If  he  make  any  new  attempts  to  increase  his  wealth,  he 
but  toils  for  another,  and  so  becomes  a  slave.  Would  he  improve  his 
mind,  he  finds  it  not  susceptible  of  new  impressions,  and  the  toil 
wears  him  out  the  sooner.  Thus  is  he  impeded  in  every  effort  by 
the  abiding  conviction,  that  already  his  days  are  nearly  numbered. 

REMAKES. 

How  indispensable  that  the  aged  have  the  supports  of  piety. 
Else  that  period  of  life  must  find  its  miseries  tenfolded.  The  gray 
headed  unbeliever  has  no  view  that  is  pleasant.  When  he  looks 
backs  he  ^ees  nothing  but  a  dreary  waste  of  sin  and  death.  No 
i\vsA  of  his  past  life,  no  affection  or  motive  will  bear  a  serious  re- 
view ;  hence  lie  is  afraid  to  reflect.  When  he  looks  within,  ho 
sees  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  matured  by  a  long  and  obstinate  con- 
flict with  God,  for   a   dreary   and   fearful  abode   in  the  pit.     cVnd 


G32  THE    EVENING    OF    LIFE    SORROWFUL. 

when  lie  anticipates  the  judgment,  he  has  no  solid  ground  to  hope 
that  it  shall  not  consummate  his  present  wretchedness.  Thus  is 
added  to  all  the  gloom  induced  by  age,  infirmity,  and  crime,  the 
apprehended  horrors  of  the  second  death. 

But  when  gray  hairs  are  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness, 
when  the  man  advanced  in  years  is  also  advanced  in  grace,  there 
is  before  the  eye  of  the  mind  one  prospect  bright  and  luminous 
He  may  sigh  under  his  growing  infirmities,  may  realize  the  tem- 
porary decay  of  his  mind,  may  feel  the  loss  of  his  friends,  may 
mourn  his  loneliness,  and  expect  soon  his  departure,  but  may  look 
forward  with  pleasure  to  the  scenes  of  a  better  life.  Then  his 
youth  will  be  renewed  as  the  eagle's,  his  mind  will  regain  its  vigor, 
he  will  meet  again  many  of  the  companions  of  his  youth,  every 
cloud  that  hung  over  him  will  have  fled,  and  death  be  swallowed 
up  in  victory.  Now  he  can  wait  patiently  all  the  days  of  his  ap- 
pointed time  till  his  change  come  ;  till  he  come  to  the  grave  in 
peace  as  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe. 

One  word  to  those  who  have  approached  this  gloomy  period  of 
life  unsanctified.  Perhaps  the  infirmities  of  age  may  have  brought 
upon  the  mind  a  stupidity  which  will  forbid  you  to  own  this  char- 
acter. But  this  will  not  alter  the  reality.  If  you  are  unsanctified, 
the  fact  is  known  to  him  who  in  a  few  days  will  judge  you.  Why 
not  make  one  more  effort  to  escape  from  the  miseries  of  the  second 
death.  You  have  sometimes  known  a  dying  effort  to  prove  suc- 
cessful. Despair  has  sometimes  inspired  the  onset  that  has  saved 
a  besieged  army.  One  has  achieved,  to  save  his  life,  or  rescue  his 
family,  what  had  not  been  possible  in  ordinary  circumstances.  You 
may  have  known  the  case  where  a  father,  to  save  his  chil  !,  has 
forced  his  way  through  volumes  of  fire,  not  to  be  endured  but  in 
just  such  an  emergency,  yet  accomplished  his  object  and  lived. 
Just  such  an  effort  you  should  make  to  escape  from  the  wrath  to 
come.  What  if  you  do  feel  the  weaknesses  of  old  age  1  if  the 
soul  is  not  safe,  make  it  safe,  or  die  in  the  agonies  of  a  desperate 
attempt.  Think  not,  my  father,  that  this  subject  may  be  dismissed, 
because  you  have  neglected  the  season  in  which  it  should  have 
been  attended  to.  To  dismiss  it  will  cost  you  your  soul.  It  may 
be  a  late  hour  to  attend  to  it,  but  it  must  have  your  attention.  "  It 
i-  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God."  Were 
you  on  your  death  bed,  and  had  done  nothing,  we  should  urge  upon 
you  the  possibility  of  making  your  escape,  even  then.  But  you 
are  yet,  perhaps,  in  the  enjoyment  of  ordinary  health.  We  wish 
you  toe   well,  to  he  willing  that  the  miseries  of  old  should  at  hngth 


THE    EVENING    OF    LIFE    SORROWFUL.  633 

terminate  in  perdition.  Heaven  yet  offers  you  salvation,  and  if 
you  will  but  terminate  the  quarrel  with  your  Maker,  and  believe 
on  bis  Son,  you  shall  live.  Is  it  not  worth  an  effort  \  I  ur  re  it, 
because  you  must  so  soon  put  on  the  shroud  and  lie  down  in  the 
grave — that  what  is  done  must  be  done  now,  or  you  are  for  ever 
undone. 

I  must  not  conclude,  till  I  have  addressed  those  of  the  aged  who 
have  a  good  hope  through  grace,  that  with  them  the  great  work 
of  life  has  been  attended  to.  Still,  fathers,  you  may  not  presume 
that  you  have  no  more  to  do.  I  presume  you  are  conscious  that 
you  have  not  been  very  profitable  servants.  If  you  hope  that 
your  trials  are  almost  over,  and  that  you  shall  soon  be  glorified, 
your  industry  should  be  greatly  increased.  A  pilgrim  that  has  al- 
most reached  his  home,  will  sometimes  make  a  longer  journey  the 
last  day  than  on  any  other.  A  miserable  world  should  have  your 
dying  blessing.  You  may  "yet  let  your  light  shine  before  men, 
that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  in 
heaven."  Perhaps  some  effort  at  faithfulness  might  yet  render 
you  the  instrument  of  salvation  to  some  perishing  sinner.  You 
can  yet  do  much  for  the  perishing  heathen,  and  you  can  offer  many 
prayers  for  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  You 
must  not  be  willing  to  escape  to  heaven  and  leave  the  world  as 
miserable  as  it  may  be,  but  as  holy  and  happy  as  you  can  render  it 

An  increased  activity  is,  of  all  others,  the  best  means  of  render 
ing  the  evening  of  life  happy.  A  sentinel  may  not  leave  his  post 
till  his  watch  is  out.  Not  one  of  you  will  remain  here  longer  than 
God  has  employment  for  you.  And  the  hope  of  heaven,  so  soon, 
should  beget  in  you  the  energy  of  a  young  believer.  Should  the  sol- 
dier know,  that  when  he  has  fought  another  battle,  he  is  to  go  home 
and  receive  the  honors  of  his  king,  think  you  that  he  would  nut 
try  to  do  himself  honor  in  that  last  conflict  1  Would  you  not  trem- 
ble for  that  section  of  the  opposing  army  "who  presented  them- 
selves before  the  point  of  his  sword  1  And  why  should  not  the  be 
liever,  of  three  score  years  and  ten,  who  is  to  be  so  soon  in  hea- 
ven, summon  up  all  his  strength,  and  put  in  requisition  all  his  wis- 
dom,  that  by  one  decided  and  mighty  effort,  he  may  spread  as  wide 
a  ruin  as  possible,  in  the  ranks  of  the  prince  of  darkness  1  One 
yen-  spent  in  making  such  an  effort,  and  how  pleasantly  could  he 
die.  He  would  thus  stimulate  those  who  should  continue  in  l he 
work  after  his  departure,  and  who  can  doubt  but  in  that  case  his 
track  to  the  grave  would  be  the  more  luminous,  and  his  passage 
through  the   valley  md  re  pleasant  \ 


SERMON  LV. 

HEAVEN'S  CURE  1'OK  THE  PLAGUES  Ob   SIN. 

eomans  xni.  8. 
Owe  no  man  any  tiling,  but  to  love  one  another. 

Sin  has  made  this  a  miserable  world.  It  has  bred  a  host  of  un- 
hallowed passions,  which  perpetually  operate  to  widen  the  wastes 
and  aggravate  the  miseries  of  the  curse.  One  who  was  a  stranger 
to  these  passions,  and  should  see  how  they  operate,  would  wonder 
if  men  were  happy  in  proportion  as  they  rendered  each  other 
miserable  !  — if  their  only  remaining  joy  consisted  in  laying  waste 
the  inheritance  of  their  neighbors.  Else  why  with  so  much  in- 
dustry and  perseverance,  do  they  endeavor  to  wrest  from  others 
their  wealth,  their  good  name,  their  influence,  their  quiet  and  their 
hope.  And  yet  the  inference  drawn  from  all  this  would  be  incor- 
rect. Men  are  not  happy  in  rendering  others  less  so.  They  may 
gratify  malignant  passions,  but  this  gratification  is  not  happiness  ; 
it  but  stimulates  the  plague  that  reigns  in  the  bosom,  and  gives  it 
an  increased  ability  to  destroy  ;  it  but  feeds  the  fever  that  rages 
afterward  with  the  more  violence,  produces  inward  distress,  and 
preys  upon  the  soul  with  a  more  unsatiable  and  incontrollable  se- 
verity. Follow  home  the  man  who  has  been  out  to  injure  his 
neighbor,  who  carries  home  with  him  a  shilling  that  is  not  his 
own,  or  the  consciousness  that  he  has  made  any  inroads  upon 
happiness  or  character,  and  as  you  live  you  find  that  man  unhappy. 
He  brings  into  his  own  family  the  passions  that  raged  abroad,  and 
'.he  bed  thai  should  give  him  rest,  is  a  bed  of  thorns.  He  has 
obeyed  the  dictates  of  his  own  evil  heart,  but  he  now  must  listen 
to  the  reproaches  of  a  wounded  conscience.  He  is  constrained 
to  know  that  he  has  done  wrong;  and  is- strongly  apprehensive 
of  are-action  that  will  render  his  own  territory  in  its  turn  the 
=^eat  of  a  similar  warfare. 

Tlie  text  enjoins  a  temper  and  a  conduct  by  which  men  might 
r«  uder  each  other  happy,  nii'jlit  convert  this  desert  into  the  garden 
nr  God,  and  make  our  passage  through  it  gay  and  cheerful.  The 
apostle  had  treated  of  the  honor,  the  affection,  and  the  duty  which 


heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin.  G35 

men  owe  to  their  superiors,  and  proceeds  in  the  text  to  lay  down 
rules  that  apply  generally  to  all  men  ;  rules  which,  if  observed, 
would  tend  oreatly  to  meliorate  the  condition  of  the  apostacy. 
We  are  to  pay  every  debt  but  love.  This  we  are  to  feei  that  we 
are  to  be  always  paying,  but  must  ever  owe.  This  is  a  debt  that 
we  are  to  be  willing  to  owe  to  all  men  for  ever.  To  this  we  are 
to  be  urged  by  the  consideration  that  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law  ;  by  which  the  apostle  means,  no  doubt,  tne  second  table  of 
the  law.  Hence  he  enumerates  some  particulars  of  that  section 
of  the  decalogue:  "Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery;  thou  shall 
not  kill ;  thou  shalt  not  steal  ;  thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  5 
thou  shalt  not  covet;"  and,  that  no  part  might  remain  unsaid,  he 
adds,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  He  then  sums 
up  the  argument,  "  Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor,  therefore 
love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law." 

I  shall  endeavor  to  explain  the  nature  of  love,  show  how  it  will 
operate,  and  press  the  duty,  but  shall  dwell  particularly  upon  the  last 
article. 

I.  1  am  to  explain  the  nature  of  love.  There  are  fwo  kinds  of 
affection  that  have  this  title.  One  is  an  approbation  and  affection 
for  a  character  that  pleases  us;  the  other  is  an  ardent  good-will 
toward  beings  capable  of  happiness.  Both  of  these  affections  are 
exercises  of  the  Divine  mind.  God  views  all  holy  beings  with 
approbation,  and  loves  them  in  the  first  sense  mentioned.  Sinners 
he  views  with  disapprobation,  but  still  with  compassion.  Hence 
it  is  said  that  he  is  angry  with  the  wicked  every  day  ;  that  is,  he 
hates  their  character  and  conduct.  And  yet  it  is  said,  that  he  "so 
loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son.  that  whoso- 
ever believeth  in  him,  might  have  everlasting  life."  One  of  these 
affections,  that  with  which  he  views  holy  beings,  is  termed  com 
placency  ;  God  is  pleased  with  them.  The  other,  that  which  he 
exercises  toward  wicked  beings,  who  are  capable  of  being  happy,  is 
termed  benevolence  ;  God  wishes  them  happiness.  And  both  of 
these  a  (lections  are  enjoined  upon  man.  God  and  angels,  and  all 
holy  beings,  we  are  obligated  to  look  upon  with  complacency,  and 
towards  all  men  we  are  bound  to  exercise  good-will  ;  this  is  the 
affection  enjoined  in  the  text.  It  is  our  duty  to  feel  kindly  to- 
wards all  men,  to  wish  them  happy,  and,  as  far  as  in  our  power, 
accomplish  our  wishes.  It  may  be  well  to  say,  however,  that, 
there  is  one  exception.  There  are  beings  whom  God  has  con- 
demned to   everlasting   unhappiness.     In   this  case,  we    may  not 


G36  heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin. 

wish  to  reverse  the  appointment  of  God,  and  snatch  from  misery 
those  whose  release  would  be  inconsistent  with  the  general  good. 
We  may  wish  well  to  all  men,  and  still  be  willing  to  see  the  con- 
vict imprisoned  and  executed.  This  the  good  of  the  civil  com- 
munity demands,  and  this  benevolence  assents  to,  nay,  even 
requires.  He  who  would  suffer  the  murderer  or  the  incendiary 
to  go  at  larsre,  would  find  it  difficult  to  evince  his  benevolence. 
And  God  may  be  good  to  all,  and  his  tender  mercies  over  all  his 
works,  and  still  there  may  be  some  whom  his  benevolence  may 
never  render  happy.  There  may  go  after  the  wretch  whom  the 
general  good  requires  should  suffer,  a  lingering  look  of  compas- 
sion ;  there  may  follow  him  into  his  exile  and  his  ruin  the  good- 
will that  would  have  made  him  happy;  but  there  may  be  felt 
towards  other  beings  an  affection  so  strong  as  to  prevent  it  from 
being  exercised. 

This  exception,  then,  plainly,  understood,  benevolence,  as  en- 
joined in  the  text,  is  a  high  regard  to  the  well-being  of  all  crea- 
tures who  are  capable  of  being  made  happy.  1  was  to  inquire,  in 
the 

II.  Place,  How  this  affection  will  operate.  Here  the  path  of  our 
thoughts  is  plain.  Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor.  It  will 
neither  kill,  nor  steal,  nor  covet,  nor  defraud,  nor  witness  falsely. 
It  will  lead  to  the  discharge  of  every  debt  but  one,  and  that  one 
the  debt  of  love ;  it  will  delight  to  owe  and  pay,  and  still  owe  for 
ever.  Those  whom  we  love  we  wish  happy  ;  and  in  proportion  to 
the  strength  of  that  affection,  will  be  the  energy  exerted  to  accom- 
plish that  object.  If  to  be  calm  and  content  will  render  them  hap- 
py, we  shall  be  reluctant  to  ruffle  their  temper  or  move  their  envy. 
If  to  be  rich,  and  respected,  and  wise,  will  make  them  happy,  we 
shall  wish  their  success  in  business,  their  increased  respectability, 
and  their  advance  in  knowledge.  If  health,  and  ease,  and  long 
life,  and  domestic  friendship,  will  add  to  their  enjoyments,  we  shall 
wish  them  all  these  ;  and  what  we  wish  for  them,  we  shall  be  will- 
ing, if  in  our  power,  to  do  for  them.  Rut  if  only  the  grace  of  God 
can  make  them  blessed  ;  it  will  be  our  strongest  wish,  and  our 
most  ardent  prayer,  that  God  would  sanctify  them.  Hence  the 
reason  why  God's  people  expend  the  strongest  efforts  of  their 
[rood-will  to  their  fellow-men  in  rendering  them  holy.  Hence  the 
warnings,  the  reproofs,  the  threatening,  the  admonitions  of  God 
toward  a  world  he  loves  ;  and  hence  something  of  the  same  in  his 
people  toward  those  for  whom  they  feel  the  highest  good-will.      L 


heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin.  637 

am  ready  to  concede  that  the  benevolence  I  describe  does  not  ex- 
ist but  in  the  heart  that  is  holy;  and  still  it  may  be  urged  upon  all 
men,  as  their  duty,  that  conduct,  the  want  of  which  is  their  blot 
and  their  shame.  What  pleasure  have  we  in  contemplating  the 
character  of  that  man  who  does  not  wish  the  good  of  his  feJ low- 
men ;  but  can  see  about  him  percipient  beings  like  himself,  whom 
he  is  willing  should  be  less  blessed  than  they  might  be  1  And  yet, 
if  we  should  judge  from  facts,  we  should  be  constrained  to  say 
that  this  character  is  common.  He  who  would  have  what  is  not 
his  due,  what  is  it  but  a  wish  expressed,  that  his  neighbor  should 
be  poorer  than  God  has  made  him  1  He  who  would  unnecessarily 
speak  evil  of  his  neighbor,  does  he  not  express  a  wish  that  his 
neighbor  had  a  worse  character  than  the  providence  of  God  has 
given  him  1  And  he  who  would  irritate  and  provoke  another, 
what  wish  does  he  express  but  this,  that  his  neighbor  might  be  less 
happy  1      I  proceed 

III.  To  press  the  duty  of  benevolence.  And  here  I  would  pre- 
mise that  the  good-will  which  I  urge  is  to  be  exercised  toward 
friend  and  foe.  The  good  which  real  benevolence  wishes  its  ob- 
ject, is  of  the  same  value  in  the  possession  of  one  man  as  of 
another.  Benevolence  looks  abroad  to  find  happiness,  and  wher- 
ever it  can  be  found  rejoices  in  it ;  or  goes  in  search  of  misery, 
and  wherever  it  is  found,  aims  to  convert  it  into  joy.  It  is  a  pure 
and  disinterested  affection,  hence  is  the  offspring  of  a  heavenly 
temper.     I  would  urge  it  upon  myself  and  my  fellow-men, 

1.  By  the  example  of  God.  I  have  already  noticed  that  text  in 
which  he  is  said  so  to  have  loved  the  world,  "  that  he  gave  his 
only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him,  might  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  God  is  said  to  be  good  to  all, 
and  his  tender  mercies  are  said  to  be  over  all  his  works.  Even  to 
the  heathen  world  "God  did  not  leave  himself  without  a  witness, 
in  that  he  did  good,  and  gave  them  rain  from  heaven,  and  fruitful 
seasons,  filling  their  hearts  with  food  and  gladness."  "  He  ma- 
kelh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain 
on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust."  Thus  God  employs  himself  in 
making  a  world  of  sinners  happy.  How  constant  and  how  varied 
are  the  operations  of  the  Divine  benevolence.  Life  and  health, 
and  food  and  raiment  are  his  gifts,  and  are  bestowed  on  his  friends 
and  his  foes.  No  man  is  so  impious  but  God  continues  to  water 
his  fields,  and  give  health  and  fruitfulness  to  his  flocks  ;  surrounds 
him  with  friends  and   helpers,  replenishes    his   table,  and    (ills  his 


G3i  heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin. 

cup,  his  store-houses  and  his  barns  ;  keeps  all  his  bones  that  none 
of  them  are  broken,  and  perpetually  supplies  him  with  countless 
sources  of  comfort.  There  is  no  year,  no  day,  no  hour,  when  his 
hand  is  not  stretched  out  to  convey  benefits  to  every  house  about 
you  and  to  every  being,  however  regardless  of  His  agency,  and 
however  ungrateful. 

Now  the  text,  and  the  whole  Bible,  just  urges  upon  every  man 
this  same  expanded  benevolence.  You  are  required  to  be  a  work- 
er together  with  God.  If  many  around  you  are  your  enemies,  and 
you  would  urge  this  as  an  excuse  for  neglecting  to  do  them  good, 
you  arc  to  remember  that  God  does  not  act  thus.  The  very  man 
that  you  hate  the  most,  is,  it  may  be,  the  enemy  of  God  ;  but  God 
continues  to  do  him  good  every  moment;  never  neglects  to  cause 
his  heart  to  beat  and  his  lungs  to  heave  ;  watches  him  at  night,  and 
in  the  morning  wakes  him,  feeds  him,  clothes  him.  And  perhaps 
you  are  as  much  the  enemy  of  God  as  the  man  you  hate,  but  God 
is  good  to  you.  When  you  plough  your  field  and  scatter  your 
seed,  you  expect  him  to  make  it  vegetate  ;  and  when  you  have 
sent  out  your  ships,  he  sends  the  generous  and  friendly  gale. 
Then  why  not  imitate  an  example  so  infinitely  illustrious  1  If  there 
is  not  a  foe  you  have,  but  Clod  is  doing  him  kindnesses  every  day, 
and  he  is  perhaps  as  much,  nay  more,  the  foe  of  God,  why  not  go 
and  do  likewise?  It  would  not  injure  you;  it  would  not  disgrace 
you.  If  it  would  render  you  unhappy  to  do  what  would  render 
your  enemies  happy,  then  know  that  you  have  not  a  godly  temper, 
that  you  have  not  the  benevolence  which  the  gospel  requires. 
God  is  happy  while  he  makes  glad  his  enemies.  It  gratifies  the 
benevolence  of  his  heart,  if  they  rejoice.  But  you  would  carry, 
it  seems,  if  you  could,  sorrow  and  vexation  to  every  house  where 
you  have  not  a  friend  ;  you  would  measure  their  worthiness  by 
their  attachment  to  you,  and  your  benefits  by  their  worthiness. 
But  God  has  pleasure  in  doing  good,  if  from  the  heart  that  he 
make  glad  there  never  rises  any  incense  of  praise  or  one  note  of 
gratitude.  He  is  pleased  when  men  are  sensible  of  his  benefits, 
and  when  they  love  to  praise  him,  but  it  gives  him  joy  to  do  good, 
abstractly  from  any  return  that  creatures  make.  Now  we  can 
meet  with  no  case  more  forbidding  than  God  meets  with.  There 
are  some  into  whose  bosoms  God  has  poured  his  blessings  these 
seventy  years,  and  there  has  never  yet  been  awakened  one  senti- 
ment of  gratitude.  There  has  risen  to  his  throne  every  hour  the 
murmurings,  the  repinings,  the  complaints,  and  the  spleen  of  an 
impious  heart  ■   and,  perhaps  daily,    the    vibrations   of   profane  and 


heaven's  CURE  for   the    plagues  of  sin.  639 

lying  lips.  Yet  all  this  never  inducer!  the  Lord  to  leave  his  field;? 
one  year  unwatered,  or  leave  him  one  day  without  light,  and  food 
and  reason.  Who  is  there,  then,  that  can  have  a  foe  so  inveter- 
ate that  lie  is  not  under  obligation,  if  in  his  power,  to  do  him 
good  I  If  then  we  find  ourselves,  instead  of  exercising  such  a 
spirit,  engaged  in  injuring  a  fellow-creature,  we  have  only  to  re- 
collect how  differently  God  is  doing  at  the  same  moment.  We 
are  wronging  him,  and  God  is  feeding  him  ;  we  are  defaming  him, 
and  endeavoring  to  diminish  his  influence,  and  God  is  giving  him 
health,  and  wealth,  and  friends.  Now  one  is  thus  placed  in  a  very 
unpleasant  attitude.  Suppose  Jehovah  visible  ;  he  and  you  meet 
at  y'»ur  neighbor's  door  ;  you  have  come  to  ruin  him,  but  God  has 
come  to  bring  him  blessings,  lie  is  your  enemy,  and  he  is  God's 
enemy.  He  has  onre  injured  you  ;  God  he  has  wronged  and  abus- 
ed every  day  he  has  lived.  And  when  the  Lord  has  supplied  his 
wants,  he  comes  to  your  door  and  supplies  yours,  and  you  perhaps 
have  been  as  base  a  rebel  as  your  neighbor.  Now,  although  God 
is  not  seen  by  the  eye  of  sense,  the  fact  is  not  altered  ;  his  benev- 
olence leads  him  all  this  length.  He  bestows  blessings  every 
hour  upon  the  man  who  would  injure  ;  supplies  the  wants  that  you 
create,  heals  the  wounds  you  inflict,  and  repairs  tin;  reputation 
you  destroy.  0,  let  shame  cover  us  !  and  let  the  benevolence  of 
God  teach  us  to  drop  our  blessings  on  all  men,  at  all  times,  if  they 
are  within  our  reach,  and  we  have  any  good  to  bestow. 

2.  We  are  uro-ed  to  the  same  duty  by  the  command  of  God. 
God  does  not  exhibit  his  example  before  us,  and  leave  it  to  our 
option  whether  we  will  do  like  him.  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself."  'Phis  is  the  law,  precisely,  by  which  heaven  has 
bound  us.  Whatsoever,  then,  we  would  that  others  should  do  to 
us,  we  are  to  do  the  same  to  them.  The  command  is,  "  That  we 
love  our  enemies,  hless  them  that  curse  us,  do  good  to  them  that 
hate  us,  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  us,  and  persecute 
us."  It  is  enjoined,  "that  we  iovc  one  another  with  a  pure  heart, 
fervently."  "That  we  honor  all  men."  "That  we  he  pitiful  and 
courteous."  "That  we  submit  ourselves  to  one  anoth>  r,"  and  be 
clothed  with  humility.  "  He  that  would  be  ^reat  must  become  a 
servant."  "  We  are  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace."  "  Nothing  is  to  be  done  through  vain-glory,  hut  each,  in 
lowliness  of  mind,  esteem  other  better  than  themselves."  "Every 
mill  is  to  look'  not  on  his  own  things,  hut  every  man  also  on  the 
things  of  others,"  that  thus  the  "same  mind  may  he  in  us  which 
was  also   in   Christ   Jesus."      "  We  are    to   follow  after  the  things 


G10  heaven's  cure  FOR  the  plagues  of  sin. 

that  make  for  peace,  and  things  whereby  one  may  edify  another." 
We  are  to  have  that  "  love  that  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor." 
\Ve  are  to  "  love  not  in  word,  neither  in  tongue,  but  in  deed  and 
in  truth."  God  urges  that  we  should  love  one  another  by  the  con- 
sideration, that  he  so  loved  us,  that  he  sent  his  Son  to  be  a  propi- 
tiation for  our  sins.  Thus  are  we  taught  of  God  to  love  one 
another. 

And  the  Scriptures  teach  us  what  the  effect  of  this  love  will  be. 
it  will  lead  to  an  affectionate  deportment,  and  a  readiness  to  serve 
each  other.  It  begets  a  spirit  of  forbearance,  of  truth,  of  unanimi- 
ty, of  self-denial ,  of  meekness,  and  forgiveness.  It  "rejoiceth  not  in 
iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth."  It  "  beareth  all  things,  be- 
lieveth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  endureth  all  things."  Thus  do 
we  ?ee  a  few  of  the  outlines  of  the  code  of  love.  Thus  the  Divine 
authority  binds  us  to  the  exercise  of  that  same  benevolence  which 
God  displays  in  his  own  providence  toward  all  men.  Hence  our  ob- 
ligations to  be  benevolent  will  bear,  in  our  view,  an  exact  propor 
tion  to  our  respect  for  the  authority  of  God:  if  the  latter  be 
supreme,  so  will  the  former. 

3.  Benevolence  affords  its  possessor  a  permanent  and  high  enjoy- 
ment. It  is,  in  its  nature,  a  sweet  and  calm  affection,  has  its  origin 
in  heaven,  and  exerts  a  sanctifying  influence  upon  every  other 
exercise  of  the  soul.  It  is  an  affection  which  we  can  contemplate 
with  pleasure,  and  view  with  complacency.  If  I  know  that  I  love 
my  fellow-men,  I  am  conscious  that  I  feel  as  God  does,  and  as  he 
commands  me  to  feel.  I  see,  in  that  case,  the  image  of  my  Crea- 
tor in  my  heart.  Hence  it  begets  joy  and  hope.  I  believe,  then, 
that  God  has  wrought  in  me,  by  his  Spirit,  has  left  upon  the  heart 
his  own  impress,  and  will  one  day  make  me  wholly  like  him,  and 
take  me  to  himself. 

But  this  is  not  all :  a  benevolent  heart  makes  all  the  happiness 
it  sees  its  own,  and  thus  widens,  indefinitely,  the  sphere  of  its 
enjoyment.  It  has  a  real  pleasure  in  another's  joy,  and  still  does 
not  diminish  the  good  on  which  it  feeds  and  thrives.  If  there  is 
harmony  in  the  civil  community,  or  domestic  quiet  in  any  house, 
or  joy  in  any  heart,  or  peace  in  any  conscience,  the  benevolent 
man  enjoys  it  all,  and  makes  il  all  his  own.  The  whole  aggregate 
cf  enjoyment  about  him  becomes  appropriated  to  himself;  if  any 
are  happy,  he  is.  The  man  of  tavte  will  enjoy  what  is  the  property 
of  a  neighbor.  If  he  can  see,  within  another's  enclosures,  a  ver- 
dant spot,  a  lawn,  an  orchard,  or  a  grove,  his  eye  extracts  from  it 
a  pleasure,  which    no   nower   can    prevent,  which  no  barriers  can 


heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin.  (51] 

defend.  Tt  is  his  right,  for  no  one  suffers  by  his  enjoyment — no 
one  is  made  the  poorer  by  his  claim,  or  suffers  to  serve  him.  So 
the  man  of  real  benevolence  gathers  into  h's  own  heart  the  joy  that 
elates  the  hearts  of  others,  and  into  his  own  home,  the  quiet,  the 
good-will,  the  condescension,  the  harmony,  and  the  hope,  that 
prevail  in  the  home  of  his  neighbor. 

Let  there  be  enjoyment  any  where  about  him,  and  it  increases 
his  own.  Hence  he  is  the  only  man  who  can  beguile  the  miseries 
of  human  life,  and  rob  the  old  serpent  of  his  sting.  Nothing  can 
make  him  miserable,  if  there  is  happiness  any  where.  Rob  him 
of  his  comforts,  and,  in  an  hour,  he  can  go  and  gather  more.  So 
the  bee,  if  you  take  away  the  bread  he  has  brought  home,  can  hie 
him  away  to  some  opening  flower,  and  gather  a  new  supply. 
Hence,  in  the  dark  hour,  when  all  others  are  wretched,  the  man 
of  real  benevolence  can  be  happy. 

The  soul  that's  filled  with  virtue's  light, 
Shines  brightest  in  affliction's  night, 
And  sees,  in  darkness,  beams  of  hope. 

But  you  tell  me,  that  philanthropy,  in  a  world  so  miserable  as 
this  is,  is  likely  to  create  more  misery  than  joy.  In  every  look 
we  take  athwart  its  wastes,  there  strike  the  eye  ten  objects,  pol- 
luted,  deformed,  and  miserable,  where  there  is  one  of  order,  joy,  and 
beauty.  Hence  it  would  seem,  that  the  man  of  kindest  feelings, 
musl  he  the  greatest  sufferer,  whilst  the  callous  and  the  cold,  who 
are  unmoved  by  human  misery,  and  have  no  tears  for  another's 
wo,  have  the  greatest  share  of  enjoyment.  All  this  seems  rational, 
but  is  not  true.  Benevolence  is  an  affection,  which  carries  its 
own  reward  with  it,  and  must  render  the  heart  happy  that  puts  it 
forth,  were  there  nothing  about  it  but  misery.  It  finds  a  kind  of 
relief  in  its  own  tears,  and  if  all  the  objects  on  which  it  can  fasten 
a  look  of  sympathy  must  remain  unhappy,  it  can  gather  to  itself 
enjoyment  from  the  sympathy  it  feels. 

But  the  benevolent  heart  is  not  driven  to  this  alternative.  This 
world  is  not  wholly  filled  with  misery.  There  may  be  a  dreary 
spot  just  here;  a  dearth  of  piety,  the  absence  of  all  holiness,  and 
the  presence  of  stormy  passions;  but  beyond  this  scene,  there  is 
fertility  and  life.  God  there  appears  in  his  glory,  men  arc  sancti- 
fied,  and  are  made  happy,  ami  there  is  joy  and  gladness.  The 
benevolent  Howard  spenl  much  of  his  life  in  the  prison,  hut  he  was 
comforted  to  know  that  this  world  was  not  all  a  prison.  lie  car- 
ried with   him  into  the    recesses  ami  the  infection   of  the  du;;_ 


G42  heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin. 

the  recollection,  that  the  sufferers  about  him  were  not  the  whole 
of  this  world's  population.  There  were  those  at  a  little  remove 
from  him,  who  did  not  wear  a  chain,  nor  want  for  bread,  nor  sigh 
for  liberty.  There  were  dwellings  into  which  the  light  of  heaven 
might  shine,  where  reigned  health,  affection,  and  joy.  Upon  these, 
when  he  could  look  at  misery  no  longer,  he  could  cast  his  eye  and 
find  relief.  So  the  man  in  this  age,  or  in  any  age,  whose  heart 
expands  with  benevolence,  but  who  may  chance  to  see  misery  all 
around  him,  lias  only  to  widen  the  circumference  of  his  vision, 
and  it  embraces  objects  that  can  give  him  joy.  If  the  case  require 
he  can  look  beyond  this  world  to  heaven.  There  every  object 
will  gratify  the  benevolence  of  his  heart.  All  its  inhabitants  are 
holy  and  happy,  beyond  what  hath  entered  into  the  heart  of  man 
to  conceive.  There  is  not  one  object  in  all  its  happy  realms,  on 
which,  while  the  benevolent  heart  lingers,  it  feels  not  the  most 
exquisite  delight.  Thus  the  good  man,  if  the  misery  about  him 
o-ives  him  pain  which  he  can  hardly  endure,  having  that  faith  which 
(rives  him  the  power  of  flight,  ca~n  wing  himself  to  some  happier 
clime,  and  inhale  refreshment  from  scenes  more  adapted  to  his 
taste. 

And  there  is  one  other  thought  from  which  we  discern,  clearly, 
the  advantage  of  the  benevolent  man  above  all  others,  notwith- 
standing the  pain  he  endures  at  the  sight  of  misery.  The  heart 
that  is  not  benevolent,  is,  of  course,  the  seat  of  passions  far  more 
corroding  and  painful  than  the  keenest  sympathy.  Pride,  and 
envy,  and  ambition,  and  covetousness,  with  other  kindred  tor- 
mentors, hold  the  entire  ascendancy,  where  the  heart  has  not  been 
melted  into  love.  And  who  that  has  been  the  prey  of  these  de- 
vourcrs,  and  has  any  conviction  of  their  power  to  destroy,  would 
not  rather  feel  a  philanthropy  so  pure,  and  be  surrounded  with 
miseries  so  multiplied  as  to  keep  the  heart  bleeding  with  sympa- 
thy, rather  than  be  committed  to  their  merciless  and  arbitrary 
supremacy  1  He  who  looks  upon  poverty,  and  famine,  and  naked- 
ness,  in  their  most  appalling  attitude,  and  would  give  relief  but 
cannot,  must  indeed  suffer  intensely  ;  but  still  he  enjoys  a  heaven, 
compared  with  him  who  sees  others  too  happy,  and  envies  them. 
The  one  in  the  midst  of  all  his  tears,  can  be  tranquil  a1  d  submis- 
while  in  the  bosom  of  the  other  there  burns  a  fire  that  con- 
sumes  him.  Howard  found  his  joy  diminished,  because  he  looked 
upon  plagues  which  he  had  not  the  power  and  the  skill  to  cure  ; 
but  compare  the  state  of  his  mind,  with  his  who  has  coveted,  but 


heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin.  643 

cannot  possess  the  enjoyments  of  others,  and,  as  you  live,  the  one 
savors  of  he&7cn,  and  the  other  of  hell. 

If  the  objection  had  any  weight,  it  would  prove  that  God 
must  be  unhappy.  His  benevolence  is  infinite,  and  there  lies, 
under  his  full  inspection,  the  whole  aggregate  of  pollution  and 
misery  that  have  found  their  way  into  his  dominions.  Even 
hell  lias  no  covering.  He  sees  alll  the  anguish  and  despair,  hears 
every  groan  and  sigh  that  escapes  the  lips  of  the  lost.  Still  God 
is  infinitely  happy,  and  will  be  when  every  incorrigible  rebel  shall 
have  made  his  bed  in  the  pit,  and  the  smoke  of  their  torment  as- 
cendeth  up  for  ever  and  ever. 

And  the  more  we  are  like  God  the  more  happy.  Import  into 
this  world  that  same  benevolence  that  led  God  to  make  his  Son  a 
sacrifice  for  sin,  and  you  would  fill  it  with  piety  and  joy.  And 
those  who  are  losing  the  Sabbath  at  home,  as  they  saw  you  pass, 
would  half  believe  that  you  were  angels.  You  would  then  apply 
yourselves  to  make  this  section  of  the  apostacy  more  happy.  You 
would  Iieal  every  quarrel,  would  soothe  every  wicked  passion,  if 
you  might,  would  check  every  prevailing  vice,  and  relieve  every 
want.  You  would  go  home  and  purge  your  house,  and  your  neigh- 
borhood, from  whatever  would  breed  pollution  and  misery,  and 
we  should  soon  all  forget  that  we  had  ever  been  unhappy.  Life 
would  steal  away  like  the  pleasant  sceneries  of  a  dream,  and  death 
would  lose  its  terrors.  We  should  almost  forget  that  this  world 
was  not  the  rest  that  God  had  promised  us.  We  should  ima- 
gine ourselves  suddenly  transplanted  into  the  midst  of  ano-el,s, 
should  see  in  every  face  the  countenance  of  a  brother,  and  hear 
in  every  accent  and  in  every  song,  the  symphony  of  a  heavenly 
friendship. 

Do  you  say  that  I  now  tell  you  of  heaven.  Nay,  heaven,  one 
from  that  world  must  describe  it.  I  tell  you  exactly  what  a  little 
spot  of  earth  might  be,  and  what  we  might  make  it,  were  it  not 
for  those  accursed  passions,  which  we  industriously  cultivate,  and 
which  collect  us  joy  from  another's  misery.  Only  let  us  feci  that 
none  about  us  can  be  too  wealthy,  too  respectable,  or  too  happy, 
to  give  us  pleasure,  and  half  the  curse  of  the  apostacy  is  removed. 
Let  us  feel  that  every  wo  another  suffers  is  as  much  our  own,  as 
his,  every  tear  he  weeps  and  every  scng  he  sings  our  own,  and 
this  world  would  cease  to  be  a  wilderness,  and  would  become  like 
the  garden  of  God. 

Let  us  then  retire  with  this  reflection, 


G44  heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin. 

Men  are  their  own  tormentors  !  WonJA  they  exercise  benevo 
lence,  and  exert  themselves  to  make  each  other  happy,  much  of 
the  misery  of  this  world  would  soon  disappear,  and  the  remain- 
der would  be  so  divided  and  subdivided  as  scarcely  to  be  felt. 
And  we  should  make  our  way  on  to  heaven,  forgetful  that  we 
were  the  inhabitants  of  a  world  that  God  has  cursed.  But  if, 
instead  of  this,  we  employ  ourselves  in  the  work  of  mutual 
crimination  and  torture,  we  have  none  to  blame  but  ourselves,  if 
we  wade  to  the  grave  in  tears,  and  find  it  an  avenue  to  the  bot- 
tomless pit. 


SERMON     LVI. 
rfEAVEN'S  CURE  FOR  THE  PLAGUES  OF  SIN.— No.  IL 

ROMANS    XIII.    8. 
Owe  ro  man  any  thing,  but  to  love  one  another. 

1  have  sometimes  thought  with  myself,  what  must  be  the  sensa- 
tions of  the  heathen,  on  observing  the  conduct  of  this  world's 
population.  They  have  no  Bible  to  tell  them  the  story  of  the 
apostacy,  or  to  teach  them  the  way  of  recovery.  They  see  about 
them  beings  wholly  depraved,  exerting  themselves  to  deceive,  be- 
tray, and  ruin  each  other.  And  they  know  not  of  any  other  life 
where  the  wrongs  of  the  present  can  be  rectified.  The  grave  is 
to  them  an  eternal  sleep.  And  whether  there  be  any  God  to  wit- 
ness the  events  that  pass,  must  demand  a  doubt.  How  deplorable, 
to  beings  thus  benighted,  must  be  the  condition  of  the  human 
family,  and  how  often  must  they  give  utterance  to  the  wish,  that 
they  had  died  the  first  hour  they  came  into  life. 

Even  with  the  Bible  in  our  hands,  and  all  these  mysteries  ex- 
plained, we  sometimes  wonder  that  God  would  build  a  world  and 
then  suffer  it  to  become  so  ruined.  And  still  we  can  have  no  fear 
but  that  it  will  appear  at  last  that  God  has  done  all  things  well.  It 
is  not  his  purpose  that  this  world  shall  always  exhibit  the  same 
gloomy  and  forebidding  view  as  at  present.  During  the  period  of 
millennial  ^lory  there  will  be,  if  not  a  universal  holiness,  at  least 
such  a  prevalence  of  piety  as  will  give  this  world  a  regenerated 
aspect.  To  this  day  God's  people  have  looked  by  faith  these  ma- 
ny thousand  years.  But  is  it  not  to  be  feared  that  we  have  con- 
sidered it  too  remote,  and  have  exerted  too  little  agency  in  hast- 
ening its  coming  1  We  have  believed  and  prayed,  and  have  con- 
sidered this  the  whole  of  our  duty,  while  it  should  be  our  care  to 
cultivate  a  little  spot  in  the  wastes  of  sin,  and  as  soon  as  possible 
remove  from  that  spot  the  whole  of  the  curse.  Let  there  prevail 
the  benevolence  enjoined  in  the  text,  and  the  face  of  the  moral 
world  will  immediately  be  changed.  Let  the  contest  be  which  will 
do  the  most  to  render  others  happy,  and  the  millennial  year  has 
come.     I  attempted  in  a  previous  discourse  to  explain  the   nature 


64G  heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin. 

of  benevolence,  to  show  how  it  will  operate,  and  urge  the  duty.  I 
observed  that  we  are  obligated  to  feel  kindly  to  all  men  by  the  ex- 
ample of  God,  by  his  command,  and  by  the  happiness  which  the  ex 
ercise  affords  to  its  possessors.     I  notice, 

IV.  The  happiness  it  communicates  to  others.  I  am  aware  that 
there  must  be  in  the  heart,  a  wish  to  communicate  joy  to  others  ; 
in  other  words,  there  must  be  some  portion  of  the  very  benevo- 
lence recommended,  in  order  that  the  motive  now  presented  should 
operate.  But  this  is  true  of  all  motives,  except  such  as  address 
themselves  to  the  selfish  feelings.  The  man  who  is  wholly  un- 
sanctified  will  not  regard  the  example  or  the  authority  of  God. 
But  we  always  address  the  motives  of  the  gospel  to  affections  that 
do  not  exist  till  God  produces  them,  and  still  we  hope  that  God 
will  give  the  word  success.  I  would  then  urge  all  the  believers 
and  the  unbelievers  to  love  their  fellow-men,  from  the  fact  that 
by  putting  forth  this  affection  you  can  create  a  world  of  happiness. 

In  the  first  place,  look  about  you  and  see  what  need  there  is  of 
more  happiness  tkan  at  present  exists,  what  abundant  opportunity 
there  is  for  your  exertion.  You  cannot  be  ignorant  that  you  live 
in  a  ruined  world,  where,  if  you  are  disposed  to  be  kind,  you  can 
find  abundant  employment.  You  can  find  misery  in  almost  every 
shape  and  shade.  You  meet  with  the  poor,  the  ignorant,  and  the 
vicious.  Some  have  no  bread,  some  no  Bible,  and  others,  I  had 
almost  said,  no  Sabbath,  no  gospel,  and  no  conscience.  There  are 
some  who  pay  no  regard  to  Divine  institutions,  and  seldom  or  ne- 
ver visit  the  sanctuary.  There  are  feuds  and  contentions  ana 
alienations  and  enmity.  There  are  families  where  there  is  no  do- 
mestic happiness,  where  there  are  neither  smiles  nor  songs,  nor 
pie  sant  words,  nor  kind  affections.  The  husband  and  the  wife, 
whom  God  has  constituted  one  flesh,  live  in  a  state  of  utter  alien- 
ation. The  children  are  rude  and  ignorant,  and  the  parents  per- 
haps intemperate  and  harsh,  and  profane  and  false. 

And  you  ••an  find  families  who  are  at  war  with  each  other,  who 
are  stationed  side  by  side,  but  through  all  the  year  have  no  inter- 
change of  kind  offices.  There,  too,  are  the  rich  who  have  become 
poor,  the  respectable  who  have  lost  their  character,  the  decent 
who  have  become  intemperate,  the  civil  who  have  become  pro- 
fane, and  the  pure  who  have  become  lewd.  You  can  easily  meet 
with  the  captious,  the  rude,  the  passionate,  the  deceitful,  the  false, 
the  idle,  the  covetous,  the  extortionate,  the  insubordinate,  and  the 
quarrelsome.     Ask  one  man    his  opinion  of  his  neighbors,  and  he 


heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin.  G17 

will  bring  a  charge  against  some  of  them,  ask  another  and  he  will 
accuse  the  first,  and  a  third  the  second,  and  a  fourth  the  third, 
and  linally,  if  you  believe  nothing,  you  will  say  with  David,  that 
all  men  are  liars,  and  if  you  believe  it  all,  you  will  fancy  yourself 
associated  with  a  community  of  convicts.  How  common  are  con- 
tentions, quarrels,  law-suits,  and  disappointments,  and  vexations. 
How  few  men  will  you  find  who  know  of  none  of  whom  they  wish 
to  speak  unkindly,  none  who  have  wronged  them,  none  who  de- 
fame them,  none  who  hate  them,  none  who  envy  them. 

But  I  presume  enough  has  been  said  to  remind  you  that  you 
live  in  a  world  where  there  is  need  enough  of  your  benevolence. 
Nor  will  you  presume  that  this  picture  is  darker  than  the  truth. 
The  fact  is,  it  would  fill  a  volume  to  tell  the  whole.  I  have  only 
glanced  at  the  subject  with  a  view  to  show  you  a  little  section  of 
the  field  which  your  benevolence  should  cultivate.  Would  it  not 
be  desirable  to  apply  a  remedy  if  you  might  to  this  complicated 
malady.  Be  willing,  then,  to  practice  the  benevolence  required, 
and  the  remedy  is  applied  and  the  cure  effected.  I  cannot  fix  my 
eye  upon  any  item  in  this  catalogue  of  miseries,  but  I  instinctively 
recur  to  the  men  who  could  reach  a  cure  to  the  very  case.  If  I 
think  of  the  suffering  poor,  there  are  those  at  hand  who  have  all 
the  wealth  necessary  for  their  relief.  Nor  is  there  any  quarrel, 
but  there  are  those  who  could  still  it ;  or  litigation,  but  there  are 
those  who  could  stop  it;  or  mistake,  but  there  are  those  who 
could  rectify  it;  or  injury,  but  there  are  those  who  could  repair 
it.  The  profane  man  has  some  who  countenance,  and,  if  they 
were  disposed,  could  silence  him  ;  the  intemperate  have  such 
about  them  who  aid  and  encourage  them,  and  there  are  those  who, 
exerting  their  influence,  could  reform  them.  Let  us  look  at  this 
case  a  moment.  Once  suppose  that  every  mind,  but  that  of  the 
drunkard  himself,  was  suitably  impressed  with  the  danger  and  the 
misery  of  his  course,  and  that  no  one  would  put  the  cup  in  his 
hand  any  sooner  than  he  would  present  him  the  knife  with  which 
he  intended  to  slay  himself,  tell  me  if  it  is  at  all  probable  that  he 
would  ever  be  again  intoxicated  X  No,  when  decent  men  shall 
know  their  duty  and  do  it,  when  they  shall  watch  the  drunkard  as 
they  would  the  man  who  was  meditating  suicide,  and  stand  be- 
tween the  one  and  the  cup,  as  they  would  between  the  other  and 
the  knife,  and  risk  their  very  limbs  to  save  him,  this  dreadful  ave- 
nue of  death  is  closed,  and  there  is  not  a  single  drunkard  to  curse 
society.  And  there  would  thus  disappear  in  an  hour,  at  least  half 
thf1  p^gues  that  prey  upon  the  world's  guilty  and  infatuated  popu- 


6:48  heaven's  cc.it  ior  the  plagues  of  sin. 

lation.  And  the  benevolence  which  the  text  enjoins,  Jet  it  once 
prevail,  would  accomplish  this  with  promptness  and  with  ease. 
The  idle,  are  all  within  the  reach  of  an  influence  that  could  render 
them  industrious;  the  Sabbath-breaker,  of  an  influence  that  could 
bring  him  to  the  sanctuary  ;  the  covetous,  of  an  influence  that 
could  render  them  generous;  the  indecent,  of  an  influence  that 
could  civilize  them  ;  and  the  captious,  and  refractory,  of  an  influ- 
ence that  could  render  them  manageable  and  civil.  If  you  doubt 
this  bring  to  yourself  the  case,  and  survey  the  circumstances. 
First  name  the  evil, — then  the  two,  or  the  four,  or  the  ten,  as  it 
may  be,  who  support  it.  Let  these  become  good  men,  and  the 
plague  is  cured.  I  know  that  if  we  were  all  holy  we  should  be 
but  men,  and  should  be  subject  to  many  weaknesses,  mistakes, 
and  dangers.  But  cure  once  the  miseries  that  sin  produces,  and 
God  would  remove  the  residue.  Let  him  see  from  his  holy  throne 
the  population  of  one  town,  bending  every  effort  to  cure  its  own 
calamities,  and  he  would  act  as  he  never  yet  has,  if  he  did  not 
render  the  effort  successful. 

And  does  not  the  motive  now  presented,  wear  an  enchanting 
aspect.  1  am  urging  you,  my  dear  friends,  to  love  your  fellow- 
men  from  the  consideration  of  the  good  you  could  then  do  them. 
I  look  around  me  and  see  in  varied  forms  a  vast  amount  of  misery 
The  view  creates  distress,  and  I  urge  you  to  attempt  its  cure. 

Are  you  willing  it  should  remain  1  Can  you  think  of  leaving 
your  children  to  spend  their  life  in  the  midst  of  it  1  Can  you  quit 
the  world  peaceably  till  what  you  can  do  has  been  done,  to  ferti- 
lize the  moral  waste,  over  which  you  expect  so  soon  to  cast  a  lin- 
gering, dying  look.  The  miseries  we  contemplate  are  contagious, 
and  may  when  we  have  done  with  life,  enter  our  habitations,  and 
prey  these  twenty  generations,  upon  our  children's  children.  If 
you  leave  one  infidel,  one  profane  man,  one  who  is  intemperate, 
one  Sabbath-breaker,  one  scoffer,  one  disorganizer,  unreformed, 
he  may  find  access  to  the  bosom  of  your  son,  may  carry  the  pes- 
tilence  into  your  house,  may  spread  the  plagues  we  contemplate 
through  all  the  ranks  of  your  posterity  till  they  come  down  in  a 
mass  to  perdition. 

Would  it  not  render  you  happy  to  die  assured  that  you  had  been 
useful.  If  you  could  transport  yourself  to  some  isle  of  the  Pacific, 
and  by  your  influence  and  your  prayers  tame  and  evangelize  its 
whole  population,  wotdd  it  not  seem  a  very  desirable  exploit  \ 
You  may  do  all  this  good  at  home,  and  feel  as  joyous  at  last  as  i< 
it  had  been  done  in  the  other  hemisphere,  and  for  another  people 


heaven's  cuke  for  the  plagues  OF  SIN.  64:9 

We  have  none  about  us  who  worship  a  block  of  wood,  but  we 
have  no  doubt  many  who  are  as  real  idolaters  as  can  be  found  in 
the  recesses  of  Tartary  or  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges.  We  have 
none  who  lacerate  their  bodies  to  fit  themselves  for  heaven,  but 
there  are  many  who  inflict  upon  their  consciences  and  their  peace, 
wounds  deep  and  wide  and  incurable.  We  have  none  who  may 
not  have  the  word  of  God,  but  many  who  trample  its  precepts  un- 
der their  feet  ;  none  without  a  Sabbath,  but  many  who  do  not 
sanctify  the  day  of  rest  ;  none  who  never  heard  the  gospel,  but 
many  who  never  obeyed  it  ;  none  without  the  bread  that  perish- 
eth,  but  many  who  have  no  relish  for  that  bread  which  endureth 
to  everlasting  life.  Here  then,  on  the  hither  side  of  every  ocean, 
is  a  field  where  benevolence  may  operate  in  the  cure  of  distress, 
and  where  it  may  achieve  a  conquest  as  valuable  and  as  splendid, 
as  can  be  won  in  any  land  or  any  clime. 

V.  I  urge  you  to  benevolence  by  one  other  motive,  the  dxjing 
love  of  Christ.  It  was  in  the  cure  of  this  very  same  distress,  that 
he  came  in  the  flesh  and  died  on  the  tree.  He  was  rich,  but  for 
our  sakes  he  became  poor,  that  we  through  his  poverty  might  be 
rich.  He  came  to  seek  and  to  save  them  that  were  lost.  His 
heart  bled,  it  would  seem,  over  the  miseries  of  the  apostacy.  He 
felt  a  benevolence  which  to  gratify,  he  let  go  all  the  honors  of  the 
upper  world.  He  saw  us  cast  out  in  the  day  that  we  were  born, 
polluted,  and  in  our  blood  ;  and  as  he  passed  by  us,  he  bid  us  live. 
But  he  could  only  redeem  us  with  his  own  blood.  If  he  would  be 
our  friend,  all  the  wrath  which  it  became  us  to  feel  he  must  en- 
dure. 

Now  the  same  world  that  he  pitied  so  much,  we  are  inviting 
you  to  compassionate.  And  he  declared  himself  our  friend,  while 
we  were  all  his  enemies.  Probably  some  of  the  very  court  that 
condemned  him,  and  the  band  that  took  him,  and  the  guard  that 
watched  him,  purged  their  iniquities  in  his  blood.  Hence,  if  men 
hate  you  it  affords  no  reason  why  you  should  not  love  them. 
While  we  were  yet  enemies,  Christ  died  for  us. 

Enter  then  upon  the  work  of  making  your  fellow- men  happy, 
and  you  are  in  the  very  vineyard  where  the  Lord  Jesus  labored. 
He  has  already  rescued  from  the  ruins  of  the  apostacy,  a  great 
multitude  that  no  man  can  number.  The  work  is  going  on,  and 
he  invites  your  co-operation.  To  be  employed  with  him  will  be 
honorable,  and  will  secure  to  you  a  share  with  him  in  the  snine 
victory,  and  the  same  awards.     "He  that    overcometh  will  I  grant 


G50  heaven's  curb  for  the  plagues  of  sin. 

to  sit  with  me  on  my  throne  even  as  I  overcame  and  am  sat  down 
with  my. father  on  his  throne."  It  would  seem  that  no  one  could 
resist  the  motive  thus  presented.  By  all  that  Christ  has  done,  by 
every  tear  he  shed,  and  every  prayer  he  uttered,  and  every  pang 
he  bore,  you  are  urged  to  spend  your  strength,  and  utter  youi 
prayers,  and  weep  your  tears,  in  the  cause  of  the  same  miserable 
multitude.  And  they  are  your  brethren,  they  were  not  his.  I 
urge  you,  in  the  name  of  my  Master,  to  love  your  own  mother's 
children,  those  who  are  flesh  of  your  flesh,  and  bone  of  your  hone. 
You  can  meet  no  man  but  a  brother,  you  can  hate  no  man  but  a 
brother,  you  are  invited  to  do  good  to  none  else. 

And  in  the  Lord  Jesus  you  are  not  only  presented  with  a  mo- 
tive to  become  benevolent,  but  you  have  a  pattern  by  which  that 
principle  should  operate.  It  is  said  of  him,  that  he  went  about 
doino-  good.  When  the  disciples  of  John  came  to  inquire  who  he 
was,  they  were  sent  away  with  this  history  of  him,  "The  blind 
see,  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  the 
dead  are  raised,  and  the  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them." 
Thus  all  kinds  of  benefits  that  he  could  bestow  upon  a  miserable 
world  he  did.  His  main  object  was  to  save  the  soul,  and  here  he 
bent  his  mightiest  efforts,  because  here  could  be  applied  the  most 
effectual  remedy  to  the  maladies  he  came  to  exterminate. 

But  he  could  see  misery  in  no  shape  and  feel  indifferent.  He 
took  our  sorrows  and  bore  our  sicknesses.  His  path  was  lined 
with  the  couches  of  the  palsied,  the  decrepit,  the  miserable  ;  and 
every  where  there  saluted  him  the  cry  of  some  blind  Bartimeus, 
"Lord  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  me."  And  he  could  suffer  no  such 
cry  to  be  suppressed  til!  the  sufferer  had  come  near  and  was  heal- 
ed. When  there  came  to  him  the  ten  lepers,  nine  of  whom  he 
knew  would  never  return  to  thank  him,  he  healed  the  whole.  The 
multitude  who  had  gone  into  a  desert  place  to  attend  upon  his 
ministry,  although  they  rejected  the  overtures  he  brought  them, 
still  must  not  be  sent  away  till  he  had  fed  them.  If  any  mother 
wished  him  to  bless  her  children,  they  must  open  her  an  avenue 
to  his  presence.  If  one  petitioned  for  the  life  of  his  servant,  he 
musl  live.  If  even  a  Sidonian  would  ask  his  help,  although  it  was 
not  meet  to  take  the  children's  bread  and  cast  it  to  dogs,  and  al- 
though he  was  not  sent  but  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel, 
still  the  veriest  outcast  must  not  go  away  from  his  presence  with- 
out a  blessing.  Even  the  famishing  and  heretical  Samaritan  must 
drink  the  living  water  that,  springeth  up  to  everlasting  life.  The 
very  man  who  had  come    to  take  him  must  not  leave  his  presence 


HEAVEN'S    CURE    FOR    THE    PLAGUES    OF    SIN.  G51 

wounded;  and  the  tliief,  who  in  the  dying  hour  solicited  his  aid, 
must  go  with  him  to  paradise.  Into  every  ear  to  which  he  had  ac- 
cess he  poured  instruction;  every  house  he  entered  he  blessed; 
and  in  every  village,  and  every  street,  where  were  the  impress  of 
his  feet,  were  left  behind  him  the  fruits  of  his  benevolence.  Tell 
me  the  single  case  where  he  withheld  the  blessing  that  was  asked, 
and  you  may  go  and  do  likewise.  If  he  would  not  grant  to  James 
and  John  the  distinction  they  craved  in  his  kingdom,  that  being 
the  appropriate  appointment  of  the  Father,  still  he  would  suffer 
them  to  drink  of  the  cup  that  he  drank  of,  and  be  baptized  with 
his  baptism.  Thus  there  dropped  from  his  hand,  upon  the  beings 
that  came  about  him,  every  variety  of  blessings.  Who  has  not 
been  impressed  with  the  fact,  that  the  very  first  miracle  done  in 
Can  a  of  (ialilee  had  respect  to  the  conveniences  of  a  marriage 
feast.  He  knew  that  if  he  should  turn  their  water  into  wine,  it 
would  supply  the  deficencies  of  poverty,  render  the  host  respected, 
and  the  occasion  more  pleasant. 

Thus  have  we  the  very  example  we  need.  The  benevolence 
which  we  are  called  to  exercise  must  take  the  same  track,  must 
flow  in  the  same  channel.  It  will  lead  us,  as  we  have  the  ability, 
to  do  every  kind  of  good  to  all  men  ;  to  supply  their  wants,  heal 
their  sicknesses,  enlighten  their  ignorance,  relieve  their  anxieties, 
awaken  their  consciences,  and  render  smooth,  and  safe,  and  pleas- 
ant, their  passage  through  this  desert  world.  It  will  lead  us  to 
feel  another's  wo,  and  weep  for  another's  misery.  When  the 
Lord  Jesus  approached  Jerusalem,  saw  them  about  to  reject  him, 
and  exclaimed,  weeping,  "0  that  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou, 
in  this  thy  day,  the  things  that  belong  to  thy  peace  ;  but  now  they 
are  hidden  from  thine  eyes,"  how  strongly  and  how  strikingly 
does  he  pour  out  the  benevolence  of  his  soul.  Thus  we  are  to 
look  over  a  world  of  beings  that  sin  has  rendered  miserable,  and 
weep,  as  he  did  for  the  calamities  that  are  coming  upon  them. 
And  there  is  no  man  so  poor  or  insignificant  but  he  may  commun- 
icate happiness.  Let  him  add  his  weight,  if  it  be  lut  a  grain,  to 
the  accumulating  mass  of  public  sentiment  that  is  now  attempting 
to  put  down  sin  and  misery  in  every  form  and  attitude,  and  he  will 
not  die  till  he  has  achieved  something  that  will  tell  to  his  credit 
in  the  day  of  retribution.  Some  field  of  labor  will  always  open  to 
the  industrious  if  they  will  enter  and  toil. 

REMARKS. 

1.  In  the  want  o£  this  benevolence,  how  strong  is  the   proof  wo 


Go'2  heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin. 

have  that  men  ave  wholly  depraved.  It  is  common  to  find  men 
who  are  willing  to  do  good  to  their  families  and  friends,  to  wish 
them  prosperity  and  advancement,  but  if  their  kindness  goes  no 
farther,  all  is  selfish.  How  few  cast  a  look  of  sympathy  over  the 
whole  surface  of  misery.  This  none  do  but  believers,  else  others 
too  would  fulfil  the  law,  and  would  be  safe.  Now  men  that  cannot 
hue  their  fellow-men,  their  brethren  whom  they  have  seen,  how 
can  they  love  God  whom  they  have  not  seen  1  How  can  that  heart 
be  possessed  of  holiness  that  aches  not  at  the  miseries  which  sully 
this  otherwise  beautiful  world  1  And  how  can  the  heart  ache  over 
woes  which  the  hands  are  not  employed  in  lessening  or  annihilat- 
ing 1  Thus  the  second  table  of  the  law,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,"  will  be  as  swift  a  witness  in  the  great  day 
against  the  human  family  as  the  first.  A  totally  selfish  heart  will 
find  it  as  much  impossible  to  put  forth  a  benevolent  affection  to- 
ward man  as  toward  God.  In  cither  case,  it  sadly  interferes  with 
our  native  self-supremacy- 

2.  We  see  the  necessity  that  men  should  be  renewed.  Here 
lies  our  only  hope  that  they  will  exercise  the  benevolence  of  the 
gospel.  Till  then  they  will  fight  and  rage,  and  rave,  will  render 
themselves  unhappy,  and  all  others  with  whom  they  come  in  con- 
tact. Till  then  the  war  will  continue  in  the  family,  the  neighbor- 
hood, the  town,  the  state,  and  the  world.  It  is  a  cheering  thought, 
that  God  has  continued  to  us  the  means  of  curing  that  deadliest 
evil  of  the  apostacy,  a  selfish  heart.  Without  this  nothing  could 
have  ever  cradled  the  corrupt  passions  on  a  larger  scale  or  small- 
er, and  this  poor  world  could  have  hoped  for  no  respite  from  the 
plagues  that  waste  its  treasures  and  its  health,  and  darkens,  to  the 
blackness  of  midnight,  its  immortal  prospects.  0,  come  that  day, 
when  the  chief  physician  shall  ply  his  skill,  and  change  the  hearts 
uf  men,  and  thus  cure  at  one  wondrous  touch  their  thousand 
plagues.  In  any  world  a  selfish  heart,  the  opposite  of  love,  would 
render  men  unhappy.  Place  selfish  hearts  in  heaven,  and  they 
would  there  be  as  fruitful  as  elsewhere  in  misery. 

3.  How  pleasant  is  the  prospect  of  a  millennium.  Then  the 
beneyolence  we  contemplate  will  become  general.  M.en  will  be 
employed  in  rendering  each  other  happy.  "The  wolf  also  shall 
dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid  ; 
and  the  calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and  the  fatling  together  ;  and  a 
little  child  shall  lead  them.  And  the  cow  and  the  bear  shall  feed; 
their  young  ones  shall  lie  down  together  :  and  the  lion  shall  eat 
straw  like  the  ox.     And  the  suckling  child  shall  play  on  the  hoW 


heaven's  cure  for  the  plagues  of  sin.  G53 

of  the  asp,  and  the  wean'.d  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cocka- 
trice's don."  If  by  that  promise  that  all  shall  know  the  Lord  from 
the  least  even  to  the  greatest,  we  are  not  to  understand  that  every 
individual  heart  shall  be  made  holy,  still  so  many  hearts  will  be 
sanctified  that  the  prevailing  influence  on  earth  shall  be  a  religious 
influence,  and  the  paramount  affection  love.  How  easily  then  will 
all  bad  habits  be  corrected,  how  useless  be  bolts  and  bars,  and 
criminal  laws,  and  fortifications  ;  and  how  done  for  ever  litigations, 
and  scandal,  and  alienations,  and  broken  hearts,  and  ruined  charac- 
ter, and  bankruptcy,  and  imprisonment.  Then  this  world,  so  long 
a  raging  ocean,  will  become  at  length  a  peaceful  pool,  reflecting 
the  image  of  its  Maker.  Then  God  will  delight  in  us,  and  an- 
gels love  to  watch  over  us. 

4-.  The  subject  will  lead  us  to  think  with  pleasure  of  heaven. 
Flow  pleasant  is  the  thought  of  being  removed  from  all  this  mise- 
ry, and  of  being  where  there  will  reign  a  universal  benevolence. 
Every  angel,  and  every  redeemed  spirit  will  be  willing  that  other 
angels,  and  oilier  spirits  should  be  as  happy  as  himself.  And 
the  grand  employment  of  heaven  will  be  to  communicate  hap- 
piness. God  they  will  love  supremely,  but  as  God  is  infinitely 
happy,  and  will  not  need  their  service,  they  will  no  doubt  be 
employed  everlastingly  in  making  other  beings  happy.  Thus  they 
will  be  workers  together  with  God  :  for  it  is  thus  that  God  is  em- 
ployed, and  thus  angels.  See  them  at  Sodom,  see  them  at  Baby- 
lon with  Daniel,  see  them  at  Bethlehem,  with  the  shepherds,  and 
in  the  garden  with  the  agonizing  Redeemer.  0,  it  is  pleasant  in 
this  dark  and  perturbed  world,  to  have  a  heaven  to  think  of,  and  a 
heaven  to  hope  for,  where  there  will  reign  for  ever  an  unqualified 
friendship,  and  our  prayer,  and  our  song,  and  our  employ  be  the 
prayer,  and  the  song,  and  the  employ  of  all. 

5.  The  subject  renders  a  place  of  misery  desirable.  0,  let 
these  discordant  passions  one  day  find  a  world  where  they  may 
live  alone  !  If  it  does  not  comport  with  the  purpose  of  God  to 
eradicate  them  all,  by  sanctifying  the  hearts  in  which  they  pre- 
dominate, let  them  be  all  congregated  together,  and  no  more  dis- 
turb the  peace  and  the  quiet  of  those  in  whose  hearts  they  do  not 
reign.  It  is  verily  believed  that  when  the  whole  design  of  dig- 
ging a  bottomless  pit,  and  kindling  a  quenchless  fire  shall  be 
known,  and  the  beings  judged  who  are  there  congregated,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  universe  could  not  have  been  perfect  without  a 
hell  any  more  than  a  town  or  county  could  have  done  without  a 
j.rison  and  a  gallows.      And  all  the  people  shall  say  amen. 


SERMON    LVII. 

CHRIST  CONDUCTS  TO  HEAVEN  A  HOLY   PEOPLE. 

TITUS  II.  14. 

Who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  3 

peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works. 

More  than  eighteen  hundred  years  since,  we  were  visited  by  a 
stranger  from  a  foreign  world.  Two  questions  were  immediately 
agitated.  Who  is  he?  and  What  his  errand  1  Resettled  them 
ooth ;  but  they  have  come  up,  again  and  again,  to  the  present  day. 
A  previous  discourse  had  a  bearing  upon  the  first  of  these  ques- 
tions, and  the  text  now  before  us  will  require  us  to  attend  to  the 
second.  It  is  selected,  you  will  remember,  from  that  very  book 
which  he  left  with  us,  on  purpose  to  answer  every  inquiry  that 
men  would  need  to  make  respecting  himself  and  his  mission.  We 
learn  in  the  context,  who  it  was  that  thus  gave  himself  for  us: 
"The  great  God,  even  our  Savior  Jesus  Christ." 

My  readers  are  aware,  that  the  same  men,  who  deny  that  our 
Savior  Jesus  Christ  is  the  great  God,  differ  as  widely  from  the 
apostle,  relative  to  the  part  he  acted  for  us.  They  would  iillow 
that  he  was  commissioned  to  make  known  to  us  the  will  of  God, 
especially  the  fact  of  a  resurrection,  which  nature  did  not  reveal, 
and  establish  Christian  ordinances,  and  set  us  an  example  of  vir- 
tue. That  his  death  was  vicarious,  or  a  substitute  for  our  con- 
demnation, they  would  generally,  and  1  presume  universally  deny. 

Now,  if  we  need  a  Savior  to  do  more  for  us  than  this,  then  we 
need,  not  the  one  they  oiler,  but  whom  the  apostle  exhibits  to  our 
view  in  the  text.  If  my  sins  must  be  atoned  for,  if  an  evil  heart 
of  unbelief  must  be  removed,  and  when  sanctified,  I  must  still  be 
accepted  through  the  merits  and  the  righteousness  of  another, 
then  I  need  a  Savior  to  do  more  for  me  than  teach  me  truth,  and 
give  me  ordinances,  and  be  my  pattern  in  virtue. 

Had  my  ruin  consisted  merely  in  having  lost  a  knowledge  of 
God  and  duty,  an  angel  might  have  become  my  instructor,  anil  his 
example  would  have  answered  me  the  same  purpose,  as  that  of 
the  Son  of  God.     It  would  have  seemed  in  that  case  wholly  unne» 


CHRIST    CONDUCTS    TO    HEAVEN    A    HOLV    PEOPLE.  G55 

cessary,  that  God  should  be  manifest  in  the  flesh.  But  if  the 
whole  heart  was  faint,  as  well  as  the  whole  head  sick  ;  if  there 
hung  over  us  the  curse  of  a  broken  law,  and  we  were  so  alienated 
from  God  as  to  be  content  in  perpetual  exile  from  his  service  and 
his  fellowship ;  then  both  instruction  and  example,  if  nothing  more 
were  done,  would  be  wholly  lost  upon  me. 

What  can  it  avail  to  present  truth  or  exhibit  purity,  before  a 
mind  that  disrelishes  moral  beauty,  unless  provision  is  made  to 
subdue  the  aversion  of  the  heart]  And  even  .then,  how  could  I 
be  happy  with  the  curse  of  a  broken  commandment  pendent  over 
my  head  ?  0,  give  me  such  a  Savior  as  Paul  describes,  or  when 
all  is  done,  there  is  left  undone  the  main  thing  requisite  to  my 
obedience  and  my  blessedness.  If  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  came 
merely  to  instruct  me,  so  did  the  prophets  and  the  apostles  ;  and 
their  example,  had  their  hearts  been  perfectly  holy,  would  have 
been  all  I  needed  on  this  point;  and  thus  either  of  them  might 
have  been  my  Savior  as  really  as  he  who  is  now  frequently  ex- 
hibited as  the  only  Redeemer. 

If  I  must  be  content  with  a  Savior  who  is  merely  my  school- 
master, I  am  led  to  ask,  Why  so  much  said  of  him  previously  to 
his  advent  1  Did  prophets  anticipate  his  approach  many  thousand 
years;  and  martyrs  hang  their  hopes  on  him  so  long;  and  angels 
announce  his  ingress,  soon  as  the  time  was  out  ;  and  spent  the 
night  by  his  manger ;  and  a  voice  from  heaven  name  him  the 
Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  ;  and  was  this 
mighty  personage,  who  so  long  held  a  world  in  agonized  suspense, 
merely  some  teacher  coming  to  do  for  us  what  any  man,  if  com- 
missioned, could  have  done  as  well  1  Is  Jehovah  accustomed  thus 
to  pour  honor  upon  a  creature,  sent  on  an  errand  no  more  grand 
than  this  1 

"  Is  ocean  into  tempest  wrought, 

To  waft  a  feather,  or  to  drown  a  fly  ?" 

No  man  can  have  a  very  deep  sense  of  sin,  and  not  feel  his  need 
of  having  done  for  him  more  than  all  this.  He  who  owes  ten 
thousand  talents,  and  has  nothing  to  pay,  will  need  a  Savior  who 
can  take  that  debt  upon  him.  He  who  has  drawn  upon  himself 
the  denunciations  of  his  Maker's  law,  will  need  a  Savior  to  hear 
that  burden  for  bin.  He  who  has  a  carnal  mind,  that  is  enmity 
against  God,  is  not  subject  to  his  law  nor  can  be,  will  wish  a  Sa- 
vior who  can  subdue  that  heart  to  loyalty  and  duty.  An!  he  who, 
after  all  this;   is   done,  dare    not    hope  for  heaven,  unless  taken    hy 


G5G  CHRIST    CONDUCTS    TO    HEAVEN 

the  hand  by  some  mighty  Prince,  and  led  every  inch  of  the  way 
till  lie  Is  within  its  threshold,  will  inquire  if  no  such  Captain  of  his 
salvation  is  provided  1  And  lie  will  open  his  Bible,  and  read  a 
single  sentence,  and  there,  the  great  God,  even  our  Savior  Jesus 
Christ,  for  whose  appearing  to  judge  the  world  his  people  are 
looking,  is  the  very  protector  and  friend  he  needs;  "Who  gave 
himself  lor  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity  and  purify 
unto  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works."  The  text 
furnishes  a  natural  division  of  thought,  and  will  need  the  aid  of  no 
numerical  distinctions. 

Who  Linvc  himself  (or  us.  His  presentation  at  the  altar  of  justice, 
as  our  victim,  was  his  own  act.  He  is  not  seized  and  bound,  as 
the  barbarous  nations  secure  their  victims,  willing  or  unwilling: 
nor  comes  to  the  altar  as  Isaac  did,  not  knowing  where  the  lamb 
was  for  a  burnt  offering.  He  had  power  to  lay  down  his  life,  and 
power  to  take  it  up  again.  Not  merely  was  he  given,  although  this 
was  true,  but  he  gave  himself.  And  it  was  not  merely  his  time, 
and  strength,  and  patience,  that  he  gave,  as  instructers  do,  but  his 
life.  How  easily  could  he  have  blighted  all  our  hopes  in  that 
dark  hour.  Had  he  sent  Judas  to  his  own  place,  or  rendered  him 
an  honest  man,  when  he  came  to  steal  the  betraying  kiss;  or  had 
he  struck  lifeless  that  midnight  hand,  that  came  to  apprehend 
him;  or  had  he  let  down  into  hell  that  senate  chamber,  with  its 
mass  of  hypocrisy;  and  paralized  the  sinews  of  that  soldiery  that 
crucified  him  ;  then  had  there  been  none  to  betray,  arrest,  or  mur- 
der the  Lamb  of  God.  And  he  had  all  this  power  in  himself,  else 
he  did  not  give  himself.  He  who  goes  to  death  without  his  choice, 
by  a  power,  human  or  divine,  that  he  cannot  control,  cannot  be 
said  to  lay  down  his  life  :  his  life  is  taken  from  him. 

Bdt  the  Sufferer  of  Calvary,  when  he  left  the  bosom  of  the  Fa- 
ther, had  his  eye  lixed,  and  through  his  whole  life  kept  it  fixed 
upon  the  scene  of  the  cross,  as  the  finishing  act  of  his  humiliation, 
and  felt  not  that  his  work  was  done  till  he  yielded  his  life.  Hence, 
while  it  is  true  that  the  Father  gave  his  Son,  it  is  equally  true  that 
the  Son  gavt  himself.  He  was  as  voluntary  in  redeeming  the  world, 
as  in  the  act  that  built  it. 

Who  gave  himself  for  us.  Mere  each  word  has  meaning.  Who 
are  we  to  understand  by  US  ?  Not  Paul  himself  and  the  good  bro- 
ther in  the  gospel  to  whom  he  wrote,  merely.  If  another  apostle 
may  decide,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  "the  propitiation  for  our 
sins;  and  not  for  ours  only,  L  ..  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world/1      I  have  no  wish  now  to  enter  the  list  in  that  controversy, 


A    HOLY    TEOPLE.  G57 

which  never  should  have  been  among  brethren  who  hold  the 
Head,  whether  the  atonement,  as  distinguished  from  redemp 
tion,  is  general  or  limited.  Those  who  do  not  distinguish  atone- 
ment from  redemption,  must  limit  it,  or  avow  the  salvation  of  all 
men  ;  and  those  who  do  thus  distinguish,  may  with  propriety  make 
atonement  general,  and  still  are  not  accountable  for  a  consequence, 
which  is  made  to  follow,  not  on  their  principles,  but  that  of  their 
opponents. 

Is  there  not  a  common  ground,  where  those  who  love  the  truth 
can  and  must  meet  1  Neither  of  the  parties  to  whom  I  now  refer, 
assert,  that  God  has  purposed  or  will  accomplish  the  salvation  of 
all  men,  through  the  atonement  of  Christ ;  nor  on  the  other  hand, 
will  deny,  that  the  atonement  places  the  human  family  at  large, 
in  circumstances  happily  differing  from  that  of  devils.  To  men 
there  go  out  overtures  of  mercy,  to  devils  none.  But  does  it  not 
follow,  that  if  mercy  is  offered,  and  the  offer  sincere,  salvation  is 
possible  ;  that  is,  the  obstructions  are  removed  on  the  part  of  God, 
that  would  have  kept  men  from  heaven,  even  had  they  repented  ! 
and  this  is  precisely  what  I  understand  those  to  mean,  who  make 
the  atonement  general.  The  death  of  Christ  rendered  it  possible 
for  God  to  save,  without  dishonoring  his  law,  or  weakening  his 
government,  as  many  as  it  should  please  him  to  sanctify. 

And  what  is  the  force  of  the  preposition,  for  us  1  Can  it  mean 
less  or  more,  than  that  the  death  of  Christ  was  a  substitute  for  our 
condemnation  X  This  idea  is  certainly  consonant  with  the  whole 
drift  of  revelation.  "  He  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our 
sorrows  ;  lie  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  and  bruised  for 
our  iniquities;  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him  ;  and 
with  his  stripes  we  are  healed: — the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the 
iniquity  of  us  all : — for  the  transgressions  of  my  people  was  he 
stricken."  Thus  the  griefs,  and  the  sorrows,  and  the  wounds,  and 
the  bruises,  the  chastisements,  and  the  stripes,  all  fell  on  him  by 
substitution,  and  were  borne  instead  of  the  everlasting  miseries 
of  hell,  which  we  must  have  borne,  had  he  not  offered  himself  as 
our  ransom. 

The  apostle  proceeds  to  make  known  to  us  the  design  with 
which  the  Savior  gave  himself  for  us,  "  That  he  might  redeem  us 
from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  us."  There  are  here  included  par- 
don and  sanctification. 

First,  pardon.  The  sinner  can  neither  be  considered  as  re- 
deemed from  iniquity,  or  purified,  while  his  conscience  is  polluted 
with  unpardoned  sin.     He  is  still  under  the  curse  of  the  law,  has 


G58  CHRIST    CONDUCTS    TO    HEAVEN 

the  brand  of  infamy  upon  him,  and  the  badges  of  death  around 
him.  Hence,  when  he  believes,  and  pardon  can  be  administered, 
without  injury  to  the  Divine  government,  his  cleansing  from  the 
defilement  of  sin  is  begun.  There  is  a  text  in  ore  of  the  minor 
prophets,  which  though  spoken  with  reference  to  the  Church,  is 
beautifully  expressive  of  this  lirst  act  of  God's  mercy  to  sinners. 
"  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  thee,  that  pardoneth  iniquity,  and  pass- 
cth  by  the  transgressions  of  the  remnant  of  his  heritage  1  He  re- 
taineth  not  his  anger  for  ever,  because  he  delighted  in  mercy. 
He  will  turn  again;  lie  will  have  compassion  upon  ns;  he  will 
subdue  our  iniquities;  and  thou  wilt  cast  all  their  sins  into  the 
depths  of  the  sea.1'  And  in  another  text  it  reads,  "Their  sins  and 
their  iniquities  will  1  remember  no  more."  And  we  have  the  de- 
lightful idea  ot  forgiveness  in  this  text,  "That  thou  mayest  re- 
member, and  be  confounded,  and  never  open  thy  mouth  any  more, 
because  of  thy  shame,  a  hen  ■  am  pacified  toward  thee  for  all  that 
thou  hast  done,  saith  the  Lord  God."  The  very  first  act  of  faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  secures  this  blessing,  and  we  stand, 
though  not  on  the  same  footing  as  if  we  had  never  sinned,  yet  the 
same  as  relates  to  our  exposedness  to  the  penalties  of  the  law. 
The  transgressions  of  the  law,  that  had  beon  minuted  against  us 
in  the  record  of  the  Divine  mind,  are  blotted  out.  God  even 
speaks  as  if  he  would  forget  them,  and  never  suffer  them  to  come 
into  his  mind  again. 

But  pardon,  as  rich  a  blessing  as  it  is,  to  a  sinner  made  sensible 
of  his  gross  and  dreadful  departure  from  God,  holds  a  place  second 
in  importance  to  that  of  sanctification.  Hence  to  purify  us,  was 
an  important  part  of  the  work  which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  came 
to  do  for  us  ;  by  which  1  understand,  delivering  us  from  the  power 
of  sinful  affections.  This  is  done  through  the  immediate  agency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  ami  is  ascribed  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  inas- 
much as  the  Spirit  acts  a  part  in  the  economy  of  redemption,  sub- 
ordinate to  that  of  the  Mediator,  and  is  spoken  of  as  sent  by  him. 
!!••  takes  away  the  heart  of  stone  and  skives  a  heart  of  flesh,  and 
creates  us  anew  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works.  Christ  is  formed 
in  his  people  the  hope  of  glory  ;  his  image  is  impressed  on  the 
heart;  and  the  lineaments  of  that  image  are  drawn  out  to  view  in 
deeds  of  loyalty  and  duty. 

Tims  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  brings  his  people  to  feel  like  him, 
to  love  his  character,  his  law,  his  government,  and  kingdom,  and 
all  the  duties  of  piety,  and  benevolence.  And  his  purpose  and 
promise  is,  that  where  he  has  I ;un   a  good  work  he  will  ci>rry  it 


A    HOLY    PEOPLE.  C"0 

on,  till  all  moral  pollution  is  eradicated.  Thus  the  character  of 
man,  under  ihe  transforming  influence  spoken  of  in  the  text,  i3 
changed,  till,  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  he  is  no  longer  the  same 
man.  From  being  a  child  of  wrath  fitting  for  destruction,  he  be- 
comes an  heir  of  God,  and  a  candidate  for  glory,  honor,  immor- 
tality, and  eternal  life.  The  desire  to  be  holy,  and  so  like  his 
Masler,  becomes  his  ruling  passion.  In  his  estimation  conformity 
to  God,  in  the  whole  temper  of  his  mind,  is  the  greatest  good  ; 
and  no  hope  gives  him  such  a  joy,  as  when  he  can  say  with  con- 
fidence, "  Then  shall  I  be  satisfied  when  I  wake  with  thy  likeness." 

While  the  followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  are  thus  under  a  process 
of  sanctification,  they  become,  as  a  matter  of  course  in  a  world 
like  this,  a  peculiar  people.  They  have  desires,  and  hopes,  and 
enjoyments,  and  fears,  and  aversions,  such  as  are  found  in  no 
other  people.  They  have  another  employment,  and  form  other 
habits,  and  sustain  new  relationships,  and  enter  new  society,  and 
in  their  speech  and  demeanor,  embracing  a  thousand  nameless 
things,  become  a  peculiar  people.  Whatever  pains  they  may  take 
to  conceal  their  peculiarities,  they  become  and  continue  like  no 
other  people  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth.  And  the  more  they 
act  in  character  ;  the  nearer  they  live  to  their  Master,  the  more 
sure  are  they  to  widen  the  contrast  between  themselves,  and  the 
world  of  the  ungodly.  Hence  the  world  will  soon  know  them, 
and  break  from  their  fellowship,  and  cast  out  their  names  as  evil  ; 
and  Christ  will  receive  them,  and  be  a  God  unto  them,  and  thev 
shall  be  his  people. 

They  are  zealous  of  good  works.  Here  perhaps  more  than  at 
any  other  point  is  seen  their  peculiarity.  The  promptness,  the 
pains,  and  the  sacrifices  manifested  in  doing  good,  render  them  the 
perfect  contrast  of  anything  seen  in  the  habits  of  unsanctified  men. 
Hence  the  fact  is  not  to  be  disputed,  that  the  personal  efforts,  and 
charities  that  have  been  expended  upon  human  misery,  degrada- 
tion, and  contempt,  have  been  the  efforts  and  the  charities  of  this 
peculiar  people.  On  the  list  of  this  world's  benefactors  their 
names  are  arranged  alone,  and  the  catalogue  will  tell  to  their  ad- 
vantage in  that  day  when  the  Savior  shall  he  heard  to  say,  "  1  was 
an  hungred,  and  ye  gave  me  meat  :  1  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me 
drink  ;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took'  me  in  :  naked,  and  ye  clothed 
me  :  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me  :  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came 
unto  me." 

The  ungodly  may  have  fits  of  charitable  feeling,  when  provision 
s  to  be  made  exclusively  for  the  life  that  now  is  ;  but  theii  chari* 


GGO  CHRIST    CONDUCTS    TO    HEAVEN 

ties  do  not  usually  extend  in  their  effects  beyond  the  grave. 
When  urged  to  enlighten  those  that  know  not  God,  or  snatch  from 
death  those  that  have  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
they  lack  the  faith  that  can  give  importance  to  these  religious  and 
spiritual  realities.  And  yet  here,  where  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
wicked  are  cruel,  is  the  very  spot  where  the  godly  display  their 
wannest  zeal,  and  make  their  best,  their  mightiest  efforts.  The 
zeal  of  God's  people  is  uniform  and  extensive,  and  does  not,  like 
"  crackling  thorns  and  burning  coals,  make  a  great  blaze  and  die." 
It  grows  out  of  the  combined  influence  of  the  Christian  affections, 
or  rather  ?s  the  Christian  affections  concentrated,  and  pouring  out 
their  energies  upon  the  object  of  their  commisseration  or  praise. 

Christian  zeal  aims  to  render  this  world  what  God  would  have 
it  ;  to  draw  it  back,  from  alienation  and  misery,  to  subjection  and 
enjoyment.  It  would  cure  every  species  of  plague  and  suffering, 
and  render  holy,  respected,  and  happy  every  child  of  the  fall.  And 
when  men  need  not  its  aid,  would  compassionate  the  animal  crea- 
tion, till  not  a  worm  should  suffer.  Thus  will  operate  the  zeal 
that  piety  begets,  and  thus  the  redeemed  of  Jesus  Christ,  will  be 
rendered,  in  a  world  cold  and  friendless  like  this,  a  peculiar  people. 

There  is  still  another  thought  in  this  text,  which  though  last  is 
not  least.  These  redeemed,  and  peculiar,  and  zealous  beings,  Je- 
sus Christ  is  said  to  purify  unto  himself.  I  see  a  very  precious 
thought  here  :  they  belong  finally  to  him.  They  were  given  him 
in  the  covenant  of  redemption.  Hence  we  hear  him  say,  in  that 
remarkable  prayrer  just  before  he  suffered,  "I  have  manifested  thy 
name  unto  the  men  which  thou  gavest  me  out  of  the  world."  And 
lest  any/  should  draw  a  wrong  inference  from  the  fact  that  as  Me- 
diator he  was  a  recipient,  he  addresses  the  Father  again,  and  says, 
"  All  mine  are  thine,  and  thine  are  mine."  His  people  are  to  be 
his  associates  for  ever;  his  family  ;  his  friends;  his  admirers,  and 
his  worshipers.  "  I  will  that  they  also  whom  thou  hast  given  me 
be  witli  me  where  I  am  ;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory." 

There  is  something  in  this  thought  which  to  me  bespeaks  the 
Savior  Divine.  Were  he  a  mere  servant,  were  he  less  than  the 
very  builder  and  proprietor  of  this  world,  he  could  not  have  been 
given  a  commission  of  such  a  nature,  as  to  entitle  him  to  possess, 
and  call  his  own,  the  beings  he  should  save  :  else  it  would  not  be 
true,  that  the  Eternal  cannot  give  his  glory  to  another.  Thus  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  came  to  redeem  to  himself,  by  his  death,  a  pe- 
culiar people,  zealous  of  good  works.  I  close  with  a  few 
graphs  of 


A    HOLY    PEOPLE.  GG1 

EXPOSTULATION, 

With  such  as  cannot  relish  this  mortifying  gospel.  I  am  fully 
aware,  and  lament  it,  that  every  position  taken  in  this  discourse  ia 
controverted  ;  and  my  apology  for  the  view  I  have  given,  is,  that 
I  could  in  honesty  give  no  other. 

Man's  lost  and  desperate  condition,  requiring  an  atonement,  is 
found  in  one  shape  and  another,  on  almost  every  page  of  the  Bi- 
ble, and  his  safety  depends  on  knowing  it,  and  the  gospel  was  sent 
to  acquaint  him  with  it ;  hence  this  must  be  a  radical  truth  in  every 
message  which  we  carry  from  God  to  man.  Moreover,  we  see 
men  exhibit  that  temper,  and  form  those  habits,  which  would  teach 
us  their  ruin,  if  we  had  not  been  taught  it  from  heaven.  Now  a 
truth  that  comes  to  us  so  confirmed,  we  must  receive,  and  must 
proclaim ;  and  if  men  will  not  believe  it,  or  if  they  do  not  choose 
to  lay  it  to  heart,  we  can  only  say  with  the  prophet,  "  If  ye  will 
not  hear,  my  soul  shall  weep  in  secret  places  for  your  pride."  If 
you  can  keep  your  apostacy  a  secret  from  your  fellow-men,  or 
from  angels,  or  from  devils,  do ;  and  if  you  can  hide  the  shame 
of  it,  do  ;  and  if  by  such  a  course  you  can  escape  the  dire  conse- 
quences of  that  apostacy,  do.  We  wish  you  safe,  and  wish  you 
happy,  and  if  you  know  of  a  safer  or  happier  course  than  this  gos- 
pel presents,  you  have  but  to  make  the  experiment.  But  then  re- 
member, if  your  experiment  fails,  and  you  do  not  find  out  your 
ruin  till  death,  you  must  not  calculate  that  your  mistake  can  then 
be  corrected. 

If  you  are  conscious  of  some  depravity,  and  still  cannot  make 
up  your  mind  to  owe  your  redemption  to  the  death  of  Christ,  then 
you  must  reject  the  Bible  or  explain  it  as  you  can.  The  text  says 
he  gave  himself  {or  us.  And  we  hear  him  say,  "I  lay  down  my 
life  for  the  sheep."  And  many  scriptures  that  have  bee*  quoted, 
and  more  that  might,  seem  evidently  to  put  his  blood  in  the  place 
of  ours,  and  heal  us,  if  we  are  ever  healed  by  his  stripes. 

Why  object  to  the  idea  that  he  died  for  us.  Does  it  too  much 
degrade  and  blacken  the  human  character,  that  we  must  thus  come 
as  it  were  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  have  the  halter  about  our 
neck,  and  there  stand  and  see  another  take  our  place,  and  hang 
upon  the  tree  in  our  stead  %  I  know  it  will  be  the  everlasting  dis- 
grace of  our  world,  that  we  should  have  so  conducted  as  to  rem 
der  it  necessary  that  Christ  should  die  for  us.  But  it  will  deepen 
our  disgrace,  if  we  deny  the  fact,  and  assign  some  other  reason, 
not  the  true  one,  why  the  Lord  of  glory  was  hanged  on  a  tre?. 
We  shall  crucify  him  afresh,  and  put  him  to  open  shame. 


662  CHKIST    CONDUCTS    TO    HEAVEN 

If  his    was   not   a  vicarious   death,  why   did  he   die  1     Do  you 

answer,  "Death  hath  passed  upon  all  men  for  that  all  have  sin- 
ned." Then  it  seems  you  make  him  a  sinner  1  But  the  good  Book 
assures  me,  that  there  was  no  guile  found  in  his  mouth.  Satan 
came  and  found  nothing  in  him.  He  was  a  Lamb  without  spot. 
Do  you  say  that  he  died  to  finish  out  his  obedience?  Obedience 
to  what  law  1  Does  the  law  of  God  require  that  his  perfectly  obe- 
dient  subjects  should  die!  or  is  death  there  made  the  wages  of 
sin  I  I  see  no  demand  for  his  death,  unless  he  died  for  us,  or  was 
a  sinner.  If  you  are  not  driven  to  the  same  alternative  and  can 
invent  a  third  reason,  more  satisfactory,  you  must  adopt  it,  and 
make  the  Bible  bear  you  out  in  it  if  you  can. 

Do  you  object  to  this  gospel  because  it  requires  that  you  be 
purified?  Then  it  seems  you  doubt  whether  sin  has  polluted  you  1 
And  if  so  why  have  any  gospel  1  or  do  you  choose  to  carry  all  your 
moral  deformity  with  you  into  the  grave,  and  into  eternity',  and 
if  so,  then  we  understand  you.  You  have  only  to  let  the  gospel 
alone  then,  and  let  others,  who  would  not  choose  to  die  in  their 
-ins,  have  the  benefit  of  its  overtures. 

A  gospel  that  shall  not  render  men  holy,  can  be  worth  nothing. 
It  may  gather,  and  baptize,  and  cast  the  enclosures  of  a  covenant, 
about  a  congregation  of  worldlings,  but  if  it  have  no  purifying  ef- 
fect, it  will  leave  them  still  the  children  of  their  father  the  devil. 
They  will  be  as  fair  candidates  for  perdition,  when  such  a  gospel 
shall  have  exerted  upon  them  its  mightiest  influence,  as  when  its 
first  accent  broke  upon  their  ear.  But  a  gospel  like  that  which 
Paul  preached,  must  urge  the  claims  of  the  Divine  law,  and  press 
men  to  break  off  their  sins  by  righteousness,  and  turn  their  feet  to 
God's  testimonies.  It  will  gather  motives  to  holiness  from  all 
worlds,  from  the  fear  of  hell,  from  the  hope  of  heaven,  from  the 
comfort  of  the  present  life,  and  especially  from  the  love  of  Christ; 
for  it  will  "  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead  : 
and  that  he  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live  should  not  hence- 
forth live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  him  which  died  for  them,  and 
rose  again."  Now  let  us  be  prudent  enough  to  have  this  very 
gospel,  <»r  none.  If  we  wish  merely  to  be  amused,  let  us  not  em- 
ploy a  gospel  to  do  it,  but  the  pipe,  the  timbrel,  and  the  dance 
If  we  care  not  how  much  pollution  adheres  to  us  when  we  are 
judged,  then  let  us  cast  the  gospel  and  the  whole  Bible  from  us, 
and  enter  into  a  covenant  with  death,  and  make  an  agreement 
with  hell,  ami  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die 

But  you  dislike  the  peculiarity  urged  upon  believers  in  the  gos- 


A   KOLY    PEOPLE.  663 

pel.  You  wish  not  to  be  singular,  and  be  cast  out  of  the  world 
while  you  remain  ir.  it.  Well,  we  simply  say,  that  there  can  be 
do  gospel  gathered  from  the  Bible,  that  does  not  urge  it,  nor  Chris- 
tian character  without  it.  If  the  truth  must  render  men  holy,  it 
must,  in  a  world  like  ours,  render  them  peculiar.  In  two  respects 
the  good  man,  from  the  moment  he  is  born  of  God,  becomes  un- 
like the  men  of  this  world.  All  the  features  of  depravity  that  are 
cast  from  his  character,  and  the  features  of  holiness  ingrafted  on 
it,  will  tend  to  render  him  peculiar.  Thus  in  two  directions  will 
the  difference  widen,  and  will  go  on  extending  through  time  and 
through  eternity.  To  produce  this  peculiarity  is  the  very  design 
of  the  gospel  ;  for  men  by  nature  are  unlike  God,  and  the  gospel, 
when  it  produces  its  legitimate  effect,  renders  men  like  God. 
Hence,  unless  it  sanctify  all  men,  or  the  regenerate  are  taken  im- 
mediately to  beaven,  it  must  introduce  into  society  a  peculiar  peo- 
ple. If  you  are  offended  with  this  peculiarity,  then  you  need  not 
put  it  on.  You  can  live  in  this  world  without  it,  and  you  can  die 
without  it,  but  you  can  not  live  in  heaven  without  it. 

That  zeal  begotten  in  his  people  by  the  grace  of  God,  consti- 
tutes I  know  the  most  offensive  feature  of  their  peculiarity.  But 
God's  people  cannot  be  without  it,  and  please  him.  And  he  has 
never  promised  to  render  his  people  what  the  world  can  admire. 
"If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  his  own,  but  be- 
cause ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the 
world,  therefore  shall  the  world  hate  you."  You  need  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  his  people,  or  imbibe  their  zeal  if  it  offends  you 
There  is  current  a  gospel,  and  you  can  attend  upon  it,  that  pours 
out  against  this  zeal  the  whole  torrent  of  its  invective.  It  would 
nourish  a  cold  philosophical  religion,  that  shall  never  reach  or 
warm  the  heart,  that  will  have  but  little  to  do  with  prayer,  or 
praise,  or  holy  feeling,  or  heavenly  aspiration,  or  effort  to  save 
souls  ;  or  take  away,  in  any  shape,  the  curse  that  has  lighted  upon 
this  dark  world.  You  can  take  your  pew  under  such  a  gospel  and 
never  be  urged  to  zeal  and  engagedness.  But  where  it  will  con- 
duct you,  may  demand  a  doubt.  Not  to  heaven  surely,  where  they 
cease  not  day  nor  night  saying,  "Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory."  There  must  be  great 
zeal  where  there  is  such  perpetual  worship.  Day  and  night!  0, 
how  such  zeal  as  this  would  be  lashed  and  scouted  in  this  cold  and 
cheerless  world ! 

But  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  aims  to  make  this  world  as  much 
like  heaven  as  possible  ;  would  beget  all  the  zeal  they  have  there, 


GG4  CHRIST    CONDUCTS    TO    HEAVEN    A    HOLY    PEOPLE. 

and  all  the  industry,  and  all  the  celestial  fire.  We  hide  not  our 
wish,  to  render  men  in  this  world  as  much  in  earnest  in  serving- 
God,  and  blessing  his  creatures,  as  they  are  in  heaven.  And,  sure 
as  you  breath,  you  have  never  seen  a  zeal  like  that  in  heaven.  It 
was  not  in  Paul,  nor  Peter,  nor  Brainard,  nor  Whitefield,  nor  Mar- 
gin. And  if  you  have  ever  once  seen  enough  any  where  to  offend 
you,  depend  upon  it  you  could  not  stay  in  heaven  an  hour. 

Finally,  it  offends  you,  that  the  Savior  should  be  the  proprie- 
tor of  the  Church  he  purchased  with  his  blood.  You  would  have 
him  an  agent,  a  prophet,  a  messenger;  you  would  not  allow  him 
to  own  his  sheep  ;  you  would  make  him  an  insignificant  subject 
of  that  kingdom  he  purchased  with  his  blood.  And  why  this  zeal 
to  degrade  him  1  Did  he  not  earn  the  kingdom  with  his  stripes, 
and  his  wounds,  and  his  sweat,  and  his  dying  agonies '{  And  did 
he  not  build  the  very  world  in  which  he  has  set  up  this  kingdom  1 
The  apostle  thought  proper  to  speak  of  his  purifying  to  himself  a 
peculiar  people. 

And  why  not  let  them  be  his  ?  Are  you  afraid  to  be  his  1 
Would  it  o-rieve  you  to  be  a  member  of  his  family,  and  have  a 
seat  at  the  supper  of  the  Lamb  ?  Well,  dear  Iriend,  there  will 
come  a  day  when  you  will  be  afraid,  if  you  are  not  his.  'When  he 
shall  come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  all  his  holy  angels  with 
him,  and  the  last  trumpet  shall  have  waked  you  from  the  sleep  c-f 
the  grave,  then  "  he  that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste,"  but  all 
others, — oh,  with  what  hurry  and  confusion  will  they  quit  their 
sepulchres  !  and  with  what  untold  anguish  will  they  call  upon  the 
cocks  and  mountains,  to  fall  on  them  and  hide  them  from  the  face 
that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  ! 
Will  you  not  then  wish  that  you  were  hisl 

Ye  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  did  it  ever  occur  to  you  how 
precious  a  thought  this  is.  You  belong  to  this  very  Lord  Jesus. 
"  \  r  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's."  How  safe  and  how  hap- 
py, if  he  can  make  you  so!  and  you  have  no  fear  but  he  can. 
Cast  all  your  care  upon  him,  for  he  careth  for  you.  You  will  see 
him  come  directly  to  gather  you,  and  you  will  hail  him  as  he 
comes,  "My  Lord,  and  my  God."  My  soul  casts  in  her  lot  with 
you.  We  glory  in  belonging  to  Christ,  and  look  wishfully  to 
ward  that  hour,  when  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is  and  be  like  him 
Then,  almighty  Redeemer,  then  5hall  I  be  satisfied  when  I  wilt 
with  ihy  likeness.     Amen. 


SERMON    LVIII. 

GOSPEL  TRUTH  DISTINGUISHED. 

JOHN     XVIII.    38. 
What  is  truth  ? 

This  question  was  put  to  our  Lord  by  the  miserable  Lime-serv- 
ing Pilate,  who  had  no  heart  to  love  what  he  inquired  after.  He, 
and  the  whole  multitude  of  the  ungodly  in  all  ages,  would  have 
the  reputation  of  being  the  friends  of  truth.  But  when  they  have 
inquired  what  truth  is,  they  are  careful  to  turn  away  their  ear 
from  the  answer.  This  one  fatal  error  characterizes  the  whole 
human  family,  till  the  Spirit  of  God  sanctifies  the  heart.  Till  then, 
they  will  not  candidly  examine  the  Bible,  nor  put  themselves  un- 
der the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  nor  will  love  the  truth 
when  they  know  it.  Hence  to  know  and  love  the  truth,  is  charac- 
teristic of  a  heavenly  mind. 

But  the  question  still  comes  up,  What  is  that  truth  which  I  must 
know  and  love,  in  order  to  have  evidence  that  I  am  born  of  God  1 
The  text  would  furnish  a  field  too  large  for  a  single  sermon,  and 
must  be  diminished.  It  will  be  my  object  to  give  you  a  few  general 
characteristics  of  gospel  truth.  In  doing  this,  I  shall  name  the  par- 
ticular doctrines  no  farther  than  may  be  necessary,  to  illustrate 
Borne  leading  feature  of  revealed  truth  generally. 

I   should   choose   to   say  in  answer  to  the  question  in  the  text 
What  is  truth  1 

1,  Truth  is  that  ivhich  is  consistent  with  the  main  scope  of  God's 
word.  An  insulated  text  or  two,  may  seem  to  support  what  is  not 
truth.  By  such  means  almost  any  sentiment  may  be  drawn  from 
the  Bible,  or  from  an\  other  book.  We  could  thus  prove  that 
"There  is  no  fiod;"  "  Thou  shalt  not  surely  die ;  "  "Thou  shalt 
hate  thine  enemy;  "  "  I  shall  have  peace,  though  I  walk  in  the  imag- 
ination of  my  own  heart,  to  add  drunkenness  to  thirst.''  Now 
yon    may  till  a  book    with    such    insulated    texts,  hut    it  would    he    all 

false;  ;i  lie  couched  in  Bible  language,  hut  not  the  less  ;i  lie. 

All  the   false  doctrines,  that  have  spread   their  plagues  through 


GOSrEL    TKUTH    DISTINGUISHED. 

this  ill-fated  world,  has  thus  originated,  and  been  xhus  sustained. 
To  liiin  who  is  willing  to  understand  it,  the  Bible  is  plain  ;  but  to 
one  who  prefers  delusion,  and  wishes  to  believe  a  lie,  because  he 
lias  no  sure  pleasure  in  the  truth,  the  Bible  presents  it  in  that  dis- 
connected form,  that  he  may  wrest  it,  if  he  please,  to  his  own  de- 
struction. 

Still  it  will  prove  true,  that  when  a  tortured  text  has  been  made 
the  basis  of  a  false  doctrine,  that  doctrine  will  not  be  sustained  by 
the  main  drift  of  inspiration.  It  cannot  be  supported  by  other 
texts,  without  giving  them  a  false  and  forced  construction,  and  the 
whole  system  when  thus  built  will  be  a  baseless  fabric.  There 
will  be  many  texts  in  the  very  face  of  the  false  doctrine,  and  in  a 
greater  number  still  its  falsehood  will  be  implied.  But  it  will  not 
be  thus  with  truth.  When  you  have  fairly  gathered  any  doctrine 
thet  God  meant  to  teach,  from  any  part  of  his  word,  you  will  find 
it  asserted  in  other  parts,  implied  in  others,  and  in  none  contra- 
dicted. 

Now  apply  this  rule  to  any  one  doctrine,  or  system  of  doctrines 
and  it  will  assuredly  assist  you  in  discovering  what  is  truth.  The 
saint's  perseverance,  for  instance,  is  clearly  taught  in  this  text, 
"The  steps  of  a  good  man  are  ordered  by  the  Lord,  and  he  de- 
lighteth  in  his  way  ;  though  he  fall,  he  shall  not  be  utterly  cast 
down,  for  the  Lord  upholdeth  him  with  his  hand;"  and  in  this, 
"  For  I  am  persuaded,  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come, 
nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  sep- 
arate us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  ;" 
and  in  this,  "Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that  he  which 
hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you,  will  perform  ic;  until  the  day  of 
Jesus  Christ;"  and  in  this,  "The  righteous  shall  hold  on  his 
way." 

Now  the  doctrine  thus  taught  in  a  number  of  texts  of  which  1 
have  quoted  but  few,  has  implied  support  in  a  far  more  numerous 
class  still.  All  those  texts  which  speak  of  heaven,  as  the  final 
home  of  believers,  imply  the  doctrine  ;  all  those  which  make  re- 
generated men  the  Savior's  reward  ;  the  promises  made  to  believ- 
ers, of  help  in  the  time  of  need,  of  victory  in  the  hour  of  conflict, 
of  escape  from  temptation,  of  light  in  darkness,  of  strength  equal 
to  their  day,  of  guidance  through  life,  and  of  hope  in  death.  It 
^  implied  in  that  assurance  of  salvation  which  Paul  had,  and  which 
(•very  believer  may  have;  in  the  terms  of  the  covenant,  which  is 
said  to  be  i  verlasting,  well  ordered  in  nil  tilings  and  sure  ;  and  in  the 


GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED.  CG7 

very  nature  of  holiness,  which  immediately  on  taking  existence  in 
the  heart,  seizes  heavenly  objects  as  its  own  inheritance.  And  the 
doctrine  thus  supported  directly,  and  by  extensive  implication,  is  no- 
where contradicted. 

Now  bring  any  doctrine  to  this  test,  and  if  thus  supported  it  is 
true.  Upon  the  trutb,  ligbt  will  shine  from  almost  every  page  of 
.nspiration.  But  we  must  be  candid  and  diligent,  or  we  may  not 
hope  to  be  enligbtened.  If  men  go  to  the  Bible,  determined  to 
support  a  scheme  of  their  own,  it  is  by  no  means  certain,  that 
there  is  any  lie,  so  obvious  to  detection,  that  it  may  not  be  tints 
sustained:  for  it  is  threatened,  "For  this  cause  God  shall  send 
them  strong  delusions,  that  they  should  believe  a  lie  ;  that  they 
all  might  be  damned  who  believed  not  the  truth,  but  had  pleasure 
in  unrighteousness."  If  you  still  ask,  What  is  truth  1  I  answer 
again, 

II.  Truth  is  that,  after  which  men  inquire  humbly  and  prayerfully. 
That  was  a  good  ejaculation  of  the  Psalmist,  "  Open  thou  mine 
eyes,  and  I  shall  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  thy  law."  All 
Bible  truth  is  in  its  very  nature  humiliating  to  a  sinner  ;  hence 
there  must  be  humility,  or  there  can  be  here  no  possible  evidence 
of  that  candor,  which  is  necessary  in  researches  after  truth  of 
any  kind.  And  we  shall  pray  while  endeavoring  to  acquaint  our 
selves  with  God's  word,  because  a  desire  to  know  the  truth  im- 
plies a  heart  to  love  it,  and  this  implies  a  spirit  of  prayer. 

All  those  men  who  have  searched  the  most  profoundly,  after  the 
mind  of  God,  have  been  men  of  prayer.  They  made  ample  pro 
ficiency  in  their  inquiries,  because  in  the  outset  they  imbued  their 
souls  with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel.  In  answer  to  their  prayers 
they  had  the  teachings  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  It  is  only  a  mind 
opened  by  the  Sanctifier  for  the  reception  of  truth,  joined  to  a 
heart  softened  and  subdued  by  him,  that  can  have  any  very  exalt- 
ed pleasure  in  becoming  acquainted  with  those  holy  objects  which 
the  truths  of  God  present.  He  will  have  a  low  opinion  of  his 
own  wisdom,  and  will  feel  his  need  of  Divine  aid  at  every  stage  of 
his  progress. 

It  is  recorded  of  one  good  man,  who  is  known  to  have  made 
uncommon  proficiency  in  his  researches  after  truth,  that  he  studi- 
ed his  Bible  every  day  upon  his  knees.  And  of  every  good  man 
it  must  be  true,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  he  studies  the 
word  of  God  with  his  eyes  directed  toward  heaven  for  Divine 
teaching.     Between    truth,    and  a    humble   prayerful    spirit,   there 


GG8  GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED. 

is  that  indissoluDle  connection,  that  will  justify  the  inference,  tha 
where  the  one  is,  there  we  may  with  great  probability  look  for  the 
other. 

Bui  the  search  for  error  requires  no  humility,  and  no  prayer. 
He  who  forms  his  system  out  of  his  own  heart,  and  goes  to  the 
Bible  to  have  it  sustained,  will  be  too  proud  to  let  the  testimony 
of  inspiration  alter  it.  He  feels  no  need  of  light  and  asks  none: 
would  be  afraid  to  pray,  lest  God  should  convince  him  that  his  fa- 
vorite system  is  a  lie.  Hence  inquire,  would  you  know  what  truth 
is,  what  are  the  doctrines  that  men  learn  on  their  knees  ;  feeling 
themselves  ignorant,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked,  and  in  need 
of  all  things.  And  would  you  know  what  is  not  truth,  inquire 
what  doctrines  are  brought  to  the  Bible  to  be  compared  with  it, 
with  a  pride  and  a  self-sufficiency,  that  scruple  not  to  hew  down 
any  section  of  that  book  that  will  not  quadrate  with  the  favorite 
system  ;  and  prepared  to  proscribe  the  whole,  if  it  assume  any  au- 
thority over  the  decisions  of  human  reason.  Do  you  still  ask, 
"  What  is  truth  ?"     I  answer, 

III.  Truth  is  that  which  produces  changes  of  character  for  the  better. 
God  has  told  us  plainly  what  is  the  design  of  his  word.  It  was 
given  to  teach  us,  "  that  denying  ungodliness,  and  every  worldly 
lust,  we  should  live  soberly  and  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  pre- 
sent evil  world."  Such  then  is  the  effect,  that  it  is  to  be  expect- 
ed truth  will  have  upon  the  human  character;  hence  that  which 
lias  this  effect  is  truth.  It  was  the  prayer  of  our  Lord  for  his  dis- 
ciples, "  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth  ;  thy  word  is  truth." 
And  who  will  deny,  that  men  are  fitted  for  heaven,  through  sanc- 
tification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth.  This  fact  admit- 
ted, if  we  can  ascertain  what  doctrines  have  been  the  means  of 
making  men  better,  we  shall  have  learned  what  the  truth  is. 

Where  then  do  we  look  for  the  most  frequent  conversions'?  un- 
der what  system  1  and  under  what  men'?  The  question  amounts 
tn  this,  What  doctrines  have  been  preached,  and  believed,  where 
tli<-  Spirit  of  God  has  the  most  frequently  and  the  most  powerfully 
operated,  in  producing  revivals  ?  The  men  who  have  been  the 
favored,  in  seeing  the  work  of  God  prosper  under  their  min- 
istrations, and  have  turned  many  to  righteousness,  what  is  their 
creed  1  Do  they  deny  the  atonement  1  or  do  they  place  it  at  the 
foundation  of  all  hnman  hopes  1  Do  they  acknowledge  the  Di- 
vine nature  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  Do  they  consider  man  so  depraved, 
that  his  sacrifices  are  an  abomination  to  the  Lord;  and   his  obsti 


GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHES.  G69 

nacy  such,  that  God  must  take  away  the  heart  of  stone,  and  give 
a  heart  of  flesh,  or  there  will  be  no  repentance,  and  no  obedience  1 
Do  they  believe,  or  not,  that  God  is  a  Sovereign,  and  worketh  all 
things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will  ?  Do  they  credit  the  fact 
that  God  has  prepared  a  quenchless  fire,  and  a  never-dying  worm, 
for  the  punishment  of  the  finally  impenitent  1 

We  do  not  deny  that  in  some  instances  congregations  have  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  truth,  by  other  means  than  through  the 
ministry  placed  over  them,  and  that  the  truth  thus  acquired  has 
produced  awakenings;  nor  yet,  that  the  Bible  alone  has  been  the 
means  of  saving  men,  notwithstanding  the  opposing  influence  of  a 
false  gospel.  We  ask  what  are  the  doctrines  that  have  generated 
alarm,  and  have  induced  men  to  fly  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  on  the 
hope  set  before  them  in  the  gospel ! 

Will  it  be  denied  that  these  revivals,  so  called,  have  made  men 
better.  It  will  be  admitted,  that  they  have  made  some  men  worse, 
that  the  truth  long  and  daringly  resisted,  has  produced  not  a  few 
of  the  most  hard  and  desperate  men,  that  have  ever  lived.  There 
have  been  sore  and  alarming  instances  of  relapse,  that  have  cast 
whole  Churches  into  deep  distress. 

But,  this  admitted,  have  not  revivals  produced  very  noted  and 
numerous  cases  of  reform  1  Have  not  the  profane,  the  intemper- 
ate, the  proud,  and  the  false,  been  rendered  virtuous,  by  some 
power  that  operated  at  these  seasons  1  Now  if  it  was  God  who 
wrought,  it  was  truth  he  used  :  and  whether  you  own  or  not,  that 
the  power  of  God  produced  the  changes  witnessed,  you  will  hardly 
deny  that  the  truth  was  the  means :  for  it  is  not  more  unscriptural, 
than  unphilosophical,  to  believe  that  falsehood  will  generate  virtue. 
Ascertain  then  whether  the  reception  or  the  rejection  of  any 
given  doctrine,  or  system  of  doctrines,  is  more  generally  attended 
by  a  change  of  character  for  the  better,  producing  sobriety,  mo- 
rality, and  benevolence,  and  the  fact  will  aid  you  in  your  search 
after  truth.  I  know  there  is  much  boast  of  morality,  where  doc- 
trines are  current,  that  are  plainly  at  war  with  what  the  Bible 
seems  very  clearly  to  teach,  but  I  know  too  that  such  boast  is 
vain.  The  virtue  that  thrives  under  error  is  proud,  and  selfish, 
and  cold,  and  often  very  malignant,  and  cruel  ;  makes  but  few 
and  small  sacrifices,  and  is  at  the  best  a  mere  polished  and  civi- 
lized idolatry.  It  may  drop  a  tear  over  the  sufferings  of  the  body, 
and  be  prompt  to  cure  temporary  distress  ;  but  can  look  with  the 
indifference  of  a  statue  at  the  ruins  of  the  moral  world,  and  feels 
not  a  pang  nor  utters  a  groan,  at  the  r'fi    cr  Tix  hundred  millions 


070  GOS?EL   TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED. 

of  souls  sinking  to  perdition,  nnd  degraded  and  miserable  al.  the 
way  tliitlier.  It  cares  not  who  suffers  through  ignorance  of  God, 
nor  is  miserable  through  the  luck  of  vision.  We  do  not  deny,  if 
they  like  this  picture,  that  such  a  morality  does  prevail  where  men 
hare  turned  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie. 

Bui  let  us  make  a  high  regard  to  the  best  interests  of  men,  the 
leading  feature  of  morality,  and  then  inquire  where  we  find  it. 
Dues  such  a  morality  thrive  under  what  is  termed  evangelical 
truth,  or  where  this  system  is  scouted,  and  libelled,  and  proscribed  1 
if  we  see  men,  on  embracing  these  doctrines  become  better,  then 
believe  them  true,  but  if  worse,  then  you  may  believe  them  a  lie. 
Do  you  ask  me  still,  "  What  is  truth  1"     I  answer, 

IV.  Truth  is  that  which  distresses,  and  often  offends  ungodly  men. 
The  character  of  God,  and  his  people  as  far  as  they  are  like  him, 
is  built  on  the  truth.  But  unholy  beings,  men  and  devils,  have  a 
character  bottomed  upon  falsehood.  They  feel  and  act  as  they 
do,  because  in  their  esteem  a  lie  is  the  truth.  Hence  the  truth  is 
at  war  with  their  character,  their  conscience,  their  pleasures,  and 
their  hopes.  Tt  holds  before  them  a  mirror  in  which  they  appear 
ugly  to  themselves,  and  see  their  need  of  a  better  character,  in 
order  to  be  accepted  of  God.  It  shows  them  that  their  stronghold 
is  ;i  house  of  straw.  It  exhibits  them  as  playing  the  fool  with 
their  own  best  interests.  A  mad  man,  who  in  a  paroxysm  of  his 
ise  has  butchered'his  family,  and  half  dispatched  himself,  and 
has  waked  to  consciousness  in  the  very  act  of  suicide,  is  scarcely 
a  sorer  picture  of  wretchedness  and  ruin,  than  a  sinner  upon  whose 
conscience  there  has  been  poured  suddenly  the  light  of  truth.  It 
shows  him  that  he  is  laboring  hard  to  lit  himself  for  irrecoverable 
ruin;  and  is  heaping  treasure  together  for  the  last  days.  His 
character  must  be  altered,  or  the  light  shut  out  that  shows  him  its 
deformity. 

Now  assure  yourselves  whal  doctrines  bring  ungodly  men  into 
.bis  condition  of  distress,  and  you  learn  what  is  truth.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  you  will  ascertain  what  doctrines  offend  and  grieve 
the  good  man,  yon  will  learn  what  is  not  truth.  Let  me  appeal  to 
thai  part  of  my  audience,  who  have  ye1  no  hope  that  they  are  born 
of  God,  but  who  have  frequently  fell  alarm.  On  that  night  when 
you  went  home  so  unhappy  from  the  place  of  worship,  and  wet 
your  conch  with  tears,  and  ronred,  and  was  in  anguish  all  night, 
whal  doctrine  had  been  exhibited  !  Was  it  the  entire  depravity 
of  the  heart  !    or  was  it  an  attempt  to  prove    that  you  are  not   that 


GOSPEL   TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED.  071 

lost  and  ruined  being,  which  this  pitiless  orthodoxy  would  render 
you  '!  Was  it  Divine  sovereignty  !  or  a  discourse  that  went  to 
show,  that  when  God  had  built  the  world  he  placed  it  without  the 
limits  of  his  empire,  and  left  it  to  govern  and  watch  over  itself? 
Was  it  the  doctrine  of  decrees!  or  an  attempt  to  show  that  a 
sparrow  may  fall  to  the  ground,  and  God  not  know  it,  and  that  the 
hairs  of  our  head  are  not  numbered  \  Was  it  election  1  or  was  it 
an  effort  to  prove  that  the  Father  has  not  given  any  of  our  race  to 
the  Lord  .lesus  Christ,  and  that  if  he  lias,  they  may  not  come  to 
him,  and  that  many  who  do  come  to  him  may  be  cast  out  1  Was 
it  the  doctrine  of  evcr-during  future  punishment  1  or  a  train  of 
reasonings  that  went  to  prove  that  the  great  gulf  had  been  bridged 
over  1 

Go  on,  my  audience,  and  apply  this  rule  to  other  doctrines,  to 
whatever  extent  you  please,  it  will  help  you  greatly  in  determin- 
ing what  is  truth.  Let  us  suppose  a  case,  or  rather  state  one  that 
has  happened.  A  sinner  lies  on  the  dying  bed.  There  goes  to 
him  one  in  the  character  of  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  he 
tells  the  dying  man,  that  he  has  no  occasion  to  be  much  alarmed, 
that  his  heart  is  not  radically  polluted,  that  he  must  receive  bap- 
tism, and  forgive  his  enemies,  and  be  willing  to  die,  and  all  will 
be  well.  He  is  baptized  !  !  The  minister  goes  on;  God  is  mer- 
ciful, and  Christ  has  died  for  sinners:  there  can  be  no  doubt  but 
the  dying  man  will  be  soon  in  Abraham's  bosom. — He  retires,  and 
another  man,  with  far  other  views,  takes  his  chair  by  the  dying 
bed.  He  assures  the  poor  man,  that  he  has  probably  come  to  his 
last  hours  with  a  heart  of  enmity  with  God,  and  so  obstinate  in  its 
enmity,  that  none  but  a  power  divine  can  subdue  it  ;  and  that  ii 
must  be  sanctified  very  soon,  or  he  perishes  for  ever.  Still  God 
has  made  no  promise  that  lays  him  under  obligation  to  effect  this 
change,  hence  the  man's  eternal  life  lianas  upon  uncovenanted 
mercy.  True  a  Savior  has  died  for  sinners,  and  God  is  merciful, 
infinitely  merciful,  but,  thai  atonement  and  that  mercy,  have  con- 
ditions annexed,  which  must  be  complied  with,  or  they  avail  no- 
thing. The  sinner  must  repent  and  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  ;  and 
God  will  give  repentance  unto  life  to  whom  he  will,  whose  names 
are  written  in  the  Lamb's  hook  of  life. 

I  have  thus  given  the  substance  of  the  instruction  administereA 
by  the  two  legates.  The  dying  man  continues  impenitent.  Now 
who  of  the  two  grives  him  comfort,  and  who  alarms  and  distressed 
hnn  1  He  who  gives  comfort  to  one  who  is  out  of  Christ,  must 
deal  in  lies;  he  who   distresses   him,  though    he    may  not  use  the 


C72  GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED. 

mildest,  best  language,  has  the  presumption  in  his  favor,  that  he 
pours  in  truth  upon  an  ungodly  mind.  God  requires  that  we  say 
to  the  wicked,  that  it  shall  be  ill  with  them,  and  a  message  like 
this  will  nut  give  them  comfort,  unless  it  prove  the  means  of  their 
conversion.  Hence  the  irresistible  presumption  is,  that  he  who 
gives  pain  to  the  dying  sinner,  and  not  he  who  gives  comfort, 
makes  use  of  truth. 

And  what  thus  gives  pain,  is  very  liable  to  give  offence.  Men 
are  proud,  and  when  the  truth,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case, 
bears  against  their  character  and  conduct,  they  scowl.  You  can- 
not offer  them  mercy  in  the  style  of  Scripture,  but  you  convey  to 
tin  in  a  threatening,  if  they  believe  not.  The  gospel  intrudes  upon 
the  sinner's  pleasures,  and  pours  unwelcome  light  upon  his  con- 
science, and,  as  he  esteems  it,  degrades  his  character  ;  tells  him 
of  a  judgment  he  is  loth  to  think  of,  and  predicts  a  doom  he  hates 
to  anticipate,  a  hell  whose  fires  he  would  gladly  put  out,  where 
there  await  him  weeping,  and  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 
Ah,  the  truth  tears  from  the  sinner  all  his  hopes  of  heaven,  pulls 
down  about  his  head  his  refuge  of  lies,  breaks  his  covenant  with 
death,  and  annuls  his  agreement  with  hell,  and  leaves  him  the  prey 
of  despair,  till  he  raises  one  believing  look  to  the  hills  whence  his 
help  cometh  ;  and  sure  as  life,  all  this,  if  it  does  not  save  him,  will 
offend  him. 

If,  then,  you  would  test  the  truth  of  a  doctrine,  propose  it  to 
ungodly  men,  and  watch  if  it  gives  offence.  What  effect  has  divine 
sovereignty,  decrees,  and  election,  upon  such  men  1  If  they 
offend,  th.."  presumption  is  that  they  are  true.  Go  to  that  man 
standing  in  the  door  of  that  grog-shop,  reeling  and  cursing,  with 
a  glass  in  his  hand,  and  name  one  of  these  doctrines ;  will  it  please 
or  offend  him  1  will  it  calm  or  enrage  him  1 

Let  me  take  another  view.  Christians  have  been  much  of  their 
life  ungodly.  Did  they  rrenerally  love  these  hard  doctrines  before 
conversion  or  since  1  The  doctrine  of  universal  salvation  ;  do 
men  more  generally  believe  this  doctrine  before  they  are  regene- 
rated, or  afterward  I  You  may  thus  bring  to  the  test  any  doctrine 
or  system  of  doctrines.  That  individual  truth,  or  system  of  truths, 
which  pleases  more  <jenerally  unsanctified  men,  is  more  likely  to 
be  false  than  otherwise.  Error  loves  its  child,  tepravity,  and  the 
child  its  mother. 

I  know  that  to  make  this  experiment  fairly,  you  must  arrest 
attention.  Men  may  be  too  stupid  to  be  distressed  by  the  truth, 
and  may  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness.     The  mass  of  imperii- 


GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED.  673 

tent  sinners  in  our  orthodox  congregations,  and  who  could  not  be 
persuaded  to  receive  and  support  a  loose  and  ungodly  ministry, 
are  on  the  side  of  truth,  because  they  are  thoughtless,  or  consider 
it  disreputable  to  renounce  the  creed  of  their  fathers.  But  every 
period  of  awakening  draws  out  enmity,  more  or  less,  because  it 
brings  men  to  think.  I  doubt  not  but  there  is  sufficient  hatred  to 
truth,  in  New  England,  to  explode  the  gospel,  and  its  ministry, 
and  the  Bible,  and  seal  up  the  doors  of  every  sanctuary,  if  God 
should  remove  restraint,  and  wicked  men  be  generally  aroused  to 
thought,  and  see  how  at  war  truth  is  with  their  heart  and  their  life. 
There  may  be  a  kind  of  general  acknowledgment  of  the  truth, 
where  it  would  be  most  cordially  hated,  were  it  so  brought  home 
to  the  conscience  as  to  be  strongly  felt.  Then  it  becomes  mani- 
fest that  the  truth  had  previously  floated  mereJy  upon  the  surface 
of  the  mind,  and  had  not  been  opposed,  because  it  had  not  been 
felt.     Do  you  still  inquire,  "  What  is  truth  1"  I  answer, 

V.  Truth  is  that  which  is  consistent  with  itself,  and  inconsistent 
with  all  error.     Should  two  men  appear  in  a   court   of  justice,  to 
bear  witness  to   the   truth,   their  testimony  would   agree,  without 
any  previous  consultation.     There   might   be   many  apparent  dis- 
crepancies, but   they  could   all   be   explained   satisfactorily.     Say 
it  is  a  case  of  assault,  that   happened  several  months  since.     One 
affirms  that  the  attack   commenced  in  a  house,  on  the  evening  of 
such  a  day  ;  at  the  hour  of  eleven  ;  the  other  places  the  scene  of 
attack  without  the  doors  of  that  house,  at  the  hour  of  twelve,  and 
names  another  day  of  the  week,  another  day   of  the   month,  and 
even  another  month.     But  the  court  perceives  in  a  moment,  that 
the  attack  might  commence  in  the  house,  and  be  renewed  without 
and    that   one   of  the   witnesses  might   mistake  wholly  the  time 
Hence,  finally,  their  testimony  may  substantially  agree. 

Now,  although  we  would  not  place  the  seeming  discrepancies 
of  the  Bible  on  the  same  footing,  for  here  there  could  be  no  mis- 
take, yet  there  are  many  apparent  discrepancies.  One  apostle  testi- 
fies that  the  thieves,  implicating  both,  reproached  the  suffering 
Redeemer;  another  fixes  the  charge  upon  one  o?dy ;  while  the 
truth  probably  is,  that  at  the  first  both  reviled,  and  finally  but  one; 
the  other  being  sanctified  ;  and  the  evangelists  record  what  they 
saw  and  heard  at  different  times.  So  when  Saul  was  addressed 
by  the  Savior  on  his  way  to  Damascus  ;  one  account  is,  that  those 
who  journeyed  with  him,  heard  the  voice  but  saw  no  man  ;  while 
another  asserts  that  they  heard  not  the  voice   of  bin   that  spake 


074  GOSrEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED. 

The  truth  no  doubt  is,  that  they  heard  a  sound,  but  did  not  distin- 
guish what  was  spoken.  Many  such  apparent  discrepancies  ate 
found  in  the  sacred  volume,  serving,  however,  to  corroborate  its 
testimony.  If  men  bad  agreed  to  lie,  they  would  have  been  care- 
ful to  have  a  perfect  harmony  in  their  statements,  especially  when 
their  testimony  was  voluntary  and  deliberate.  Truth  is  consistent 
with  itself. 

Now  let  us  make  application  of  the  rule.  If  it  be  correct,  then 
an  entire  change  of  heart  is  necessary  only  on  the  supposition  that 
the  heart  is  totally  depraved  ;  if  regeneration  be  entirely  the  work 
of  God,  then  man  does  none  of  it  ;  no  promise  could  insure  heaven 
to  the  believer,  and  still  he  be  lost;  if  God  foreknows  an  event, 
that  event  is  certain  ;  sin  requires  an  infinite  atonement,  if,  in  its 
nature,  it  tends  to  infinite  mischief:  thus  one  truth  is  consistent 
with  another. 

But  between  truth  and  error  there  is  no  such  harmony.  No 
court  can  reconcile  a  true  and  false  witness.  Error  thwarts  the 
track  of  truth,  and  its  own  track.  It  is  a  body  opaque,  that  can- 
not light  its  own  way,  while  truth  surrounds  itself  with  the  light 
necessary  to  guide  its  course. 

Let  us  look  at  one  case.  I  take  this  position  ;  God  is  the  im- 
placable enemy  of  sin  ;  doav  reconcile  this  with  the  idea  that  there 
is  neither  a  judgment  nor  a  hell.  It  then  follows,  that  the  vilest 
men  are  often  taken  to  heaven  first :  the  people  of  the  old  world 
were  at  rest  in  the  bosom  of  the  Lamb,  while  Noah  and  his  family 
had  yet  to  weather  many  a  dark  and  dreary  night  upon  a  shore- 
less ocean  ;  the  Sodomites  went  all  up  to  heaven,  while  Lot  was 
left  to  wander  upon  the  mountains  ;  Judas  was  glorified  before 
John  ;  and  all  those  who  shorten  their  lives  by  debauchery  are 
sooner  at  rest  than  the  virtuous.  To  such  results  are  we  driven 
when  we  would  reconcile  truth  with  error. 

Take  another  case.  The  heart  till  renewed  in  regeneration  is 
void  of  moral  goodness.  Now  reconcile  this  with  the  idea  that 
the  unsanctified  do  any  thing  pleasing  to  God.  The  heart  gives 
every  moral  action  its  character.  "As  a  man  thinketh  in  his 
heart,  so  is  he."  Hence  a  had  heart  will  give  every  moral  act  a 
bad  character:  the  motives  by  which  we  act  are  in  the  heart,  hut 
if  the  beart  of  the  sons  of  men  be  full  of  evil,  then  every  motive 
i--  bad  ;  hence  every  deed  instigated  by  such  motive  is  bad.  How 
then  can  Binners  do  any  thing  pleasing  to  God  ?  Thus  truth  and 
error  at  open  war.  They  must  not  mingle  in  the  same  system, 
nor  unite  in  governing  the  same  heart ;  cannot  have  a  place  in  the 


GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED.  G75 

same  Bible,  can  have  no  fellowship,  no  harmony.  They  are  the 
two  contending  powers  that  have  so  long-  distracted  this  fallen 
world,  and  the  war  will  continue,  without  truce  or  treaty,  till  one  or 
the  other  is  exterminated  ;  and  which  must  perish,  it  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  decide. 

And  I  might  add,  that  error  is  equally  inconsistent  with  itself 
There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  system  of  error.  I  could  as  soon  con- 
ceive of  harmony  made  up  of  a  combination  of  discords.  Hence 
we  need  not  wonder  that  those  who  depart  from  the  simplicity  of 
the  gospel,  are  driven  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine.  It 
must  be  so.  They  can  never  so  mend  up  their  system,  that  it  shall 
suit  them  ;  but  will  alter  it,  and  alter  it,  till  all  truth  is  excluded, 
and  it  has  become  a  scheme  of  infidel  morality.  So  we  conceive 
of  some  comet  that  will  not  be  governed  by  the  laws  of  gravita- 
tion, and  wanders  from  system  to  system,  till  no  other  world  can 
be  safe  in  its  vicinity,  and  no  sun  will  lighten  it,  and  finally  it  goes 
out  beyond  the  reach  of  suns,  and  there  is  in  reserve  for  it  the 
blackness  of  darkness  forever.  Ah,  how  infatuated  men  have  been 
when  they  gave  up  one  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  and  supposed  it 
would  not  essentially  alter  their  creed!  By  that  act  they  cast 
themselves  off  from  their  anchorage,  after  which  there  was  no 
guessing  before  what  storm  they  would  be  driven,  into  what  lati- 
tude borne,  or  upon  what  cliff  be  dashed,  and  broken,  and  destroy- 
ed. O  that  men  would  be  wise  sooner,  and  fall  on  their  knees,  the 
moment  they  have  taken  up  their  pen  to  blot  and  interline  their 
creed.  It  is  only  in  the  edifice  of  truth,  that  there  can  be  a  per- 
fect unity  from  the  foundation  to  the  topstone.  Do  you  still  in- 
quire, "  What  is  truth  E"     I  answer, 

VI.  Truth  is  that  which  will  stand  the  test  of  a  close  examination. 
A  man  reports  to  you  n  fact  which  he  witnessed.  You  have  some 
doubt,  and  demand  particulars.  He  goes  on  to  state  when,  and 
where,  and  how  the  event  transpired.  He  tells  you  why  he  was 
there  ;  who  else  were  present ;  the  hour  of  the  day  ;  how  long 
he  was  there  ;  how  many  were  concerned  in  the  matter  ; — in  a 
word,  he  will  readily  answer  any  question  you  put  to  him.  And 
makes  every  statement  fearless  of  contradiction. 

Now  a  lie  will  not  stand  this  pressure.  Ask  the  man  who  comes 
to  you  with  a  false  report  all  these  particulars,  and  you  will  soon 
perceive  that  although  he  has  marked  out  several  steps,  yet  be- 
yond these  he  moves  with   hesitancy.     He  has  the  particulars  of 


(;76  GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED. 

the  lie  to  fabricate.  Now  all  this  will  apply  to  gospel  trutn.  Take 
an  example. 

Total  depravity  is  Droved  by  this  text,  "  The  carnal  mind  is  en- 
mity against  God  ;"  and  this,  "  There  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no 
not  one  ;"  and  this,  "  Every  imagination  of  the  thought  of  the 
heart  is  evil,  only  evil  continually;"  and  this,  "The  heart  of 
the  sons  of  men  is  full  of  evil." 

Now  let  us  see  if  this  doctrine  will  stand  the  test  of  a  close  ex- 
amination. If  it  be  true,  men  will  be  seen  to  act  very  basely;  and 
this  we  see.  If  it  be  true  men  will  need  restraint,  and  will  act  the 
worse,  the  less  restrained  ;  and  this  is  fact:  "Thou  hast  spoken 
ami  done  evil  things  as  thou  couldst."  If  it  be  true,  nothing  that 
the  sinner  does  will  please  God  :  "  Without  faith  it  is  impossible 
to  please  him."  If  it  be  true,  God  must  renew  the  heart :  "  Which 
were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will 
of  man,  but  of  God."  If  it  be  true,  the  change  will  be  great : 
"  Old  things  are  passed  away,  behold  all  things  are  become  new." 
If  it  be  true,  God  must  hate  our  native  character :  "He  is  angry 
with  the  wicked  every  day."  If  it  be  true,  they  will  not  relish  it ; 
and  such  is  generally  the  fact.  You  may  go  on  and  press  the  doc- 
trine as  much  as  you  please,  or  any  other  doctrine  in  the  system 
of  truth,  and  it  will  stand.  Not  the  surf-beaten  rock,  that  lines 
the  shore  of  ocean,  stands  half  so  firmly  as  the  truth.  It  will  live 
and  flourish,  and  will  still  be  truth,  when  all  its  opposers  have  per- 
ished, and  every  rock  is  rolled  from  its  bed. 

And  the  truth  will  stand  firmly  without  the  aid  of  sophistry.  It 
is  when  you  attempt  to  establish  a  lie,  that  you  must  use  false  ar- 
guments. Hence  there  never  was  an  orator,  who  could  ably  sup- 
port the  side  of  an  argument,  that  is  opposite  to  truth  and  right- 
eousness. Take  an  example.  He  tries  to  prove  that  no  plan 
guides  the  Divine  operations.  But  there  are  a  thousand  facts,  and 
the  whole  Bible,  and  the  best  conclusions  of  reason,  all  confront- 
him.  Hence  he  makes  no  advances,  till  he  affixes  to  the  doc- 
trine he  would  oppose,  some  odious  name,  calls  it  election,  and 
suggests  some  mischievous  consequences  if  it  prove  true,  and 
casts  about  the  hated  doctrine  a  cloud  of  darkness  and  mysticism, 
ami  then,  when  his  hearers  are  highly  impassioned,  and  so  blinded 
by  rage,  as  not  to  see  the  weakness  and  wickedness  of  the  orator, 
he  plies  his  false  ami  worthless  arguments.  It  would  destroy 
man's  free  agency.  It  would  render  the  invitations  of  the  gospe< 
insincere.  It  would  excuse  every  violation  of  the  Divine  law. 
Now  there  is  not  one  of  these  arguments  worth  a  straw,  if  he  had 


GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED.  G77 

a  candid  auditory  to  enlighten.  But  one  may  as  well  attempt  to 
convince  a  rock  that  it  is  hard,  as  to  pour  truth  upon  a  mad  con- 
gregation. The  ear  that  should  hear  it  is  deaf,  and  the  eye  that 
should  see  it  is  blind,  and  what  is  worse  than  all,  the  heart  that 
should  feel  it  is  biased. 

But  let  one  attempt  to  prove  that  God  has  a  plan,  and  guides  all 
his  movements  by  it,  and  he  may  use  solid  and  honest  arguments. 
He  may  appeal  to  the  unequivocal  testimony  of  inspiration :  to  the 
attributes  of  God  ;  to  the  impossibility  of  a  wise  intelligence  ope- 
rating without  a  plan;  or  to  matters  of  fact,  which  show,  unequi- 
vocally, that  such  a  plan  exists,  and  is  going  into  rapid  and  suc- 
cessful operation.  And  when  he  has  exhausted  his  substantial 
arguments,  he  need  proceed  no  farther,  for  the  truth  is  proved, 
and  will  stand  without  the  prop  of  sophistry.  And  the  same  is 
true  relative  to  any  and  every  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  A  mere 
school-boy  can  reason  better  in  support  of  truth,  than  the  wisest 
philosopher,  when  he  would  prove  the  truth  of  a  falsehood.  The 
very  father  of  lies  himself  could  never  defend,  successfully,  any 
one  doctrine  of  his  creed.  You  still  ask  me,  "What  is  truth V 
I  answer, 

VII.  Truth  is  that  against  which  all  opposition  is  weak.  It  must 
have  opposers,  in  every  world  where  there  is  depravity.  But  the 
Patron  of  truth  is  the  mighty  God  ;  hence  all  opposition  is  insig- 
nificant. Truth  could  never  be  checked  in  its  progress,  by  all  the 
terrors  of  the  dungeon,  or  the  agonies  of  the  stake  and  the  cross. 
Every  heretic  that  was  executed  during  the  reign  of  intolerance, 
promoted  the  triumph,  and  widened  the  spread  of  truth.  At  every 
scene  of  persecution,  other  hearts  were  sanctified,  and  other  wit- 
nesses rose,  as  it  were  from  the  ashes  of  the  martyred,  to  erect 
aq-ain,  higher  and  still  higher,  the  standard  of  the  cross,  and  vin- 
dicate, more  and  more  triumphantly,  the  honor  of  truth,  and  the 
glory  of  God.  Opposition  to  truth  warms  its  advocates,  and  pro- 
duces a  reaction,  that  carries  the  war  back  into  the  territories  of 
the  foe,  eclipses  the  brilliancy,  and  humbles  the  triumph  of  his 
boasted  victories. 

Were  it  not  for  the  reluctance  we  feel  that  men  should  undo 
themselves  for  ever,  it  could  be  wished,  that  error  might  ever  have 
warm  and  able  advocates,  to  call  into  action  the  friends  of  truth, 
and  show  the  world  that  it  has  a  light  of  its  own,  that  can  eclipse 
and  consume  every  wandering  star  that  would  thwart  its  track. 
In  its  very  nature  truth  is  invulnerable  and  eternal      Its  author  ia 


G78  GOSI'EL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED. 

God,  whose  character  and  whose  throne  is  built  on  it,  and  who  has 
pledged  all  iu  him  that  is  sacred,  that  it  shall  exist  and  flourish 
commensurate  with  himself. 

0,  that  its  enemies  did  but  know  their  destiny.  When  they 
shall  have  done  their  best,  and  cried  aloud  to  their  gods,  and  leaped 
upon  their  altars,  and  wounded  themselves  till  they  are  covered 
with  their  own  gore;  then  God  will  speak,  and  fire  will  come  from 
heaven  to  testify  to  his  truth,  and  devour  its  adversaries.  No 
warfare  has  ever  been  so  unpromising  as  theirs.  The  victory  has 
never  hung  in  doubt  an  hour.  When  the  foe  has  been  intrenching 
himself,  and  was  proud  of  his  forces,  and  sure  of  the  victory  ;  and 
the  friends  of  truth  lay  on  their  faces  between  the  porch  and  the 
altar,  and  could  only  say,  "  Spare  thy  people,  0  Lord,  and  give 
not  thine  heritage  to  reproach  ;"  even  then,  angels  were  not  afraid, 
nor  God  afraid,  nor,  nor  should  faith  have  been  afraid,  that  the 
truth  might  suffer.  Do  vou  still  ask  me,  "  What  is  truth  1"  I  an 
swer, 

VIII.  Truth  is  that  which  never  becomes  obsolete,  but  is  rendered 
the  more  illustrious  by  use.  It  may  at  times  seem  obscured,  and 
likely  to  become  extinct,  in  some  limited  territory  of  this  world, 
but  it  will  come  into  credit  again,  and  will  pervade  the  Aery 
ground  from  which  it  seemed  excluded.  The  human  heart  does 
not  love  it,  and  would  destroy  it,  and  has  been  making  efforts  to 
this  effect  ever  since  the  apostacy ;  but  the  conscience,  to  what- 
ever extent  it  has  light,  is  on  the  side  of  truth,  and  often  exerts  an 
influence  to  give  it  countenance  and  currency,  where  it  would 
otherwise  be  without  a  friend.  Its  light  maybe  eclipsed,  but  can- 
not be  extinguished.  So  the  sun  may  suffer  some  little  world  to 
roll  athwart  its  beams,  and  cut  off  a  few  fragments  of  its  light 
from  some  other  world,  but  the  sun,  when  eclipsed,  is  not  extin- 
guished. While  the  ignorant  multitude  stand  appalled  at  the 
brooding  darkness,  he  emerges  from  behind  the  screen,  and  rolls 
and  shines  with  unbroken  velocity  and  undiminished  lustre. 

Some  have  believed,  and  many  have  hoped,  that  the  Scriptures 
would  one  day  become  obsolete,  and  men  be  released  from  its 
obligations  and  its  terrors.  Poor  souls,  they  think  it  a  great 
grievance  that  there  should  be  any  sun  to  light  the  moral  world. 
'1  hey  would  it  were  one  unbroken  night  through  all  the  territories 
of  intellect.  So  we  have  known  when  the  thief  and  the  robber 
cursed  the  opening  day  as  a  nuisance,  and  were  not  ashamed  to 
wish  that  the  sun  might   cease  to  shine,  and   the   moon  and  stars 


GOSPEL    TBUTH    DISTINGUISHED.  G79 

withhold  their  light.  But  the  prayer  of  the  thief  will  not  put  the 
sun  out,  nor  will  the  enemies  of  truth  live  to  see  the  Scriptures 
perish.  No,  the  men  will  perish,  and  the  arguments  that  have  stood 
in  martial  array  against  that  book,  while  the  book  itself  is  destined 
to  outlive  all  the  nations,  and  will  be  in  the  hands,  and  deeply  im- 
pressed upon  the  heart,  of  that  last  believer  who  shall  rise  to  meet 
the  Lord  in  the  air.  This  great  luminary  of  the  moral  world,  will 
hold  its  station,  and  shine  on  in  all  its  glory,  and  lighten  and  warm 
the  beings  it  was  sent  to  cherish,  till  the  elect  are  all  gathered  in. 
Every  doctrine  of  that  book  will  outlive  its  foes,  and  will  be  em- 
braced and  loved  by  every  believer  that  shall  be  sanctified  through 
the  truth.  Wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children.  There  is  no  dan- 
ger, nor  has  there  ever  been,  that  any  one  doctrine  of  the  Bible 
should  be  lost.  No  power  but  that  which  can  build  a  world  can 
stop  truth  in  its  course,  and  that  power  will  not.  Bury  in  one 
common  ^rave  every  Bible  that  has  ever  been  published,  and  let 
them  lie  till  their  mortal  parts  perish,  still  their  doctrines,  like  so 
many  imperishable  gems,  shall  resist  corruption,  and  emerge  un- 
hurt from  the  embers  of  the  last  conflagration. 

By  being  controverted,  truth  increases  its  lustre.  ■  The  attacks 
made  upon  the  doctrines  of  the  reformation,  gave  them  currency. 
Men  would  risk  their  lives  to  see  that  book  which  was  so  much 
the  dread  of  some  of  the  ruling  powers,  especially  the  powers 
spiritual.  Thus  the  eyes  of  a  blinded  world  were  opened  the  more 
effectually  upon  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  And  all 
the  efforts  that  have  been  made  since  then,  or  that  may  be  made 
against  the  truth  hereafter,  have  had,  and  will  have  but  this  one 
effect,  to  establish  its  friends  in  the  more  perfect  belief,  and  the 
more  full  enjoyment  of  the  precious  Bible. 

Truth  is  in  most  danger  when  its  foes  are  asleep,  for  then  its 
friends  sleep  too.  "  While  the  bridegroom  tarried  theij  nil  slum- 
bered and  slept.'1  To  drive  his  people  to  their  post,  God  some- 
times gives  their  enemies  a  temporary  triumph  ;  never,  however, 
leaving  it  doubtful  in  the  eye  of  faith  where  victory  will  rest. 
When  infidelity  threatened  to  deluge  the  world,  God  raised  ui  9 
standard.     And  when  it  crept  within  the  pale  of  the  Churches, 

*  As  when  a  prowling  wolf, 
Whom  hunger  drives  to  seek  new  haunt  for  prey, 
Watching  where  shepherds  pen  their  flocks  at  eve, 
In  hurdled  cotes  amid  the  field  secure, 
Leaps  o'er  the  f(  nee  with  ease  into  the  fold  ; 
Or  as  a  thief  bent  to  unhoard  the  cash 


G80  GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED 

Of  some  rich  burgher,  whose  substantial  doors, 
Cioss-barr'd  and  bolted  fast,  fear  no  assault, 
In  at  the  window  climbs,  or  o'er  the  tiles : 
So  cloinb  this  first  grand  thief  into  God's  fold ; 
So  since  into  his  church  lewd  hirelings  climb," 

an  eye  Divine  watched  all  its  movements.  And  its  defeat  is  now 
as  certain,  as  when  it  libelled  the  entrance  of  the  grave-yard,  and 
daringly  proscribed  the  Nazarine.  God  can  recognize  his  ene- 
mies under  whatever  vestments  they  may  conceal  themselves.  It 
requires  only  common  faith  to  predict,  that  the  Churches  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  not  long  harbor  in  their  communion  errors 
that  dethrone  their  Master.  In  the  present,  and  in  every  future 
conflict,  the  result  will  be  as  in  the  past.  God  will  not  suffer  a 
flood  of  error  to  pour  in,  mightier  than  the  standard  he  will  lift 
up  against  it.  He  will  continue  for  ever  to  be  the  friend  and  ad- 
vocate of  truth,  and  should  the  time  again  come  when  he  must 
blot  out  a  world  to  recover  its  influence,  he  has  all  his  stores  of 
wrath  ready.     Do  you  still  ask  me,  "  What  is  truth  V'     I  answer, 

Finally,  Truth  is  that  agai?ist  which  an  impenitent  world  is  armed 
with  objcctio?is.  I  mention  this  characteristic  of  truth,  because 
many  conceive  that  nothing  can  be  truth  that  meets  with  opposi- 
tion. They  act  on  the  false  supposition,  that  the  world  is  friendly 
to  truth,  will  readily  embrace  it  when  distinctly  seen,  and  will  ob- 
ject to  nothing  that  is  truth.  Hence  if  they  hear  a  doctrine  ob- 
jected to,  in  the  belief  of  which  they  have  been  ever  so  well 
established,  they  feel  it  to  be  their  duty  to  doubt  its  truth.  And 
yet  there  is  no  doctrine  against  Avhich  there  may  not  be  brought 
a  variety  of  objections.  In  the  affairs  of  common  life  it  would 
not  answer  to  act  on  this  principle,  else  we  should  believe  nothing. 
There  stands  a  tree  by  your  door,  and  you  affirm  that  it  grew 
there.  I  object  to  your  position,  first,  that  such  a  mass  of  timber 
could  never  rise  to  such  a  height  without  hands  ;  secondly,  that 
earth  cannot  produce  wood,  as  every  effect  must  have  the  nature 
of  its  cause  ;  and  thirdly,  the  tree  was  never  seen  to  grow.  But 
do  you  doubt  whether  the  tree  grew  there,  because  I  have  offered 
three  objections  to  your  faith  1  And  if  I  could  offer  thirty,  instead 
of  three,  would  it  shake  your  confidence'?  Then  why  are  the 
precious  doctrines  of  the  gospel  to  be  yielded  on  the  first  attack  ? 

The  fact  is,  and  it  is  a  fact  that  we  ought  to  know,  the  truth  is 
far  more  likely  to  be  assailed  with  objections  than  error.  There 
are  more  who  are   engaged   in  opposing  truth  than  error,  perhaps 


GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED  G81 

ten  to  one.  None  but  the  true  believer  finds  a  real  interest  and  a 
real  pleasure  in  supporting  the  truth,  while  the  great  mass  of  un- 
godly men  are  strongly  in  the  opposition.  Hence  all  those  whose 
hearts  are  at  enmity  with  truth,  are  engaged,  and  have  been  ever 
since  the  apostacy,  in  fabricating  objection  to  truth,  while  very 
few  have  endeavored  to  meet  these  objections  with  a  proper  answer. 

And  moreover  when  objections  to  truth  have  been  invented, 
there  are  ten  who  will  circulate  them,  where  one  will  make  the 
same  sacrifice  to  disseminate  the  truth.  Hence  when  a  book  or 
pamphlet  full  of  error  leaves  the  press,  many,  because  they  hate 
the  truth,  will  purchase  it,  and  give  it  circulation  ;  but  if  there  fol- 
low it  an  able  answer,  there  will  be  few,  perhaps  none,  who  will 
make  a  similar  sacrifice.  Christians  should  not  be  so  remiss,  but  it 
was  long  since  declared,  that  "  The  children  of  this  world  are 
wiser  in  their  generation  than  the  children  of  light."  The  fact 
then  must  be  that  ten  will  become  familiar  with  objections  to  truth, 
where  one  will  hear  those  objections  answered.  Against  the  truth 
then  there  will  stand  more  objections  than  against  error,  hence  a 
doctrine  strongly  and  frequently  objected  to  by  unbelievers,  has 
presumptive  evidence  of  its  truth.  And  perhaps,  in  a  world  like 
ours,  truth  has  no  test  more  infallible. 

We  shall  be  sadly  mistaken,  however,  if  we  suppose  that  a  mere 
profession  will  make  men  the  friends  of  truth,  and  that  all  is  error 
to  which  those  who  make  profession  are  opposed.  It  not  unfre- 
quently  happens  that  truth  finds  its  bitterest  enemies  within  the 
pale  of  the  communion,  and  even  in  the  sacred  ministry.  As  there 
was  a  Judas  in  the  apostleship,  so  in  the  gospel  ministry  there  are 
men,  O  that  it  were  not  so,  who  bend  all  their  energies  to  betray 
the  design  and  to  pollute  the  honors  of  their  Lord. 

But  let  us  apply  the  rule.  What  doctrines  are  constantly  as 
sailed  by  unsanctified  men]  What  doctrines  are  the  drunkard, 
the  liar,  the  profane,  the  swindler,  and  the  Sabbath-breaker,  ever 
prepared  to  repel  \  What  doctrines  has  it  been  considered  im- 
proper to  preach,  because  of  the  numerous  objections  that  stand 
against  them,  and  which  are  supposed  to  destroy  their  usefulness  1 
Ascertain  those  facts,  and  you  learn  what  is  truth.     I  close  with 

REMARKS. 

1.  We  see  why  the  Bible  in  all  its  parts  is  so  entirely  harmonious, 
and  has  so  long  continued  in  use.  Writers  so  numerous,  and  so 
separated  as  to  time,  place,  education,  and  habit,  could  not  have 
written  so  harmoniously,  but   from   the  fact   that   they   all  wrote 


G82  GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED. 

truth,  and  nothing  else,  and  truth  is  consistent  with  itself.  And 
if  the  sacred  volume  by  Divine  direction  should  be  continued,  and 
an  additional  prophecy  or  epistle  be  written  in  every  future  age 
down  to  the  last  day,  they  would  all  agree.  Each  under  the  guid- 
ance of  the  Holy  Ghost  would  write  only  unadulterated  truth,  and 
truth  is  consistent  with  itself.  Hence  the  word  of  God,  unlike 
every  other  book,  can  never  thwart  its  own  track,  and  can  never 
become  obsolete. 

2.  We  see  why  no  other  book  can  outlive  a  feiu  short  generations. 
All  others,  although  containing  some  truth,  contain  also  error  suf- 
ficient to  bring  them  soon  into  disuse.  Error  is  ever  transitory. 
Let  a  book  have  been  written  if  you  please  in  the  first  age  of  the 
world,  be  it  inspired  or  not,  and  let  it  contain  nothing  but  truth, 
and  that  truth  important,  and  it  shall  be  fit  for  use  till  the  funeral 
of  the  world,  and  shall  be  new  and  interesting  to  every  succeeding 
generation  of  men.  The  character  of  God  is  pledged  for  the  se- 
curity of  truth,  and  nothing  else.  It  is  as  old  as  God,  and  will 
have  a  being  commensurate  with  his.  Its  very  nature  is  eternal. 
Truth  is  the  reflected  image  of  being  and  of  fact.  Hence  ever 
since  there  was  any  being  or  any  fact,  and  while  these  endure, 
truth  must  live.  But  error  has  attached  to  it  no  such  immortality. 
Perhaps  it  would  not  be  saying  too  much  to  assert  that  every  un- 
inspired volume,  has  attached  to  it  error  sufficient  to  sink  it  sooner 
or  later  into  the  grave. 

3.  We  are  now  prepared  to  say,  that  one  cannot  reject  the  truth  and 
he  innocent.  The  marks  of  truth  are  so  visible,  that  one  cannot 
mistake  it  but  from  choice.  Its  features  are  all  prominent  and 
visible,  and  must  be  familiar  to  every  man  who  has  made  a  proper 
use  of  his  eyes  and  his  understanding.  Hence,  to  not  know  the 
truth,  or  embrace  error,  is  sin,  and  argues  a  heart  unsanctified.  He 
who  loves  God  must  wish  to  know  and  love  the  truth.  Christ 
viewed  the  truth  of  such  importance,  that  he  came  into  the  world 
to  declare  the  truth,  and  will  now  frown  upon  the  man  who  dimin- 
ishes its  value. 

It  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  truth  has  a  character  so  doubtful 
that  it  cannot  be  known.  If  God  has  placed  his  statute-book  in 
our  hands,  he  will  expect  us  to  be  familiar  with  the  laws  of  his 
kingdom.  He  has  not  furnished  us  an  unintelligible  code.  He 
has  not  suspended  our  destiny  on  a  belief  of  the  truth,  and  yet  left 
it  so  uncertain  what  we  should  believe,  that  it  is  no  crime  to  believe 
a  lie.  The  Holy  Ghost  would  not  inspire  for  us  a  volume  which 
we  cannot  understand.     If  God  sanctifies  his  people  through  the 


GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED.  GS3 

truth,  there  is  not  the  same  hope  that  those  are  bound  for  heaven 
who  believe  a  lie,  as  those  who  believe  tbe  truth.  We  cannot  be 
sanctified  through  that  truth  which  we  do  not  embrace.  Hence  it 
would  seem  that  it  must  be  fatally  criminal  to  reject  the  distin- 
guishing doctrines  of  the  gospel 

4.  If  the  definitions  which  I  have  given  of  truth  be  correct,  sin 
n-ers  ought  to  wish  to  hear  those  doctrines  which  they  do  not  re- 
lish, and  which  fill  them  with  distress,  for  none  else  are  true.  It 
would  be  easy  to  preach  so  as  never  to  distress  or  offend  impeni- 
tent men,  but  it  would  not  be  the  gospel,  and  the  preaching  would 
be  useless.  They  would  sleep  under  it  till  they  waked  in  perdi- 
tion. They  would  neither  quarrel  nor  repent.  There  are  such 
preachers,  and  the  effect  of  their  labors  is  exactly  what  we  should 
expect.  Their  "  burden  of  the  Lord"  is  a  mere  heathen  morality 
and  the  best  effect  a  mere  reform  of  some  grosser  vice,  leaving  the 
moral  character  unbleached,  and  the  heart  unchanged. 

But  it  should  be  the  wish  of  perishing  men  to  hear  another  gos- 
pel, one  that  will  alarm  their  fears,  cut  off  their  false  hopes,  arouse 
their  consciences,  and  renew  their  hearts.  It  is  pleasant  to  find 
that  men  are  phased,  but  far  more  important  to  find  that  they  are 
sanctified.  And  those  act  a  very  weak  part,  who  are  conscious  of 
impenitence,  and  yet  prefer  a  gospel  that  is  not  truth,  and  can 
never  point  them  to  heaven. 

Finally,  the  subject  will  help  us  to  account  for  the  stability  of  the 
Christian  character.  It  has  its  foundation  in  truth,  the  same  that 
is  the  basis  of  the  Divine  character,  and  of  the  throne  itself  of 
God.  So  the  character  of  angels,  and  of  all  holy  beings,  is  built 
on  the  truth.  Hence  a  holy  character  will  differ  as  to  its  perman- 
ency, from  the  character  of  the  sinner,  as  much  as  the  truth  dif- 
fers from  falsheood.  Every  Christian  principle  is  some  truth  of 
God,  every  grace  some  impress  of  truth  upon  the  heart.  Hence 
we  expect  the  Christian  character,  and  no  other,  to  have  perman- 
ency, unless  that  truth  could  become  mutable  on  which  it  is  found- 
ed. Christ  styles  himself  the  truth,  and  is  that  rock  on  which  his 
people  build  their  character  and  their  hopes:  "Christ  in  you  the 
hope  of  glory." 

Hence  the  believer,  though  "kept  by  the  power  of  God  through 
faith  unto  salvation,"  has  a  permanency  of  character,  from  the  fact, 
that  God  sanctifies  him  through  the  truth.  He  grows  in  grace 
and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ;  and  to  whatever  moral  stature 
he  attains,  truth  secures  his  standing,  "Till  we  all  come  in  the 
unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a 


GS4  GOSPEL    TRUTH    DISTINGUISHED. 

perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ."     Thus  it  is  made  certain  that  the  saints  shall  never  fall. 

But  we  do  not  wonder  that  those  who  have  no  such  idea  of  the 
permanency  of  truth,  doubt  whether  the  believer  will  assuredly 
persevere.  Those  who  suppose  him  to  build  his  house  upon  the 
sand,  must  fear,  lest  when  the  floods  come  and  the  winds  blow,  its 
foundations  be  removed,  and  it  fall.  But  he  builds  upon  a  rock, 
firm  as  heaven  itself,  and  we  shall  see  him  safe,  when  every  other 
rock,  but  that  which  he  makes  his  foundation,  is  melted  down  ; 
and  when  those  who  have  not  built  on  Christ  and  on  truth,  "  shall 
call  upon  the  rocks  and  mountains  to  fall  on  them,  and  hide  them 
from  the  face  of  him  that  sitleth  upon  the  throne,  and  from  the 
wrath  of  the  Lamb." 

May  God  hless  his  truth,  to  the  sanctification  of  his  people  ;  and 
make  them  zealous  to  learn  it,  and  to  propagate  it.  May  he  give 
us  a  high  esteem  for  our  Bibles,  and  Sabbaths  and  sanctuaries,  and 
a  preached  gospel,  by  the  aid  of  which  we  learn  truth.  And  may 
he  sanctify  his  ministers,  and  leave  none  of  them  to  "  depart  from 
the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits,  and  doctrines  of  devils." 
And  may  he  through  the  truth  glorify  his  own  name,  and  prepare 
a  great  multitude,  that  no  man  can  number,  to  worship  about  his 
throne  for  pver  and  ever      Amen. 


S  E  R  M  0  N     L  J  X . 

THE  CHRISTIAN'S  BEST  FRIEND  AGGRIEVED 

EPHESIAN9    IV.    30. 
Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 

If  I  must  doubt  whether  there  be  a  trinity  of  persons  in  the 
Godhead,  I  should  question  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.  The 
distinct  personality  of  the  three  that  bear  record  in  heaven,  seems 
to  me  as  plain  a  truth  as  any  other  in  the  whole  Bible,  and  cannot 
be  rejected  without  the  danger  of  going  into  infidelity.  In  the 
mysterious  division  of  the  work  of  redemption,  it  became  the 
business  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  make  the  sinner  willing,  in  the  day 
of  God's  power,  to  renew  and  sanctify  the  heart,  and  quicken  to 
spiritual  life  and  action,  the  dead  in  sin.  And  after  he  has  begun 
eternal  life  in  his  people,  he  dwells  in  their  hearts,  and  is  there  a 
well  of  water  springing  up  to  everlasting  life. 

The  Holy  Spirit  was  promised  to  the  apostles  under  the  title  of 
the  Comforter,  and  has  exerted  his  agency  in  every  conversion 
since  there  was  a  Church,  and  been  the  guide  to  heaven  of  every 
child  of  the  apostacy,  who  has  gone  and  took  his  seat  at  the  mar- 
riage supper  of  the  Lamb.  If  there  is  in  any  mind  a  heavenly 
thought,  or  in  any  heart  a  holy  volition,  it  is  all  the  work  of  that 
Divine  agent.  Hence  his  favor  is  life.  One  had  better  grieve 
every  friend  he  has,  and  wander  homeless,  and  die  deserted,  with 
none  to  watch  him  or  to  pray  for  him,  or  bury  him,  than  to  grieve 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  and  be  abandoned  of  him. 

I  have  supposed  that  grieving  the  Spirit  of  God,  was  a  deed  that 
none  but  Christians  can  do.  The  enemies  of  God  may  resist  his 
Spirit,  and  may  quench  his  Spirit,  but  his  people  only  can  grieve 
him.  So  it  is,  you  know,  in  human  affairs  ;  an  enemy  may  insult 
us  and  offend  us,  a.  friend  it  is  that  grieves  us. 

It  will  be  my  object  to  show  how  the  people  of  God  may  grieve 
his  Spirit,  and  what  the  consequences  that  must  follow. 

I.  How  may  the  people  of  God  grieve  his  Sj>irit  ? 

1.    When  they  limit  his  ability  or  his  willingness  to  bless  them. 


GSG  the  christian's  best  friend  aggrieved. 

The  Spirit  of  God  has  done  so  much  for  them  already,  that  all 
cause  of  fear,  as  to  what  he  can  do,  and  will  do,  if  they  are  ready, 
is  out  of  place.  It  was  a  great  sin  in  Israel,  after  they  had  wit- 
nessed the  wonders  done  in  Egypt,  and  has  seen  the  water  of  the 
Red  Sea  divide,  to  make  then)  a  passage,  to  have  any  doubt  wheth- 
er he  could  enable  them  to  subdue  the  Anakims,  and  whether  he 
would  give  them  water  to  drink  and  flesh   to  eat. 

But  that  people,  when  they  limited  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  had 
not  seen  more  illustrious  displays  of  the  might  and  the  mercy  of 
their  Deliverer,  than  have  the  people  of  God  in  these  days  of  the 
amazing  power  and  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  who  could  sub- 
due your  hearts,  ye  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  what  can  he  not 
do  for  you  1  He  who  could  awaken  you,  when  you  was  purposed 
in  your  heart  that  you  would  never  see  the  danger  you  were  in  ; 
who  could  uncover  to  you  the  destruction  that  way-laid  you  ;  who 
could  convict  you  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment  to 
come,  when  you  had  carefully  barred  every  avenue  that  would  ad- 
mit the  light  ;  could  bring  out  to  a  Savior's  feet,  and  make  you 
his  willing  captives  ;  what  is  there  now  he  cannot  do  for  you  1  What 
lust  can  he  not  conquer,  and  what  foe  of  yours  can  he  not  bring 
to  the  ground  and  lay  low  at  your  feet  1  How  can  you  doubt  a 
moment  of  his  ability  and  his  mercy,  to  guide  you,  and  keep  you 
unto  everlasting  life  1 

And  after  the  precious  instances  of  revival  that  you  have  wit- 
nessed, and  the  power  displayed  by  the  Holy  (ihost,  in  subduing  to 
love  and  obedience  the  bas  ■  t  of  men,  and  bringing  scores  of  the 
ungodly  to  yield  to  the  force  of  truth,  and  become  willing  in  the 
day  of  God's  power  ;  how  can  you  doubt  but  he  can  give  you  oth- 
er precious  revivals,  and  renew  to  you  the  scenes  you  have  wit- 
nessed, and  more  yet  1  What  other  proofs  can  he  give  but  that 
which  1.0  has  given,  that  you  have  only  to  be  ready  and  he  will  do 
his  wonders  before  your  eyes,  till  you  are  satisfied  1  And  there 
is  no  sinner  you  pray  for  but  he  can  be  melted  and  subdued,  and 
moulded  over  into  a  humble  and  devoted  and  heavenly-minded 
Christian  !  And  his  willingness  to  operate  is  commensurate  with 
his  ability.  If  he  would  help  you  when  you  felt  that  you  could 
not  do  without  him,  and  give  those  tokens  of  his  mercy  that  you 
felt  you  must  have  or  die,  why  will  he  not  do  the  same  again  1  If 
you  have  sinned, and  do  not  deserve  his  interposing  mercy,  so  yor, 
had  when  he  did  interpose  the  last  time.  When  you  prayed  for 
that  child  that  he  did  save,  you  went  to  him  as  a  pc  or  sinner,  not 
deserving  at  all  the  mercy  you  asked,  and  why  not  expect  that  the 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    BEST    FRIEND    AGGRIEVED.  687 

Spirit  of  God  will  as  readily  operate  now  as  then  1  Why  then 
should  we  limit,  and  thus  grieve  the  Holy  One  1  If  such  has  been 
the  power  and  the  inercy  of  the  Divine  operations  in  days  past, 
that  the  highest  faith  is  due,  and  there  is  the  broadest  foundation 
for  confidence  that  the  Spirit  will  operate  as  soon  as  we  are  ready 
why  should  Christians  grieve  him  by  limiting  his  power  and  his 
mercy. 

2.  They  grieve  him  when  they  expect  their  comforts  from  any  other 
source.  The  people  of  God  often  try  to  be  happy  without  him 
There  are  so  many  channels  through  which  joy  is  communicated 
to  the  heart,  that  we  are  prone  to  forget  its  source.  We  may, 
by  this  means,  be  guilty  of  an  idolatry,  though  not  as  gross, 
yet  as  offensive  to  the  Spirit  of  God  as  the  temporary  Avor- 
ship  of  Mammon  or  Moloch.  This  is  the  case  when  even  means 
of  grace  are  trusted  in  as  sure  to  communicate  comfort.  We  may 
idolize  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  the  Sabbath,  the  ordinances, 
the  place  of  prayer,  and  even  the  closet.  In  young  converts  -no- 
thing is  more  common  than  the  deep  assurance,  that  the  same 
place,  the  same  practice,  and  the  same  pew,  will  produce  the  same 
blessedness.  And  often  it  is  not  till  after  many  a  sore  disappoint 
ment,  that  they  are  taught  to  repair  immediately  to  him  whose 
influence  is  life  and  peace.  God  would  have  us  estimate  the  means, 
and  set  a  price  as  high  as  he  has  upon  every  medium  of  holy  joy. 
But  when  we  forget,  as  we  arc  prone  to  forget,  that  we  must  go  a 
little  beyond  the  watchman,  before  we  shall  find  him  whom  our 
soul  loveth  ;  must  pass  through  the  means  and  Mere  is  joy,  and 
there  is  God,  then  is  the  Spirit  grieved.  His  Divine  agency  is  un- 
dervalued, and  the  joy  he  would  communicate  is  withheld,  till  we 
are  made  to  feel  that  the  Spirit  of  God  must  operate,  or  every 
means  must  lose  its  influence. 

3.  It  is  equally  true  that  we  grieve  the  Spirit  of  God,  when  we 
neglect  the  means  of  grace.  There  is  an  established  process,  by 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  ordinarily  comforts  his  people.  Al- 
most all  his  joys,  and  probably,  did  we  know  more  fully  the  way  of 
the  Spirit,  we  should  say  all  his  joys,  are  bestowed  as  a  blessing 
on  the  means  of  grace.  Here  he  exerts  his  Divine  influence.  He 
lifts  the  soul  toward  heaven,  when  the  soul  makes  an  effort  to  rise 
in  prayer.  He  pours  in  truth  upon  the  mind,  when  the  mind  is 
laboring  to  know  the  truth.  He  generates  holy  affections,  when 
he  discovers  in  his  people  grief  for  sin,  and  ardent  desires  to  he 
more  holy.  Hence  the  house  of  God,  rather  than  any  other  place, 
has  been  the  s(  ene    of  his  most  frequent  and  his  mightiest  opera 


G88  the  christian's  best  friend  aggrieved. 

tions.  Here  he  has  fed  his  people,  has  cheered  their  desponden- 
cies, has  raised  their  hopes,  has  strengthened  their  faith,  has 
enabled  them  to  mount  on  wings  as  eagles,  to  run  and  not  be 
weary,  to  walk  and  not  faint.  Here,  with  a  preached  gospel,  the 
word  of  his  grace,  that  truth  through  which  it  was  the  prayer  of 
the  Savior  that  the  Father  would  sanctify  his  people,  he  has,  in 
every  age,  since  there  was  a  Christian  Church,  shed  forth  his 
richest,  sweetest  comforts.  Here,  too,  he  has  awakened  and  re 
newed  the  sinner  ;  has  begun  in  the  heart  that  eternal  life  which 
it  is  his  promise,  and  his  oath,  shall  be  carried  on  till  the  day  of 
complete  redemption.  Here  all  our  precious  revivals  have  begun, 
and  have  been  carried  on,  by  what  has  been  termed  the  foolishness 
of  preaching. 

And  God  has  greatly  blessed  the  place  of  prayer  and  conference. 
These  unnoticed  retreats  have  been,  in  thousands  of  instances,  the 
scenes  of  such  Divine  display  as  have  made  angels  glad,  and  have 
multiplied  the  number  of  the  saved.  Christians  have  dated  their 
very  best  comforts  in  some  of  these  consecrated  retreats.  In  an- 
swer to  prayer,  every  comfort  has  dropped  from  heaven.  The 
heart  has  been  warmed  in  the  concert  of  prayer,  beyond  almost 
any  other  place.  Those  hours  nearest  akin  to  heaven,  and  the 
most  deeply  engraved  upon  the  memory  and  the  heart,  to  be  the 
subject  of  everlasting  recollection,  and  of  delightful  mention  in  the 
anthems  of  heaven,  have  been  those  where  pious  hearts  met,  and 
were  melted  together  at  the  foot  of  the  cross — unless  it  be  those 
seasons  when  the  soul  was  alone  with  God,  while  there  were  none 
to  disturb  and  none  to  share  the  sacred  joy.  Perhaps  no  comforts 
can  outweigh  these.  Hence  the  closet  is  that  most  sacred  and 
most  lovely  place  which  the  believer  is  the  last  to  quit,  where  he 
would  live  and  die.  There  the  heart  discloses  its  most  secret 
concerns,  delivers  its  most  confidential  message,  and  waits  for  for- 
giveness and  for  peace,  with  a  hope  that  takes  hold  of  the  horns 
of  the  altar  with  the  irou  grasp  of  death. 

If,  then,  God  has  thus  blessed  the  means  of  grace,  and  they  are 
rendered  by  his  appointment  so  essential  to  the  soul's  transforma- 
tion into  the  image  of  God,  the  Spirit  must  be  grieved  when  they 
are  neglected.  Their  neglect  develops  unbelief,  and,  what  is  more, 
contempt.  If  the  Spirit  operate,  he  must  choose  his  own  way. 
We  must  throw  ourselves  within  the  probable  reach  of  his  influ- 
ence, where  he  has  blest  others,  and  where  he  has  promised  to 
bless  us.  And  not  only  be  there  occasionally,  but  as  often  as  we 
feel  our  need  of  his  special  influences.     David   resolved  to  prvy 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    BEST    FRIEND    AGGRIEVED.  689 

seven  times  a  day,  and  Daniel  three  times  in  the  day,  even  when 
he  knew  that  it  would  be  likely  to  cost  him  his  life.  Christians 
cannot  lightly  dispense  with  any  means  of  grace,  and  not  grieve 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  they  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of 
redemption. 

4.  Christians  grieve  the  Spirit  of  God  when  they  neglect  to  make 
use  of  the  promises.  These  were  given  for  the  comfort  of  God's 
covenant  people,  were  indited  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  are  the 
principal  medium  through  which  he  communicates  to  the  heart  the 
richest  blessings  of  his  agency.  Here  the  Christian  must  apply 
when  he  needs  support,  and  he  will  find  the  promises  wonderfully 
adapted  to  his  circumstance-;.  If  he  feels  himself  to  be  a  great 
sinner,  here  is  a  promise  of  forgiveness  ;  "  I  will  blot  out  thine 
iniquities,  and  remember  thy  sins  no  more."  If  he  feels  himself 
to  be  weak  and  defenceless,  the  promise  reads,  "Fear  not  thou 
worm,  Jacob,  and  ye  men  of  Israel  ;  I  will  help  thee,  saith  the 
Lord,  and  thy  Redeemer,  the  holy  one  of  Israel.  Behold,  I  will 
make  thee  a  new  sharp  threshing  instrument,  having  teeth :  and 
thou  shalt  thresh  the  mountains,  and  beat  them  small,  and  shalt 
make  the  hills  as  chaff".  One  shall  slay  a  thousand,  and  two  shall 
put  ten  thousand  to  flight."  If  darkness  come  over  his  mind,  and 
it  ever  becomes  at  length  tangible,  like  the  night  of  Egypt,  still 
the  promise  reads,  "  He  that  walketh  in  darkness  and  hath  no 
light,  let  him  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  stay  himself  upon  his  God." 
If  he  fears  that  he  may  perish  amid  the  dangers  that  surround  him, 
he  may  read  and  be  comforted,  "  When  thou  passest  through  the 
waters,  I  will  be  with  thee  ;  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall  not 
overflow  thee :  when  thou  walkest  through  the  fire,  thou  shalt  not 
be  burned,  neither  shall  the  flames  kindle  upon  thee."  If  there 
come  an  hour  when  temptations  seem  too  sharp  and  frequent  for 
his  strength,  he  can  read  and  feel  safe.  No  temptation  has  hap- 
pened to  you,  but  such  as  is  common  to  men.  And  God  will,  with 
the  temptation,  make  also  a  way  of  escape.  Now  the  child  of  God 
offends  the  Divine  Comforter,  when  he  does  not  thus  apply  in  the 
hour  of  distress  to  the  promises  he  inspired. 

5.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  grieved  when  the  promises  are  misapplied. 
When  the  promise  of  forgiveness,  for  instance,  is  used  before  we 
nave  repented  ;  when  the  promise  of  perseverance  is  made  to 
comfort  a  backsliding  believer,  when  anything  that  God  has  said 
engenders  a  hope  of  heaven,  while  the  affections  are  earthly,  sen- 
sual and  grovelling.  When  the  unbeliever  takes  sanctuary  in  the 
mercy  of  God  ;  and  when  the  Christian  hopes  to  be  comforted  any 


690  the  christian's  best  friend  aggrieved. 

where  but  on  the  way  of  life,  there  is  offerel  equally  an  insult  to 
the  Spirit  of  grace.  The  gracious  things  said  in  the  book  of  God 
are  all  appropriated  in  their  promulgation.  The  meek  only  will  he 
guide  in  the  way  and  cause  to  inherit  the  earth.  To  the  poor  in 
spirit  belongs  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  They  that  mourn  shall  be 
comforted.  To  those  only  who  keep  his  covenant  and  his  testimo- 
nies, are  all  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  righteousness  and  peace.  Those 
only  who  trust  in  the  Lord  and  do  good  shall  inherit  the  land, 
and  shall  verily  be  fed.  Those  shall  know  the  Lord  who  follow 
on  to  know  him.  Those  shall  find  him  who  seek  him  with  all 
their  heart. 

After  the  same  manner  are  all  the  promises  appropriated,  and 
may  neither  be  neglected  nor  misapplied.  Hence  every  man  who 
would  not  grieve  the  Spirit  of  God,  should  make  it  his  first  ques- 
tion, What  is  my  character  1  and  his  second,  What  kind  thing  has 
God  said  to  me  1  or  his  first  question,  What  is  my  condition  1  and 
his  second,  What  promise  reaches  such  a  condition  1  Then,  to  use 
the  emphatical  language  of  Scripture,  the  dogs  do  not  eat  the 
children's  bread.  There  are  times,  I  apprehend,  when  the  real  be- 
liever may  not  apply  to  the  refreshment  of  his  soul  a  single  pro- 
mise, but  must  let  the  Bible  lie  by  him,  as  the  offending  child,  faint 
and  hungry,  may  take  no  refreshment  from  his  father's  table.  He 
must  suffer  and  fast  till  he  is  humbled.  The  promise  is  ready  for 
him,  and  God  will  refresh  him  with  it,  when  he  has  brought  him  to 
feel  that  he  must  die  without  it.  To  this  spot  God  delights  to 
bring  his  people,  when  they  sin.  His  kindness  is  thus  the  more 
timely  and  the  more  welcome. 

II.  I  am  next  to  notice  the  consequences  of  grieving  the  Spirit. 
These  will  appear, 

1.  In  the  absence  of  Christian  consolations.  When  we  have  griev- 
ed the  Comforter,  how  can  we  hope  that  he  will  bestow  his  com- 
forts 1  When  he  has  brought  his  blessings  to  our  doors,  and  we 
treat  him  with  contempt  or  neglect,  he  will  leave  us  to  pore  over 
our  miseries,  and  perhaps,  to  howl  upon  our  beds.  How  striking 
a  feature  is  this  in  the  history  of  God's  people,  recorded  in  his 
word  !  David  grieved  the  holy  Spirit  of  God,  and  we  hear  him 
complain  at  the  noise  of  the  water-spouts.  Deep  calleth  unto 
(loop.  All  thy  waves  and  thy  billows  are  gone  over  my  soul.  He 
wot  his  couch  with  tears.  All  his  bones  were  out  of  joint.  God 
broke  him  with  his  tempest.  He  was  made  to  bear  the  iniquities 
of  his  youth. 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    BEST    FRIE.XD    AGGRIEVED.  G91 

And  how  well  has  all  this  accorded  with  the  experience  of  God's 
people  io  all  ages  since,  when  they  have  grieved  the  Spirit.  He 
withdrew  his  consolation.  The}?-  fasted,  and  prayed,  and  wept,  and 
God  hid,  as  it  were,  his  face  from  them.  Wearisome  nicrhts  were 
appointed  unto  them.  They  looked  toward  death  with  gloomi- 
ness. Toward  heaven  they  cast  the  fearful  glance  of  abandon- 
ment. They  dinged  to  the  covenant  as  a  drowning  man  to  the 
plank  floating  by  him. 

2.  When  the  Spirit  has  been  grieved,  it  appears  in  the  withering 
of  the  Christian  graces.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  the  grand  agent,  by 
whose  influence  every  holy  affection  is  nourished.  Hence  his  in- 
fluence upon  the  heart  compared  to  the  rain,  on  which  nature  is 
dependant  for  all  its  beauty,  and  all  its  fertility.  Let  the  showers 
be  withholden,  and  how  soon  will  every  field  and  every  garden 
wither  !  How  soon  will  the  sterility  of  death  cover  the  face  of 
creation,  and  the  veriest  Eden  be  converted  into  a  desert  !  How 
will  the  plant  wither,  and  the  landscape  fade,  and  culture  become 
useless  when  there  no  longer  falls  the  timely  and  refreshing  show- 
er !  So  faith,  and  love,  and  hope,  all  fail,  when  the  Spirit  of  God 
has  been  grieved.  There  can  neither  be  seen  the  humility,  nor  the 
heavenly-mindedness,  nor  the  spirit  of  prayer,  nor  the  watchfulness, 
nor  the  meekness,  nor  any  of  the  other  graces  which  stand  out 
to  view,  when  the  Spirit  of  God  is  operating.  The  life-civing 
breeze  does  not  blow  upon  the  garden,  causing  the  spices  to  flow 
out.  The  Christian,  when  he  has  grieved  away  the  Spirit  of  God, 
becomes,  for  the  time  being,  merely  a  decent  worldling,  rising  but 
one  small  degree  above  the  man  who  was  never  born  of  God.  His 
lamp,  if  it  may  not  be  said  to  have  gone  out,  dies  away  till  it  casts 
hardly  a  ray  of  light  into  the  darkness  of  this  revolted   world. 

3.  When  the  Spirit  is  grieved,  one  of  the  effects  is  the  loosening 
of  the  bonds  of  Christian  affection.  This  affection  originates  in  love 
to  Christ ;  hence,  if  that  love  decays,  all  the  affections  that  de- 
pend upon  it,  suffer  a  correspondent  decay.  Christ  is  the  head  by 
which  all  the  limbs  are  united,  and  live  and  act  in  unison.  He  is 
the  vine.  Amputate  the  branch  from  the  vine,  and  it  immediately 
loses  its  connection  with  all  the  other  branches.  What  i^  the  be- 
liever to  me,  when  I  have  no  longer  any  interest  in  him  who  is  the 
believer's  life  1  Now  if  there  be  not,  and  this  is  not  pretended,  a 
final  abandonment  of  the  covenant,  still  if  covenant  engagements 
are  disregarded,  an  I  he  whose  agency  is  to  see  the  covenant  rati- 
fied, withholds  his  influence,  why  expect  any  union  among  those 
whom  it.  was  intended  to  bind  !      Sink  the  believer  down    into  Mie 


G92  the  christian's  best  friend  aggrieved. 

the  man  he  once  was,  and  why  expect  he  will  wish  any  other  than 
ungodly  men  for  his  associates  1  The  union  of  God's  people  to 
each  other  will  ever  bear  an  exact  proportion  to  the  growth  and 
vigor  of  their  piety.  Hence,  in  the  absence  of  the  Spirit's  sancti- 
fying influence,  there  decays,  with  the  other  graces,  love  to  the 
brethren,  and  the  ligature  is  sundered  that  holds  together  the  fami- 
ly of  the  the  faithful.  Hence  all  the  discords,  the  divisions,  and 
the  broils;  the  hard  names  and  the  angry  feelings,  that  have  sun- 
dered believers. 

4.  When,  the  Spirit  is  grieved  the  Christian  becomes  a  worldling. 
Losing  his  heavenly  hopes  and  his  celestial  comforts,  there  remain 
none  but  earthly  hopes  and  creature  comforts.  The  Christian  is 
not  only  made  to  differ  from  the  man  of  the  world  at  the  first,  by 
the  agency  of  the  Spirit,  but  this  difference  is  continued  by  the 
same  agency.  Just  like  a  weight  suspended  in  the  air,  he  sinks 
the  moment  he  is  not  supported.  The  graces  which  the  Spirit 
generates  makes  the  difference  ;  these  suspended  and  the  resem- 
blance returns.  Clip  the  wings  of  the  dove,  and  what  is  she  but 
a  reptile  \  She  must  tread  upon  earth,  and  gather  her  food  in  the 
Just.  The  man  is  not  willing  to  be  destitute  of  comforts.  If  he 
may  not  eat  the  bread  of  heaven,  he  hankers  after  the  leeks  and 
onions  of  Egypt.  When  the  first  king  of  Israel  found  that  the 
Lord  did  not  answer  him  as  aforetime,  he  sought  to  the  witch  of 
Eridor  for  the  guidance  he  needed.  The  Lord's  people  are  a  mis- 
erable set  of  beings,  when  the  Spirit  has  departed  from  them. 
They  will  need,  to  make  them  happy,  all  the  woldly  prosperity 
they  had  before,  and  more  yet,  and  will  covet  it  as  eagerly  as  the 
man  who  has  never  risen  with  Christ,  nor  has  ever  learned  to  seek 
those  things  that   are  above. 

5.  When  God's  people  have  grieved  the  Spirit,  he  ceases  to  mvl- 
ti/ihj  their  numbers  by  the  conversion  of  sinners.  He  has  so  honored 
them  as  to  operate  in  answer  to  their  prayers.  I  will  be  inquired 
of  by  the  house  of  Israel  to  bless  them.  When  Zion  travails  she 
brings  forth  children.  God  works  by  means  ;  and  when  the  peo- 
ple of  God  become  backsliders,  the  means  cease,  and  the  work  of 
God  is  stayed.  He  thus  puts  honor  upon  his  people  ;  makes  them 
the  instruments  of  doing  him  service,  and  has  himself  the  pleasure 
of  rewarding  them.  They  would  be  less  happy  if  God  had  given 
them  no  opportunity  to  labor  in  his  service.  Hence,  when  they 
have  !ji'ieved  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  and  he  has  withdrawn  his 
influence,  and  as  a  sure  result,  they  have  lost  their  relish  for  his 
service,  he  suffers  sinners  to  sleep  on  and  perish.     It  is  considered 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    BEST    FRIEND    AGGRIEVED.  G93 

an  established  matter  of  fact,  that  God  does  not,  and  the  presump- 
tion is  that  he  will  not,  revive  his  work,  till  his  people  are  revived, 
and  are  ready  to  be  workers  together  with  God.  Believers  then 
are  urged  not  to  grieve  away  the  Divine  influence,  by  all  that  a 
soul  is  worth,  and  by  all  that  a  multitude  of  souls  are  worth.  And 
if,  in  an  evil  hour,  the  Spirit  has  been  grieved,  they  are  urged  to 
repent,  and  humble  themselves  at  his  feet,  by  all  the  importance 
that  could  possibly  attach  itself  to  a  precious  and  extensive  work 
of  God,  among  the  ungodly  around  them. 

REMARKS. 

1.  Believers  can  do  nothing  that  is  at  the  same  time  so  great  a  cala- 
mity and  so  great  a  crime  as  to  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit.  They  feel 
the  injury  first  themselves,  in  their  languishing  graces,  and  their 
loss  of  comforts  ;  in  their  beclouded  prospects,  and  their  dimin- 
ished hopes.  Nor  would  it  be  a  conjecture  wholly  groundless, 
that  they  may  be  affected  in  their  interests  for  ever,  by  every  sea- 
son of  relapse.  They  may  be  thus  rendered  lesser  stars  in  the 
firmament  of  God  for  ever.  And  how  many  souls  may  perish  by 
the  deed,  we  cannot  know,  till  the  season  of  action  is  past,  and  the 
character  of  all  around  us  formed  and  finished,  and  their  destiny 
about  to  be  fixed. 

2.  Let  me  say  that  God's  people  may  easily  know  when  they  have 
grieved  away  the  Divine  Spirit.  He  will  carry  away  all  his  comforts 
with  him.  They  will  be  happy  in  none  of  those  things  that  once 
contributed  to  their  joy.  There  will  be  no  communion  kept  up 
with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  All  intercourse 
with  the  throne  of  grace  will  be  interrupted,  and  darkness  will 
come  upon  the  believer  as  soon  as  he  begins  to  pray.  No  matter 
when  he  attempts  the  duty,  the  place  will  be  dark.  There  will 
fall  neither  rain  nor  dew.  The  heavens  will  be  brass,  and  the  earth 
iron  under  his  feet.  And  the  circulation  of  a  heavenly  influence 
between  him  and  the  family  of  believers  will  be  interrupted,  and 
there  will  be  a  suspension  of  Christian  fellowship.  And  there  will 
be  no  visions  of  heaven.  There  will  cover  the  sun  of  righteous- 
ness a  cloud,  dark  and  black  as  midnight.  The  believer  will  now 
grope  his  way  as  the  blind  do,  and  stumble  at  noonday  as  in  the 
night.  Those  horrid  falls,  that  have  crippled  and  half  destroyed 
the  children  of  God  in  all  ages,  have  happened  when  the  Spirit  had 
been  grieved  away.  David  and  Peter  had  grieved  the  Spirit  when 
he  left  them  to  stand  in  that  critical  hour  alone.      The  spouse  in 


G94  the  christian's  best  friend  aggrieved. 

the  song  had  grieved  hiin  away,  when  she  went  about  the  streets 
inquiring,  "  Saw  ye  him  whom  my  soul  loveth  1" 

There  is  but  one  source  whence  come  all  the  believer's  com- 
forts, from  the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  Hence,  if  he  is 
grieved,  the  spring  of  his  consolations  is  dried  up,  and  he  must  as 
assuredly  famish,  if  this  fountain  is  not  again  opened,  as  the  word 
of  God  is  true.  Hence  it  would  seem  that  the  believer  can  easily 
know  if  he  has  done  this  disastrous  work  ;  can  know  by  the  pov- 
erty, and  misery,  and  desolation  of  his  soul;  by  the  total  absence 
of  all  those  consolations  that  used  to  be  brought  to  him  by  the 
operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

3.  On  the  conduct  of  believers  depends'  the  welfare  of  the  world. 
If  on  them  it  depends  under  God,  whether  the  multitudes  of  the 
ungodly  continue  to  throng  the  way  of  death,  then  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  they  can  withhold,  or  can  put  forth  an  agency  that  af- 
fects the  weal  or  the  wo  of  a  world.  While  then  you  sleep — ye 
redeemed  of  the  Lord — while  you  sleep,  and  your  graces  droop, 
and  your  character  suffers,  and  your  lamp  goes  out,  there  lies 
around  you  a  depraved  and  prayerless  multitude,  who  are  forming 
a  character  for  the  pit,  and  pursuing  their  way  down  to  the  prison 
of  hell,  to  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever. 

4.  It  should  then  be  the  wish  of  the  men  of  the  world,  that  God's 
people  live  near  to  him.  They  sometimes  imagine  that  it  is  better 
with  them  when  believers  let  down  their  watch  and  become  like 
themselves.  Then  their  consciences  do  not  reproach  them,  and 
they  have  not  such  fearful  alarms,  as  when  the  people  of  God 
come  out  from  them,  and  are  separate.  Still  they  never  make  a 
more  fearful  mistake,  than  when  slumbering  on  the  brink  of  ruin 
themselves,  they  wish  all  around  them  to  sleep  also.  If  it  is  their 
horrid  purpose  to  keep  their  stand  on  the  brink  of  death  eternal, 
they  should  be  as  wise  as  the  Macedonian,  and  appoint  one  at  least 
to  stand  at  the  door  of  their  dormitory,  and  cry,  day  by  day,  Wake, 
0  sleeper  ! 

5.  Hence  the  propriety  that  Christians  should  often  inquire  of 
themselves,  whether  they  are  acting  a  kind  part  toward  the  ungodly. 
What  was  said  in  Israel,  in  a  time  of  national  calamity,  may  apply, 
in  a  time  of  the  withdrawment  of  the  Divine  influence.  "  If  my 
people,  which  are  called  by  my  name,  shall  humble  themselves 
and  pray,  and  seek  my  face,  and  turn  from  their  wicked  ways, 
then  will  1  hear  from  heaven  and  will  forgive  their  sin,  and  will 
heal  their  land."  I  have  frequently  thought  of  this  text  with  plea- 
sure, and  have  styled  it  a  recipe  for  a  revival.     I  have  though*  it 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    BEST    FRIEMD    AGGRIEVED.  G95 

a  pity  that  any  Christian  should  live  without  a  knowledge  of  this 
precious  part  of  the  word  of  God,  it  is  found  in  2d  Chronicles,  vii 
chapter  and  14  verse.  Not  only  is  the  Minister  of  Christ  set  to 
watch  for  souls,  but,  in  a  very  important  sense,  every  believer  is  a 
watchman,  and  cannot  sleep,  but  he  endangers  the  souls  of  men 
Instead  of  this,  it  should  be  his  object  to  keep  every  conscience 
around  him  alarmed,  till  the  lost  are  all  seen  flying  for  refuge,  to 
lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before  them  in  the  gospel.  They  may 
not  sleep  while  there  is  one  lost  sinner  within  the  sound  of  their 
voice.  If  believers  would  not  bring  blood-guiltiness  upon  them- 
selves, and  calculate  by  and  by  to  complain  to  God,  "All  thy 
waves  and  thy  billows  are  gone  over  my  soul,"  then  they 
should  not  sleep  as  do  others,  but  watch  and  be  sober.  There 
hangs  in  the  vigilance  of  God's  people  an  amount  of  interest  that 
outweighs  the  wealth  of  a  city,  and  the  wealth  of  a  world.  Their 
responsibility  is  greater  than  the  out-guards  of  a  camp  of  soldiery, 
when,  if  one  sentinel  should  fall  to  sleep,  it  might  cause  a  whole 
army  to  perish. 

6.  But  in  these  circumstances,  what  can  the  Christian  do  to  re- 
cover his  former  condition  ?  Why,  just  what  he  did  when  he  first 
found  himself  a  lost  sinner — repent.  "  But,"  says  the  poor  be- 
nighted and  comfortless  soul,  "  How  can  I  repent  without  the  in- 
fluences of  the  Holy  Ghost  %  and  I  have  grieved  him  away."  Then 
here  you  are  my  brother,  at  the  mercy  of  God.  Lie  down  and  de- 
termine to  die,  if  you  must,  full  in  this  conviction.  The  Churches' 
hope  of  you  is  wholly  in  the  provisions  of  the  covenant.  I 
will  turn  you  to  a  leaf  or  two  of  that  covenaut :  "  Behold, 
the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  make  a  new  cov- 
enant with  the  house  of  Israel,  and  with  the  house  of  Judah." 
Here  it  reads,  you  see,  "  /  will  be  their  God  and  they  shall  be  my 
people."  He  does  not  intend  to  let  his  people  go.  They  would, 
if  he  would  let  them,  and  perish  every  soul  of  them,  even  after  he 
has  forgiven  them,  and  they  have  been  permitted  to  gaze  upon  the 
glories  of  the  Lamb.  Let  me  turn  you  to  another  leaf  of  that  com- 
pact. "  I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant  with  them,  that  I  will 
not  turn  away  from  them,  to  do  them  good  ;  but  I  will  put  my  fear 
in  their  hearts,  that  they  shall  not  depart  from  meP  On  another  page 
of  this  covenant,  it  reads,  "  My  salvation  shall  be  for  ever,  and  my 
righteousness  shall  not  be  abolished."  And  there  is  one  other 
page,  if  possible  still  more  precious,  "And  they  shall  be  my  peo 
pie,  and  I  will  be  their  God:  [or  tney  shnii  return  unto  me 
with  their  whole   heart."     I  will  read  you  one   other  line  of  that 


G96  the  christian's  best  friend  aggrieved. 

wondrous  compact,  which  God  has  made  with  his  people,  and 
leave  you  to  read  and  ponder  on  the  residue  :  "  If  they  break  my 
statutes,  and  keep  not  my  commandments;  then  I  will  visit  their 
transgressions  with  the  rod,  and  their  iniquity  with  stripes.  Nev- 
ertheless, my  loving-kindness  will  I  not  utterly  take  from  him  nor 
suffer  my  faithfulness  to  fail.  My  covenant  will  I  not  break,  nor 
alter  the  thing  that  is  gone  out  of  my  lips."  Thus  are  you  shut 
up  to  the  covenant  mercy  of  God,  and  here  is  the  safest  place  to 
leave  you.  If  you  have  been  his  children,  and  have  grieved  away 
his  Spirit,  still  his  unbounded  mercy  can  reach  you.  He  can  res- 
tore to  you  the  joy  of  his  salvation,  and  then  uphold  you  with  hi* 
free  spirit. 


SERMON   LX. 

TERMS  OF  DIVINE  ACCEPTANCE. 

acts  xvr.  30. 

Sirs,  what  must  1  do  to  be  saved? 

Paul  and  Silas,  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duty,  found 
themselves  at  length  immured  in  the  dungeons  of  Philippi.  There 
they  lifted  up  their  voices  in  prayer  and  praise  ;  and  the  prisoners 
heard  them  ;  and  what  was  to  them  of  far  higher  importance,  God 
heard  them,  and  sent  his  angels  to  deliver  them.  The  bars  of 
their  prison  were  sundered,  their  doors  flew  open,  and  their  bands 
were  loosed.  The  result  was,  a  deep  alarm  fastened  upon  the 
mind  of  the  prison-keeper,  venting  itself  in  the  language  of  the 
text,  "  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  1" 

Now  the  gospel  aims  to  bring  every  man  to  the  very  spot  where 
that  man  was  brought,  and  then  direct  him  to  a  Savior  and  to 
heaven.  There  must  be  alarm,  because  there  is  danger,  unless  in 
those,  perhaps  very  rare  cases,  when  a  Savior  is  embraced,  or 
rather  the  heart  prepared  to  receive  him,  before  the  danger  is  fully 
discovered.  Unless  we  see  our  danger  we  shall  make  no  effort  to 
escape  from  the  wrath  to  come.  And  men  will  have  so  soon  slept 
the  sleep  of  death,  and  alarm  be  of  no  avail,  that  humanity  requires 
every  possible  effort  to  wake  them. 

Hence,  no  curse  can  be  greater,  than  a  ministry  calculated  to 
keep  men  secure  in  their  sins.  At  no  other  point  does  there  await 
you  so  much  danger.  Your  servant  may  be  idle,  and  your  steward 
defraud  you,  and  your  best  friend  betray  you,  and  still  you  may 
suffer  but  a  temporary  loss  ;  but  if  he  who  is  the  mouth  of  God  to 
you,  deceive  you,  put  darkness  for  light  and  light  for  darkness, 
your  loss  may  be  irreparable. 

In  the  report  of  that  gospel  which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will 
approve  at  his  coming,  the  text  must  be  fully  and  correctly  an- 
swered. The  sinner  must  know  exactly  the  terms  on  which  God 
will  accept  him.  One  may  have  some  general  notion  that  he  is  a 
sinner,  that  a  Savior  is  provided,  and  that  possibly  he  may  have 
life  through  that  Savior;  and  still  be  so  much  in  the  dark  relative 


G98  TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE. 

to  the  terms  of  acceptance,  as  to  miss  of  eternal  life.  The  mere 
fact  that  a  Savior  died,  if  fully  known,  is  not  sufficient  to  secure 
salvation.  The  hare  atonement,  if  there  be  no  application  of  it  to 
the  soul,  will  avail  nothing.  Christ  fulfilled  the  demands  of  the 
law  in  behalf  of  all  who,  in  the  appointed  way,  shall  become  in- 
terested in  his  blood.  Cut  if  this  atonement  be  neglected  ;  if  we 
listen  to  a  gospel  that  on  this  point  misdirects  us  ;  and  we  do  not 
become  qualified  to  enjoy  salvation,  it  will  no  otherwise  affect  us, 
than  as  an  aggravation  of  our  condemnation.  My  plan  will  be,  to 
show  what  is  not  adequate  instruction  on  this  subject,  and  what  is. 

I.  I  am  to  show  what  is  not  adequate  instruction  on  this  subject. 
1.  "When  men  are  urged  to  a  reformation,  as  what  will  put  them 
into  the  way  of  life,  the  instruction  is  inadequate.  If  men  quit 
their  grosser  iniquities,  and  become  decent  and  civil,  still  no  pro- 
mise of  heaven  reaches  them  on  this  condition  merely.  Where 
in  the  gospel  are  any  such  terms  stated  !  I  know  that  men  are 
obligated  to  break  offtheir  sins  by  righteousness,  forthwith.  John 
directed  some  bad  men  who  came  to  him,  to  cease  from  violence 
and  become  honest,  and  contented :  but  John  did  not  mean  to 
leave  them  here  :  hence  he  did  not  say,  that  on  these  terms  Christ 
would  receive  them.  These  were  rather  the  conditions  on  which 
they  could  be  prepared  to  receive  his  instruction  to  advantage. 
If  I  should  meet  with  a  drunkard,  or  a  thief,  and  they  should  ask 
me  about  the  gospel,  the  first  lessons  I  should  give  them,  would  be 
on  the  subjects  of  sobriety  and  honesty.  Men  are  sometimes  too 
far  gone  in  the  by-paths  of  death,  to  give  the  gospel  a  candid 
hearing,  and  learn  what  the  terms  of  salvation  are  ;  and  then  the 
first  lesson  given  them  may  have  respect  to  their  waywardness  ; 
and  when  the  gospel  has  gained  this  footing,  then  yon  may  tell 
them  of  salvation  to  advantage. 

But  there  may  be  this  external  reformation,  and  there  often  has 
been,  while  yet  there  was  no  preparation  of  heart  to  receive  the 
Savior,  but  sin  was  loved,  and  rolled  as  a  sweet  morsel  under  the 
tongue.  Men  may  quit  their  sins  from  motives  of  interest  or  am- 
bition. Gross  iniquities  are  scandalous  and  expensive,  and  may 
!  abandoned  from  the  supreme  love  of  something  else  beside 
(  hrist. 

The  fear  of  the  wrath  to  come,  while  yet  there  is  a  prompt  and 
a  total  alienation  of  the  heart  from  God,  may  induce  men  to  break 
off  some  habit,  that  threatens  their  sure  and  speedy  perdition. 
But  there  is  not  a  text  in  one  of  the  pages  of  inspiration,  that  ex 


TEKMS    OF    DWINE    ACCEPTANCE.  603 

hibits  tliis  superficial  reformation,  as  the  condition  of  pardon  and 
acceptance  through  a  Savior.  The  young  man  that  would  know 
what  good  thing  he  must  do  to  inherit  eternal  life,  was  civil  and 
decent,  and  still  was  unfit  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  was  sent 
away  very  sorrowful.  It  will  not  be  denied  but  that  he  had  be- 
come a  moral  man,  but  he  still  loved  supremely  the  good  things 
of  this  life. 

2.  When  men  are  directed,  not  merely  to  break  off  some  of  the 
grosser  iniquities,  but  to  perform  some  of  the,  mere  external  dudes 
of  piety,  the  instruction  given  them  is  still  inadequate.  The  very 
same  motives  that  led  to  the  one,  will  often  lead  to  the  other. 
The  very  same  man,  who  would  cease  his  profaneness,  and  his 
Sabbath-break  inn-,  and  his  lewd  sonff-singriner.  and  his  drunkenness, 
and  his  midnight  retelings,  because  he  had  become  ashamed  of 
their  vulgarity  ;  will  have  prayer  sometimes  in  his  family,  and  will 
attend  upon  a  preached  gospel,  and  have  a  Bible  in  his  house,  and 
read  it  occasionally,  because  all  this  is  civil  and  decent. 

And  sometimes  this  cheap  and  superficial  religion  is  the  high 
way  to  preferment.  Men  will  be  to  some  extent  religious,  if  they 
can  obtain  character  hy  it,  and  can  make  it  a  stairway  to  office, 
and  influence,  and  wealth  too.  They  will  bow  and  cringe  to  men, 
and  God  too,  if  they  may  obtain  suffrages  by  it.  Men  will  con- 
sent to  be  anything,  if  it  will  make  them  great  in  the  life  that 
now  is. 

An  1  they  will  perform  duties,  in  hopes  to  gain  heaven  by  this 
means.  If  God  will  excuse  them  for  hating  his  law,  and  charac- 
ter, and  government,  they  will  attend  upon  his  ordinances,  and  pay 
an  outward  respect  to  his  Sabbaths,  and  repeat  their  creed,  and 
rehearse  their  prayers;  and  account  it  a  cheap  salvation.  And 
this  it  will  be  found  is  not  an  unusual  resort  of  ungodly  men.  In 
every  period  of  alarm,  away  they  fly  to  Christian  ordinances.  So, 
in  the  darker  times  of  Israel,  they  would  steal,  murder,  and  commit 
adultery,  and  swear  falsely,  and  burn  incense  unto  Baal,  and  then 
come  and  stand  before  God  in  his  house.  And  it  is  declared,  in 
thai  case,  thai  they  trusted  in  lying  words  that  could  not.  profit. 

God  has  never  spoken  of  this  external  attention  to  religious 
things,  as  the  terms  of  acceptance  with  him:  for  there  may  be 
still  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief.  The  prayers  uttered  by  the  lips,  may 
neither  have  their  source  in  the  heart,  nor  throw  back  upon  it  the 
least  impulse  to  piety.  They  may  not  even  engross  the  thinking 
powers,  hut  may  be  in  the  ears  of  Jehovah  like  the  prating  of  the 
parrot.      Men  have  no  doubt  uttered  prayers,  while  the  hostility  of 


700  TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE. 

their  hearts,  could  they  have  been  conscious  of  it,  to  the  God  in- 
voked, and  the  Savior  whose  name  was  used,  would  have  driven 
them  from  their  knees,  and  sealed  up  their  lips  in  the  sullenness 
of  perdition.  And  the  Scriptures  have  been  read,  while  the  heart 
quarrelled  with  every  doctrine  and  duty  they  enforced.  And 
ordinances  have  been  attended,  and  Sabbaths  kept,  and  charities 
given,  and  confessions  made,  while  there  was  the  deadliest  hos- 
tility to  all  that  is  holy  in  God,  or  purifying  in  truth. 

3.  If  you  add  to  all  this  a  profession  of  godliness,  the  instruction 
given  is  still  inadequate.  In  professing  godliness,  men  often  add 
perjury  to  their  other  deeds  of  wrong.  A  profession  is  not  unfre- 
quently  the  very  climax  of  their  impudence,  and  their  daring. 
Ah,  how  mistaken  have  ministers  and  churches  been,  in  supposing 
that  when  they  had  persuaded  the  ungodly*  to  enter  professedly 
into  covenant  with  God,  they  had  secured  to  some  extent  the  object 
of  the  gospel  institutions.  They  have  not  unfrequently  lived  to 
see  their  convert  a  more  daring  sinner  than  previously  to  his 
hypocritical  adoption  of  the  covenant ;  and  have  been  grieved  that 
they  had  not  left  him  without  the  enclosures  of  the  fold.  They 
brought  him  up  to  sealing  ordinances,  sprinkled  clean  water  upon 
him,  and  made  his  lips  touch  the  consecrated  symbols  of  a  dying 
Christ,  but  the  heart  remained  a  mass  of  moral  putrefaction  ;  and 
the  sacrifice  offered  was  but  a  smoke  and  a  stench  in  the  nostrils 
of  an  insulted  Savior.  They  painted  and  varnished  the  sepulchre, 
while  within  it  was  full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  all  uncleanness. 
It  is  many  a  time  obvious,  that  so  far  from  there  having  been  any 
thing  gained,  by  thrusting  the  worldling"  into  this  religious  atmos- 
phere, you  have  but  the  more  effectually  blocked  up  the  last  ave- 
nue to  his  conscience,  and  thus  placed  him,  perhaps,  beyond  the 
reach  of  hope  and  of  heaven. 

But  suppose,  if  you  please,  the  very  best  case,  and  tell  me,  if  in 
this  visible  transformation,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  see  any 
thing  that  he  will  consider  a  compliance  with  the  terms  of  life 
and  salvation  which  he  offers  I  And  I  have  left  out  of  view  the 
question  whether  it  be  right  to  do  so  1  Whether,  without  the  bid- 
diner  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  may  thus  administer  his  holy  ordinances 
lo  unsanctified  men?  Are  we,  in  such  a  procedure,  honest  to 
soulsl  is  now  the  question.  May  we  encourage  them  thus  to 
compass  themselves  about  with  sparks  of  their  own  kindling,  and 
walk  in  the  light  of  their  own  fires  1  Are  they  safe,  or  we  honest, 
while  we  watch  no  better  the  cates  of  tli-e  sheepfold  1  The  press 
that  men  make  toward  sealing  ordinances,  is  a  proof  that  they  ire 


TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE.  701 

uneasy  and  unhappy  ;  and  if  we  grant  their  wish,  do  we  answer 
honestly  and  fairly  the  question  thus  silently  put  to  us,  "  Sirs, 
what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  I"  Do  we  not  rather  seal  them  up  to 
a  perpetual  stupidity,  and  shall  we  not  have  to  answer  for  their 
blood,  in  the  day  that  inquisition  shall  be  made  for  it  ] 

II.  Havinf  thus  endeavored  to  show,  what  is  not  adequate  in- 
struction on  this  subject,  I  proceed  to  inquire,  what  is  ?  In  stating 
the  terms  on  which  the  sinner  can  become  interested  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,   I  should  choose  to  say: 

1.  He  must  explicitly  avow  his  approbation  of  the  law  he  has 
broken.  Here  begins,  under  every  government,  where  there  has 
been  revolt,  the  exercise  of  a  right  temper.  Christ  came  not  to 
destroy  the  law  but  to  fulfil  it.  This  declaration  is  found  on  the 
very  title  page  of  his  gospel.  Repent,  said  he,  for  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  at  hand.  And  what  is  repentance,  more  or  less, 
than  a  cordial  approbation  of  the  precept  that  has  been  violated  ? 

Hence  the  language  of  penitence  in  all  ages  has  been  the  same. 
"The  law  is  good,  its  penalties  just,  and  its  whole  design  benevo- 
lent. God  had  not  been  kind,  bad  he  given  us  any  other  law,  or 
been  willing  that  it  should  be  broken  with  impunity,  or  had  affixed 
any  lower  penalty,  or  accepted  any  meaner  sacrifice  than  his  own 
Son,  as  the  atoning  Lamb.  0,  I  am  a  wretch  for  having  broken 
this  law,  and  can  offer  no  possible  plea  that  shall  excuse  or  palli- 
ate the  smallest  deviation  from  its  precepts.  If  God  should  cast 
me  off  for  ever,  he  would  but  treat  me  as  I  deserve  to  be  treated, 
and  expect  to  be."  Thus  the  sinner  takes  to  himself  the  punish- 
ment of  his  sins,  and  thus  places  himself  in  an  attitude,  where 
Christ  can  begin  to  notice  him,  and  still  be  the  friend  and  patron 
of  the  Divine  law. 

With  this  principle  we  are  all  familiar.  The  child  sees  you 
pouring  your  frowns  upon  his  disobedience,  and  would  be  glad  if 
y<»u  would  agree  with  him  in  reprobating  the  precept  he  has  vio- 
late I.  But  your  authority  is  lost,  and  your  child  ruined,  if  you 
cease  to  frown,  till  he  confesses  that  he  has  broken  a  good  law. 
Then,  and  not  till  then,  can  you  relax  the  sternness  of  that  coun- 
tenance  which  frowns  upon  his  disobedience.  The  teacher  places 
the  rebellious  child  at  his  feet,  and  he  must  be  there  till  he  con- 
!S  the  precept  just,  that  he  violated.  And  the  same  principle 
is  acted  upon  in  all  governments  that  admit  of  pardon. 

So  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  if  he  would  not  do  a  rebellious  world 
incalculable  mischief,  must  suffer  the  sinner  to   malic  no  approach 


702  TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE. 

to  him,  till  he  is  grieved  for  his  transgressions,  or  has  avowed  his 
full  approbation  of  the  law  he  has  broken.  Then  he  can  be  saved 
and  the  law  of  God  be  sustained. 

Now  the  whole  of  repentance  maybe  summed  up,  as  I  suppose, 
in  this  retrospect  of  a  humbled  sinner,  upon  his  guilty  and  inexcus- 
able violations  of  a  good  law;  including,  however,  his  abandon- 
ment of  the  transgressions  which  he  disapproves.  Thus  is  per- 
formed one  of  the  conditions,  on  which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
will  receive  us  to  his  favor,  and  wash  away   our  sins  in  his  blood. 

2.  The  sinner  must  become  willing  to  owe  his  escape  from  the 
curse  of  the  law  to  Jesus  Christ.  One  may  know  that  he  has 
oroken  the  law  of  God,  and  that  the  law  he  has  broken  is  a  good 
law,  and,  still  be  too  proud  to  receive  pardon  on  the  terms  of  the 
gospel.  We  have  known  cases  when  men  have  starved  and  per- 
ished rather  than  receive  alms.  The  pride  of  their  hearts  would 
not  suffer  them  to  eat  the  bread  they  had  not  purchased.  And 
men  have  gone  down  to  hell,  because  they  would  not  cast  them- 
selves «upon  that  Savior,  whose  help  was  seen  to  be  necessary,  in 
order  to  their  escape  from  the  wrath  to  come.  Not  merely  must 
the  sinner  see  that  he  is  perishing,  and  that  there  is  no  help  out  of 
Christ,  but  he  must  become  pleased  with  Christ,  else  he  will 
not  feel  himself  secure  in  his  hands,  nor  apply  to  him  for  life. 

[t  is  believed  that  many  a  soul  has  perished,  hesitating  whether 
it  would  be  prudent  or  safe  to  cast  himself  upon  the  Savior.  To 
do  this  is  faith,  and  implies  that  already  the  temper  of  the  heart  is 
changed  :  but  all  men  have  not  faith.  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that 
awakened  sinners  have  faith.  Some  may  have;  for  none  can  say 
how  early  in  the  process  of  alarm  God  may  renew  the  heart.  But 
of  this  we  are  sure,  that  when  renewed,  it  is  prepared  to  believe, 
soon  after  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ   is  presented. 

Sinners  often  wonder,  and  sometimes  quarrel,  that  on  making 
the  inquiry  of  the  text,  the  answer  we  give  them  implies  a  new 
heart ;  whereas  the  inquiry  they  intended  to  make  was,  how 
they  should  obtain  a  new  heart.  They  wish  to  know  how 
they  must  operate,  with  their  evil  hearts  of  unbelief,  so  as  to 
nave  them  renewed.  Now  to  ibis  question  wc  can  give  no 
answer.  We  know  of  no  process  by  which  an  ungodly  man 
may  work  himself  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  by  believing 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  can  tell  them  to  do  nothing,  that 
does  not  imply  holiness;  and  if  we  should,  they  might  do  as  we 
direct  them,  an  I  still  be  lost;  whereas  they  ask  us,  what  they  must 
do  to  be  saved.     If  to  this  question  they  wish  an  honest  answer  that 


TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE.  703 

will  do  them  any  good,  we  must  assure  them,  that  having  been 
brought  to  approve  of  the  law  they  have  broken,  they  must  also 
approve  of  the  remedy  provided,  must  commit  their  souls  to  Je- 
sus Christ.     These  conditions  can  never  be  altered. 

3.  When  faith  lias  accepted  the  atonement,  and  sin  is  forgiven, 
there  must  be  a  life  of  obedience,  as  that  which  can  alone  express 
the  soul's  continued  approbation  of  the  law  that  has  been  violated, 
and  the  remedy  that  has  been  provided.  Repentance  for  sin,  and 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  are  not  exercises  belonging  merely  to  the 
first  stages  of  piety,  and  to  be  then  done  with  for  ever.  The  man 
who  is  born  of  God  continues  to  hate  sin,  and  trust  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  till  he  dies.  He  does  not  give  the  law  one  approv- 
ing look,  and  the  Savior  one  welcome  to  his  heart,  and  then  re- 
lapse into  his  former  impenitence  and  unbelief.  He  renews  his 
repentance  day  by  day,  and  as  often  makes  fresh  application  to  the 
blood  of  sprinkling,  for  pardon  and  acceptance.  His  whole  life, 
if  he  honor  the  religion  he  professes  to  embrace,  is  filled  up  with 
obedience  to  the  law,  with  sorrow  and  tears  for  having  broken  it, 
and  with  the  testimonials  of  a  cordial  approbation  of  the  atone 
merit   made   upon   the   cross. 

We  know  nothing  of  that  religion,  which,  after  taking  root  in 
the  heart,  can  lie  dormant  for  years,  and  produce  no  transforming 
influence  upon  the  man,  conforming  him  to  the  truth,  or  moulding 
him  into  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ.  God  will  not  forgive  sin,  and 
take  away  the  curse,  and  enter  into  an  everlasting  covenant  with 
the  transgressor  :  and  then  permit  him  to  go  into  exile  from  his 
presence,  and  he  again  an  alien  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel, 
and  a  stranger  from  the  covenants  of  promise  ;  and  live  without 
hope  and  without  God  in  the  world. 

He  calls  in  his  elect,  only  in  time,  however  early,  to  fit  them  for 
his  presence  in  glory.  And  the  work  of  grace  goes  on  from  that. 
time  till  death.  They  aim  at  a  perfect  obedience  to  the  Divine 
law,  and  go  from  strength  to  strength,  till  every  one  of  them  ap- 
peareth  in  Zion  before  God.  They  forget  the  things  that  are  he- 
hind,  and  reach  forth  to  those  things  which  are  before,  and  press 
toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus.  Hence  there  cannot  be  any  very  long  suspension  of  those 
exercises,  which  are  essential  at  the  beginning  of  a  course  of 
piety.  The  heart  continues  to  be  penitent,  and  believing,  and  obe* 
di'mt,  till  all  sin  is  removed,  and  grace  is  perfected  in  glory. 
close  with 


704  TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE. 

REMARKS. 

1.  Let  us  compare  all  this  with  what  is  sometimes  termed  tht 
gospel.  How  wrong  and  how  ruinous  is  the  advice,  that  not  unfre- 
quently  is  given  to  the  unregenerate. 

We  have  known  when  pains  was  taken  to  prevent  men  from  be- 
coming alarmed,  so  as  to  put  the  question  of  the  text  with  ear-  „ 
nestness.  They  must  not  hear  that  the  heart  is  desperately  wick- 
ed, lest  they  should  fear  that  in  all  their  deeds  they  had  broken  the 
law  of  God.  They  must  have  no  suspicion  that  their  prayers  are 
deficient,  lest  they  should  see  their  need  of  a  Savior.  They  must 
be  told  nothing  of  hell,  lest  they  should  be  afraid  of  its  torments; 
nor  hear  of  election,  lest  they  learn  that  men  will  not  accept  of 
mercy,  till  they  are  made  willing  in  the  day  of  God's  power. 

And  thus  every  doctrine,  calculated  to  pour  honor  upon  the  Di- 
vine law,  and  reflect  correspondent  shame  and  reproach  upon  the 
transgressor,  must  be  disproved,  or  concealed,  or  neutralized  ; 
and  that  perhaps  by  the  very  men  who  have  been  sent  as  the  her- 
alds of  salvation  to  a  lost  world.  We  have  seen  them  afraid,  lest 
without  design  they  should  effect  some  alarm  among  the  foes  of 
God.  Hence  the  monstrous  abuse  of  that  text,  when  any  hard 
truth  had  leaked  out;  "But,  beloved,  we  are  persuaded  better 
things  of  you,  and  things  that  accompany  salvation,  though  we 
thus  speak."  Ten  thousand  consciences,  that  had  been  pierced 
with  truth,  have  thus  been  healed  slightly,  by  a  text  which  God 
inspired  for  far  other  purposes.  But  when  no  soothing  opiate 
would  answer,  and  the  sinner  could  not  be  prevented  from  alarm. 
we  have  known  advice  to  be  given  that  was  the  most  ruinous  pos- 
sible. 

We  have  known  when  awakened  sinners  have  had  suggested  to 
them  a  train  of  thought  calculated  to  chase  away  nil  alarm,  by 
lessening  their  respect  for  the  violated  law.  It  is  pleaded  that 
they  have  misapprehended  their  guilt  ;  that  the  law  is  not  so  severe 
as  they  imagine,  and  moreover,  that  the  mercy  of  God  will  not 
allow  him  to  punish  sinners  for  ever.  What  parent,  say  these 
lender-hearted  instructors,  would  cast  his  child  into  a  quenchless 
lire  \  Will  God  punish  eternally  the  errors  of  a  few  years'?  God 
will  he  moved  by  their  tears,  and  will  pardon  them,  if  indeed  their 
grief  has  not  already  done  away  their  guilt.  Thus  their  anguish 
of  he. irt  is  all  soothed,  while  yet  there  is  no  repentance. 

We  have  Known  when  the  awakened  were  told,  that  they  were 
in  a  fair  way  1"  <»htain  religion,  that  they  must  perserere,  and  hold 
out,  and  they  would    do    well.     But    unhappily   their  way  was   the 


TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE.  705 

way  to  death,  and  they  did  persevere,  perhaps,  and  their  alarms 
were  soon  gone,  and  they  are  seen  in  the  broad  way,  or  are  gone 
to  know  the  full  weight  of  that  curse  of  the  law  which  once  hung 
over  them.  Had  they  been  told  that  there  was  nothing  holy  in 
their  (errors,  and  that  they  were  still  insecure,  till  they  applied  by 
faith  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  they  might  have  obtained  eternal 
life.  They  should  have  known,  that  they  had  not  overrated  their 
danger,  nor  half  estimated  their  guilt;  that  God  was  angry,  as 
they  supposed,  that  there  was  a  perdition,  as  deep,  and  dark,  and 
hopeless  as  they  feared.  Then  there  might  have  been  a  prospect 
that  they  would  llee  for  refuge,  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before 
them  in  the  gospel. 

The  case  is  said  to  have  happened  when  they  have  been  directed 
to  a  novel,  or  a  party,  to  chase  away  their  glooms.  A  journey  in 
the  country,  or  a  visit  to  their  friends,  the  song  and  the  dance, 
have  been  considered  a  better  specific  for  their  pains,  than  the 
atoning  Lamb  of  God.  Let  it  be,  that  these  are  extreme  cases, 
still  means  like  these  have  often  been  resorted  to,  in  order  to  do 
away  alarm,  and  soothe  the  waking  conscience.  But  it  will  wake 
again  in  the  day  of  death,  and  gnaw  with  a  still  keener  appetite 
from  the  day  of  judgment  onward. 

Finally,  any  instruction  given  awakened  sinners,  that  they  may 
comply  with  and  still  perish,  is  cruel  and  treacherous.  Say  to 
them  as  Paul  did,  and  you  are  safe,  and  they  too,  if  they  follow 
your  advice.  And  they  will  be  as  likely  to  do  their  whole  duty, 
as  any  part  of  it.  Christ  will  bless  only  that  instruction,  which 
comes  up  to  the  standard  he  has  given  us.  O,  let  not  the  lips, 
that  should  pour  out  only  truth,  that  should  help  the  sinner  to  a 
full  acquaintance  with  his  sins,  and  press  his  conscience,  till  he 
shall  feel  that  he  cannot  do  an  hour  without  Christ,  be  employed 
to  stop  the  progress  of  conviction,  and  through  a  mistaken  tender- 
ness, bind  up  the  rankling  wound,  ere  the  probe  has  reached  its 
centre,  or  it  has  disgorged  its  putrescence.  When  the  sinner, 
under  the  management  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  in  a  fair  way  to  be- 
come  thoroughly  convinced  of  his  misery  and  his  ruin,  let  not  the 
work  be  arrested  in  its  progress,  and  the  ear  be  assailed  with  the 
sound  of  peace,  till  heaven  is  once  made  sure. 

The  prodigal  is  alarmed  for  his  life,  and  grieved  almost  to  dis- 
traction for  his  baseness  of  conduct,  and  has  his  face  turned  home- 
ward,  but  a  being  meets  him,  pretending  to  6e  his  father's  friend, 
and  sent  to  guide  him  in  the  way  to  his  house,  and  bears  him  into 


706  TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE. 

a  hopeless  and  returnless  exile  !  He  casts  a  veil  over  the  filth  and 
rags  of  the  vagabond,  tells  him  of  his  native  virtues,  admonishes 
him  to  make  one  more  effort  to  live  without  his  father,  and  the 
wretch  believes,  and  turns  his  face  from  home,  and  perishes  in  his 
profligacy.  So  many  a  sinner,  just  at  the  moment  when  he  began 
to  think  on  his  ways,  when  his  sins  were  staring  him  in  the  face, 
when  there  was  seen  distinctly  the  countenance  of  an  offended 
God,  and  when  there  began  to  be  some  thought  of  repairing  to  a 
Savior,  has  been  misdirected  and  destroyed. 

Instead  of  saying,  as  St.  Paul  did,  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,"  we  set  about  making  him  happy 
in  some  other  way.  He  must  mend  his  life,  and  send  up  some 
prayer,  and  wait  at  the  pool,  and  hold  on  his  way: — Yes,  all  this 
would  be  well,  were  he  now  a  believer.  But  the  misery  of  the 
case  is,  he  is  yet  unsanctified,  his  heart  is  set  in  him  to  do  evil, 
and  the  controversy  between  him  and  God  is  yet  at  its  height. 
He  must  stop  and  turn  back,  or  lose  heaven.  He  yet  knows  not 
enough  about  his  sins  to  render  a  Savior  welcome.  He  still  dares 
to  stand  on  the  margin  of  perdition,  and  has  a  disgust  for  holiness 
and  heaven  so  implacable,  that  he  will  risk  all  the  danger  he  is  in 
a  little  longer,  rather  than  give  his  heart  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Tell  him  now  of  waiting  God's  time,  and  attending  on  the  means  ; 
when  God's  time  has  gone  by  these  thirty,  forty,  sixty  years,  and 
means  have  had  no  effect  all  that  time !  Ah,  I  am  afraid  you  will 
amuse  him  till  his  day  of  mercy  has  gone  by,  and  he  perishes  in 
his  bondage.  The  manslayer  is  fleeing  from  the  avenger  of  blood, 
the  road  before  him  parts,  a  post  is  erected,  and  a  board  on  it,  on 
which  is  written,  in  large  capitals, 

REFUGE  uzr 

while  the  finger  of  a  man's  hand  points  to  his  course.  He  can 
(iily  read  a  single  word,  and  must  run'while  he  reads.  If  he  stops 
to  breathe  he  perishes. 

Now  such  is  the  office  of  the  gospel  ministry,  when  it  comes  in 
contact  with  a  sinner  anxious  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  It 
ran  lose  no  time  in  directing  him  to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain. 
It  must  urge  him  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  when  the  danger  is 
over,  then  tell  him  of  means,  and  urge  him  to  prayer,  and  press  a 
reform,  ami  build  him  up  for  heaven.     I  proceed  to  a 

2.  Remark.  We  may  gather  from  this  subject  a  reason,  why  revi 
vols  of  religion  in  some  instances,  add  so  little  to  the  strength  of  the 


TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE.  707 

Churches.  The  lax  instruction  sometimes  given  to  awakened  sin- 
ners at  such  z.  time,  even  by  well  meaning  men,  who  aim  to  be 
faithful,  tends  to  nourish  a  growth  of  piety,  that  is  sickly  and  ef- 
feminate, and  will  finally  add  but  little  to  the  vigor  and  beauty  of 
Zion.  1  know  that  if  souls  are  converted  they  will  get  to  heaven, 
and  blessed  be  God,  if  he  will  convert  them,  but  their  usefulness 
in  this  life,  much  depends  on  their  early  instruction. 

Let  the  doctrines  be  kept  hid  from  those  who  are  coming  into 
the  kingdom,  and  let  there  be  detailed  only  that  soothing,  indis- 
tinct, ami  sickly  instruction,  which  has  been  noticed,  and  the  con- 
verts, when  made,  will  go  halting  along  to  heaven,  and  the  Church 
and  its  ministry  have  very  little  comfort  in  them,  or  help  from 
them. 

They  will  scarcely  know  what  converted  them,  whether  truth 
or  error.  It  was  truth,  I  know,  for  God  sanctifies  through  the 
truth  ;  but  there  was  so  much  error  mingled  with  it  as  to  render  it, 
in  their  own  view,  doubtful  which  produced  the  effect.  And  having 
associated  the  kindness  of  their  youth,  the  love  of  their  espousals, 
with  so  much  indistinctness  of  doctrine,  they  will  be  likely  ever 
after,  to  court  this  same  darkened  exhibition  of  the  gospel,  and 
finally  die,  before  they  shall  have  learned  what  truth  is.  And  while 
they  live,  they  will  be  liable  to  be  driven  about  with  every  wind 
of  doctrine,  and  vex  the  Church,  and  embarrass  the  ministry,  and 
pass  perhaps  from  one  denomination  to  another,  and  finally  be 
saved  though  as  by  fire. 

They  will  be  doubtful  who  converted  them.  They  were  told 
when  under  alarm,  to  do  many  things  toward  their  own  conversion, 
and  they  did  them,  and  they  were  finally  converted  ;  but  whether 
they  did  it  themselves,  or  whether  God  did  it,  they  find  it  hard  to 
tell.  And  they  will  give  others  the  same  darkened  counsel  that 
was  given  them.  Thus  God  is  robbed  of  the  glory  due  to  his 
name,  and  the  Churches  filled  up  with  members,  who  will  hang  a 
lead  weight  upon  every  revival  that  shall  happen  in  the  Church, 
till  they  arc  taken  up  to  heaven,  and  taught  there  what  they  should 
have  learned  that  same  week  in  which  they  were  born  of  God. 

And  they  may  never  find  out  in  this  world,  what  they  were  con- 
verted for.  Men  will  be  active  in  duty,  only  as  they  are  rooted 
and  grounded  in  the  truth.  In  all  men,  truth,  or  what  they  think 
is  truth,  is  the  spring  of  action.  Hence  some  whole  Churches,  in 
this  day  of  Christian  enterprise,  can  be  brought  to  do  nothing  ; 
and  the  reason  is,  because  they  know  nothing  distinctly.     If  you 


70S  TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE. 

could  enlighten  them,  they  would  act,  hut  they  will  not  be  en- 
lightened. The  secret  is,  they  were  born  in  a  dark,  misty,  and 
debilitating  atmosphere,  and  they  choose  to  live  and  die  in  the 
same.  Let  some  good  man  who  knows  and  loves  the  truth,  go 
into  one  corner  of  such  a  society,  and  there  be  active  and  faithful 
a  few  years,  till  the  Christians  know  what  they  were  born  again 
for,  and  that  corner  of  the  Church  shall  be,  from  that  time,  worth 
all  the  rest,  in  any  labors  to  which  God  shall  call  his  people. 

I  Know  not  but  that  we  have  here  one,  and  that  not  a  very  inef- 
ficient cause,  why  so  many  ministers  have  been  quarrelled  away 
from  their  people,  immediately  after  some  great  revival.  The 
faithful  and  laborious  servant  of  God  had  gathered  into  the  Church 
a  multitute  of  converts,  and  expected  much  from  them,  but  had 
not  prepared  them  to  be  useful  ;  and  when  at  length  he  urged 
them  to  bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance,  they  contended 
with  him.  If  any  should  consider  this  a  bold  suggestion  then  1 
hope  they  will  make  a  happier  one,  and  take  away  this  reproach 
from  the  Churches.  I  cannot  believe,  that  a  revival  of  religion, 
effected  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  under  a  distinguishing  gospel,  will 
tend  to  unsettle  its  ministry.  But  I  can  easily  believe,  that  one 
who  knows  and  loves  the  truth,  may  hold  it  back  in  a  time  of 
awakening,  to  the  incalculable  injury  of  those  who  are  born  again, 
and  at  the  risk  of  his  own  sudden  removal  from  his  flock.  He  is 
afraid  to  give  them  strong  meat,  and  feeds  them  with  what  he 
terms  milk,  but  which  proves  to  be  poison,  and  they  wither  under 
it,  and  he  is  punished  for  administering  it.  Thus  is  fulfilled  that 
inspired  adage,  "He  that  will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it;  but  he 
that  will  lose  his  life,  for  my  sake,  and  the  gospel,  the  same  shall 
save  it." 

Finally,  let  me  say  to  lost  men,  haste  your  escape  to  Jesus 
Christ.  You  stand  in  imminent  danger  of  perdition  every  moment. 
Your  ruin  is  nearer,  and  your  Gf'iilt,  far  greater,  than  you  ever 
conceived.  That  sinner  that  has  been  the  most  afraid,  has  never 
been  half  enough  afraid,  of  the  wrath  of  God.  It  burns  to  the 
lowest  hell,  and  when  you  fall  beneath  it,  your  courage  will  all  be 
none  in  a  moment.  "Can  thine  heart  endure,  or  can  thine  hand 
be  strong,  in  the  days  that  I  shall  deal  with  thee  V 

You  see  what  the  terms  are,  and  (>o(\  will  never  alter  them,  on 
which  you  can  be  accepted  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They  ait, 
the  best,  and  the  only  terms  that  could  be  offered.  They  secure 
the  honor  of  the  Divine  law,  the  glory  of  Christ,  and  the  eternal 


TERMS    OF    DIVINE    ACCEPTANCE.  709 

life  of  the  sinner.     They  are   humbling  terms,  and   to  reach  the 
case  they  must  be. 

Now  will  you  stand  quarrelling,  with  the  truth  till  you  perish  1 
Is  this  the  right  course  for  a  sinner  1  You  thus  harden  your 
heart,  and  sear  your  conscience,  and  provoke  your  doom.  "Now 
is  the  accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  May  God 
bless  his  own  truth,  and  make  it  a  fire  and  hammer  to  break  in 
nieces  the  flinty  rock.     Amen. 


SERMON  LX1. 

SAJLVATION  MADE  SURE. 

JOHN    VII.    37. 

All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come  to  me  ;  and  him  that  cometh  la  me  I  will  in  nowise 
east  out. 

Perhaps  of  all  the  excuses  that  men  have  offered,  as  designed 
to  account  for  their  impenitence,  none  has  in  it  more  infidelity  or 
more  impudence,  than  that  which  fastens  their  ruin  upon  the  pur- 
poses of  God.  If  he  has  any  decree  respecting  their  future  state, 
no  matter  whether  he  has  resolved  they  shall  die  or  Jive,  no  mat- 
ter whether  his  decree  deprives  them  of  agency  or  not — if  there 
is  any  such  decree  they  resolve  to  leave  the  whole  matter  with  him, 
and  to  give  the  concerns  of  the  soul  no  attention.  Hence  many 
who  have  believed  the  doctrine  have  still  felt  that  it  should  be  sel- 
dom or  never  exhibited  before  ungodly  men  lest  it  should  keep 
them  away  from  Christ. 

Against  a  sentiment  like  this  I  feel  it  my  duty  for  one  to  enter 
my  strong  and  decided   protest.     And  for  the  following  reasons  : 

In  the  first  place  it  is  a  doctrine  as  plainly  revealed  in  the  Bible 
as  any  other,  and  the  Bible  is  a  revelation  of  the  mind  of  God  to 
sinners,  hence  God  must  have  known  that  the  doctrine  has  not  the 
tendency  that  men  have  attributed  to  it.  He  would  not  have  re- 
vealed a  doctrine,  whose  tendency  would  be  to  thwart  the  purposes 
of  his  mercy. 

In  the  second  place  I  believe  it  a  doctrine  calculated  above  most 
others  to  awaken  sinners.  It  exhibits  the  depravity  of  the  heart 
in  its  most  glaring  colors.  God  will  compel  some  to  come  in  be- 
cause all  are  unwilling,  and  because  that  but  for  this  interference 
of  his  mercy  all  must  be  lost. 

In  the  third  place  it  exalts  the  Lord.  Let  the  gospel  scheme  be 
such  as  men  would  have  it,  and  God  would  make  no  calculations 
respecting  the  magnitude  of  his  kingdom.  Christ  would  not  be 
able  to  know  whether  he  should  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and 
be  satisfied  or  not.  But  God  has  done  himself  honor  in  fixing  eter- 
nally the  boundaries  of  his  kingdom. 

Finally,  it  is  to  the   minister  of  Christ  and  the    people  of  God 


SALVATION    MADE    SURE.  711 

generally  their  only  source  of  hope  that  a  preached  gospel  will 
have  its  desired  effect.  No  one  would  be  willing  to  go  out  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  men  totally  depraved  unless  the  unalterable 
purpose  and  promise  of  God  secured  success. 

The  atonement  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  foundation 
of  hope  to  a  perishing  sinner.  Hence  the  Savior  represented  him- 
self as  the  bread  of  God  that  come th  down  from  heaven  and  giveth 
life  to  the  world.  And  he  added,  he  that  cometh  to  me  shall  nev- 
er hunger,  and  he  that  believeth  on  me  shall  never  thirst.  But 
said  he  to  those  about  him,  "  Ye  also  have  seen  me  and  believed 
not." 

-  But  our  Lord  assures  them  that  if  (key  would  not  believe  on  him 
and  follow  him,  still  he  should  not  be  without  disciples.  There 
were  some  whose  faith  in  him,  and  whose  perseverance  to  eternal 
life  were  made  sure.  "  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come 
to  me  :  and  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
Let  us  now  give  this  text  a  candid  and  prayerful  examination. 
We  may  sometimes  suppose  ourselves  interested  in  evading  the 
force  of  Scripture,  but  our  true  interest  demands  that  we  endeavor 
to  understand  it  as  God  intended  it  should  be  understood.  I  can- 
not wish,  nor  can  any  other  man  who  will  feel  and  act  rationally, 
that  this  text  or  any  other  should  be  made  to  speak  a  language 
which  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  did  not  intend  to  teach.  The  text 
naturally  divides  itself,  and  opens  to  the  mind  three  leading 
thoughts. 

I.  Some  of  our  race  God  the  Father  gives  to  God  the  Son 

II.  All  these  shall  infallibly  come  to  him. 

III.  None  that  come  to  him  shall  be  rejected,  or  cast  out. 

1.  Some  of  our  race  are  given  of  the  Father  to  the  Son.  It 
reads,  you  will  remember,  "All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall 
com  to  me:  and  he  that  cometh  to  me  [  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

If  the  New  Testament  had  not  made  us  familiar  with  this  Ian 
guage,  it  would  seem  strange  that  one  person  in  the  Godhead 
should  present  to  another  that  to  which  the  other  had  an  equal 
right  with  himself,  lint  in  the  economy  of  redemption  each  per- 
son acts  a  part  somewhat  distinct.  Christ  as  Mediator  acts  an 
inferior  part,  i>  delegated  and  rewarded  by  the  Father.  What 
then  are  we  to  understand  by  the  Father  giving  some  of  our  race 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  \  There  is  a  passage  very  much  like  this 
in  the  10th  chapter  of  this  same  gospel.  "  My  sheep  hear  my 
"oice,  and    I  know   them,   and   they   follow   me  :  and  I  give  unto 


712  SALVATION    MADE    StTHE. 

them  eternal  life;  and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any 
pluck  them  out  of  my  hand.  My  Father,  which  gave  them  me,  is 
greatei  than  all ;  and  none  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my  Fat  er's 
hand."  We  read  again  in  the  17th  chapter,  "  That  he  should 
give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as  thou  hast  given  him."  Again,  "  I 
have  manifested  thy  name  unto  the  men  which  thou  gavest  me, 
out  of  the  world:  thine  they  were  and  thou  gavest  them  me." 
Again,  "  I  pray  not  for  the  world,  but  for  them  which  thou  hast 
given  me."  Again,  "  Holy  Father,  keep  through  thine  own  name 
those  whom  thou  hast  given  me." 

I  think  these  quotations,  without  proceeding  farther,  show 
clearly  that  the  word  giveth,  in  the  text,  has  the  same  meaning  as 
given,  in  the  text  which  I  have  quoted.  The  meaning  then  is,  that 
in  some  wondrous  transaction  between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  a 
part  of  our  race  was  given  to  Christ,  to  be  in  some  peculiar  sense, 
his  property.  Nor  do  I  see  how  any  honest  man,  who  is  willing 
to  let  the  Scripture  explain  itself,  can  come  to  any  other  conclu- 
sion. 

A  writer  of  the  Episcopal  communion,*  for  whom  T  love  to  ex- 
press my  high  respect,  gives  us  this  explanation  :  "  All  whom  the 
Father  had  given  to  him,  in  his  foreknowledge  and  choice  of  them, 
and  by  the  covenant  of  redemption  made  with  him  as  their  surety, 
would  come  to  him."  Another  for  whom  I  feel  a  similar  respect,f 
says  :  "  All  that  the  Father  has  graciously  chosen  to  himself,  and 
whom  he  giveth  to  me  in  consequence  of  a  peculiar  covenant,  to 
be  sanctified  and  saved  by  me,  will  certainly  at  length  come  unto 
me."  Permit  me  to  quote  another  no  less  respectable.^  He  says  : 
"  From  the  gratuitous  election  in  Christ  by  the  Father,  flows  the 
jjift  of  faith,  which  eternal  life  necessarily  follows.  Therefore, 
faith  in  Christ  is  a  certain  testimony  of  our  election,  and  conse- 
quently of  our  future  glorification." 

Thus  are  we,  by  the  covenant  testimony  of  Scripture,  and  by 
the  advice  of  able  and  pious  commentators,  driven  to  the  conclu- 
si;m,  that  a  part  of  our  race  are  given  to  Christ  previously  to  their 
conversion,  and  are  his  in  a  sense  in  which  the  residue  are  not  his. 
And  if  one  other  text  may  add  its  testimony,  we  shall  learn  that 
they  were  chosen  in  Christ  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
that  they  should  be  holy  and  without  blame  before  him,  in  love. 

If  any  should  persist  in  denying  this  doctrine,  it  will  be  recol- 
Lected  that  the  texts  I  have  quoted,  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  that 
go  to  establish  the  same  point      And  I  know  not  whit  explanation 

•  Scott.  t  Doddridge.  \  Beza. 


SALVATION    MADE    SURE.  713 

they  can  give  the  text.  Will  they  say  that  the  Father,  in  con- 
verting them,  gives  them  to  Christ  1  Then,  I  ask,  What  is  meant 
by  their  coining  to  him  after  all  this  1  May  a  man  be  born  again, 
and  be  received  into  the  family  of  God,  who  has  not  come  to 
Christ  1  Will  it  be  said  that  they  are  given  to  Christ,  not  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  but  immediately  before  their  con- 
version, then  1  ask,  Why  at  that  time  rather  than  years  sooner,  or 
an  eternity  sooner  1  Beside,  nothing  is  gained  by  this  mode  of  ex- 
position. All  the  objections  that  lie  against  an  eternal  choice,  and 
more  too,  lie  against  the  idea  of  their  being  chosen  one  hour  be- 
fore their  conversion.  The  fact  of  their  coming  to  Christ  de- 
pending on  their  being  given  to  him,  is  the  idea  so  much  hated 
and  so  much  controverted. 

And  it  cannot  be  said  that  all  are  given  to  Christ  in  the  sense 
of  the  text,  for  this  would  convert  the  Scriptures  into  nonsense, 
and  would  really  contradict  the  testimony  of  Christ :  for  all  do 
not  come  to  him,  but  all  that  are  given  to  him  shall  come  to  him. 
I  do  not  see  but  we  must  all  acknowledge,  whatever  be  our  pre 
judices,  that  there  is  a  sense  in  which  some  of  our  race,  to  the 
exclusion  of  others  are,  previously  to  their  conversion,  given  to 
Christ.  We  are  not  authorized  to  say  who  they  are,  nor  what  the 
number.  Till  by  their  conversion  and  subsequent  holiness  of  life, 
they  have  made  their  calling  and  election  sure,  there  is  no  one  can 
guess  with  regard  to  any  individual,  whether  he  is  or  is  not  one 
of  the  number  given  to  Christ.  The  plan  is  fixed  and  unaltera- 
ble, but  secret,  till  developed  in  the  conversion  of  souls. 

II.  All  who  are  thus  given  to  Christ  shall  come  .to  him.  The 
context  decides  that  to  come  to  him  is  the  same  as  to  believe  on 
him.  "  He  that  cometh  to  me  shall  never  hunger  ;  and  he  that 
believeth  on  me  shall  never  thirst."  The  fact,  then,  is  certain, 
that  all  who  are  given  to  Christ  will  believe  on  him.  And  if  none 
can  believe  on  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard,  and  if  none  can 
hear  without  a  preacher,  it  is  equally  certain  that  all  who  are 
given  to  Christ  will  be  furnished  with  a  preached  gospel,  and  will 
thus  be  brought  to  know  and  obey  the  truth.  God  has  made  his 
plan  perfect  ;  he  has  not  determined  the  end,  and  left  the  means 
unappointed.  He  has  chosen  men  to  salvation  through  sanctifica- 
1  ion  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth. 

The  idea  is  certainly  interesting,  that  nothing  will  prevent  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  having  a  Church.  It  was  predicted  of  him, 
"He  shall  see  his  seed — and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper 


714 


SALVATION    MADE    SURE. 


in  his  hands."  To  secure  the  redemption  of  all  those  who  were 
given  to  Christ,  nothing  more  is  necessary  than  that  he  know  who 
they  are,  and  have  power  to  make  them  willing  to  be  his  disciples. 
And  he  assures  us,  "  I  know  my  sheep,  and  they  follow  me.' 
"  Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power." 

It  is  wonderful  to  see  through  what  obstacles  the  blessed  Re- 
deemer has  pressed  his  way,  in  gathering  in  his  chosen  people 
They  have  been  scattered  through  all  the  periods  of  time,  and 
probably  more  or  less  through  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  In  the 
old  world,  at  the  time  of  the  deluge,  there  was  but  one  family  that 
belonged  to  Christ,  and  but  one  in  Sodom.  By  some  impulse,  felt, 
but  indescribable,  all  the  chosen  of  God  are  induced  to  come 
within  the  reach  of  truth,  and  thus  are  sanctified.  One  is  born 
in  the  bosom  of  Africa,  but  is  kidnapped  and  brought  to  a  Chris- 
tian land,  and  wanders  to  the  doors  of  the  sanctuary,  hears  the 
truth,  believes,  and  is  saved.  Another,  from  the  western  forest, 
comes,  he  knows  not  why,  to  a  land  enlightened  by  the  rays  of 
gospel  truth,  and  in  some  happy  hour  is  sanctified  through  its  in- 
fluence. Another,  as  if  God  was  resolved  that  his  Church  should 
be  composed  of  some  from  every  kingdom,  and  nation,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  is  born  on  some  distant  isle  of  the  Pacific,  is  bred  a 
pagan,  lives  a  liar. and  a  thief,  till  some  favored  vessel  transports 
him  to  this  Christian  land,  where  he  hears  the  gospel,  and  is  saved. 
Another  and  another,  by  a  combination  of  circumstances  that  none 
but  infinite  wisdom  could  plan,  and  omnipotence  execute,  are 
rescued  from  the  deserts  of  moral  desolation,  brought  to  the  light, 
and  made  willing  to  follow  the  Lamb. 

One  is  sanQtified  in  his  mother's  arms,  another  arrested  amidst 
the  follies  of  youth,  and  another  snatched  from  the  verge  of  hell 
when  he  had  quarreled  with  God  a  whole  century.  One  is  sanc- 
tified on  a  throne,  and  another  carried  to  heaven  from  the  veriest 
retreat  of  poverty  and  ignominy.  The  servant  and  his  master,  the 
princess  and  her  handmaid,  are  made  joint  partakers  of  the  same 
grace.  One  is  awakened  in  the  sanctuary,  another  in  the  ball 
chamber,  and  another  at  a  funeral.  The  truth  has  been  heard,  and 
some  event,  occasionally  the  most  unlikely,  brings  it  to  remem- 
brance,  and  presses  it  upon  the  conscience.  The  unseen  agent  is 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  work  is  done,  perhaps,  before  any  human 
eye  takes  cognizance,  or  the  very  individual  himself  knows  the 
meaning  of  the  change  he  feels.  \\  hen  the  good  work  is  begun, 
it  goes  on  until  finished  in  heaven.  Thus  the  Lord  Jesus,  travel- 
ing in  the  greatness  of  his  strength,  has  been  employed  ever  siin-e 


SALVATION    MADE    SURE.  715 

• 

the  time  of  the  first  promise,  in  bringing  he  me  to  himself  those 
that  the  Father  giveth  him.  He  has  passed  down  through  the  vast 
tract  of  ages,  and  has  searched  the  recesses  of  every  kingdom,  to 
discover  and  bring  to  holiness,  happiness,  and  heaven,  his  elect. 
No  ages  of  darkness,  no  dungeon  of  despotism,  no  labyrinth  of 
error,  has  ever  hidden  from  his  eye  one  of  his  elect.  His  voice 
says  to  the  north,  "  Give  up  ;  and  to  the  south,  keep  not  hack  ;  bring 
my  sons  from  afar,  and  ray  daughters  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  ; 
even  every  one  that  is  called  by  my  name :  for  I  have  created  him 
for  my  glory,  I  have  formed  him,  yea,  I  have  made  him."  All  the 
future  periods  of  time,  and  the  various  districts  of  the  earth,  will 
continue  to  hold  their  respective  portions  of  the  elect  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  Redeemer,  till  the  last  pilgrim  has  traversed  the  desert, 
and  all  the  mansions  in  glory  are  filled.  Then  will  appear,  to  the 
joy  of  his  people,  but  the  shame  and  confusion  of  all  beside,  the 
truth  of  the  text,  "  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come  to  me." 

III.  "And  him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
In  the  original  scriptures,  the  double  negative  used  in  this  clause 
of  the  text,  renders  the  assertion  the  strongest  possible.  The 
Lord  Jesus,  without  an  oath,  could  not  have  associated  more 
strongly  his  resolve  to  save  all  those  that  come  to  him.  The  as- 
sertion embraces  two  things — he  will  not  reject  them  when  they 
first  apply  to  him  for  mercy,  nor  will  he  afterward  spurn  them  from 
his  presence. 

1.  He  will  receive  them.  Beside  the  text  there  are  abundant 
assurances  to  this  point,  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  "Ho,  every  one  that 
thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  money, 
come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money  and  without  price  ;"  and 
there  can  no  fact  be  stated,  that  contradicts  the  truth  of  these  as- 
surances of  heaven.  There  never  has  a  sinner  come,  and  been 
rejected.  In  no  age,  in  no  land,  under.no  circumstances,  did  the 
Lord  of  glory  ever  spurn  from  him  the  sinner  who  had  become 
humble,  and  was  fallen  at  his  feet,  to  implore  forgiveness.  "And 
him  that  cometh  to  me.  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

2.  Those  whom  he  once  receives,  he  never  abandons.  "  The 
mountains  shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed  ;  but  my  kindness 
shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace 
be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that  hath  mercy  on  thee."  Jf  there 
was  not  another  promise,  this  one  would  effectually  secure  every 
sinner,  who  has  entered   into  a  covenant  of  peace  with   the   Re- 


716  SALVATION    MADE    SURE. 

9 

deemer.  But  the  Bible  is  full  of  promises  to  tne  same  point. 
"My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  1  know  them,  and  they  follow  me  " 

But  there  arises  here  a  very  interesting  question.  Does  the 
last  clause  of  this  text  extend  beyond  the  first]  Having  made  it 
sure  that  all  those  whom  the  Father  has  given  to  the  Son,  shall 
come  to  him,  is  there  left  any  hope  for  those  not  thus  given  1 
There  is  no  doubt  but  the  latter  clause,  which  has  no  reserve,  may 
be  understood  in  its  most  unlimited  sense.  When  the  Redeemer 
exclaims,  "  And  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out,"  it  cannot  be  questioned  but  that  if  any  should  come  who 
were  not  given  to  Christ  in  the  covenant  of  redemption,  still  they 
shall  be  accepted.  I  consider  the  text  as  making  it  certain  that 
the  elect  shall  believe,  and  as  opening  the  widest  possible  door  of 
hope  to  the  nonelect. 

They  would  hardly  desire  more  than  that  the  Savior  should  be 
willing  to  receive  them,  if  they  come  to  him.  They  cannot  wish 
him  to  receive  them  while  they  are  unwilling  to  come,  the  thing 
implies  an  impossibility.  The  gate  of  heaven  then  is  as  wide  as 
the  most  depraved  could  desire.  It  will  admit  them  as  soon  as 
they  are  willing  to  enter,  and.  till  they  are  willing  to  enter,  they 
cannot  be  considered  as  wishing  to  be  admitted. 

But  if  the  question  be  asked,  Will  any  ever  be  willing  to  come 
to  Christ,  but  those  who  are  given  him  of  the  Father  1  the  answer 
is,  They  will  not.  But  the  fault  is  all  their  own.  The  fact  that 
God  will  make  some  willing,  determines  nothing  with  regard  to 
the  residue.  Mercy  is  as  free,  and  its  reception  as  practicable,  to 
the  non-elect,  as  if  none  were  elected.  If  heaven  and  glory  were 
barred  against  the  rest,  if  they  could  not  be  received  on  the  same 
terms,  if  greater  obstacles  impeded  their  conversion,  or  if  the 
atonement  was  not  sufficient  for  them,  as  well  as  others,  then  the 
case  would  be  hard.  But  if  God  does  for  his  people  what  he  is 
under  no  obligation  to  do,  if  he  produces  the  repentance  and  the 
faith  which  thei/  ought  to  exercise  without  his  agency,  and  remc  res 
the  obstacles  which  their  own  iniquities  interpose,  and  which  they 
are  under  obligation  to  remove  ;  then  there  can  be  nothing  hard 
or  unmerciful  in  his  dealings  with  them,  who  voluntarily  reject 
his  mercy,  and  are  lost. 

To  all  then,  elect  or  not,  we  are  certainly  authorized  to  say 
that  their  salvation  is  possible.  If  Christ  had  limited  the  last 
clause  of  the  text,  and  other  texts  like  it,  then  we  must  have  lim- 
ited t.ie  invitations  of  the  gospel.  If  he  had  said  that  of  those 
whom  the  Father  givith  me,  none  of  them  on  coming  to  me  shall  be 


SALVATION    MADE    SURE.  717 

cast  out,  then  we  could  not  have  opened  our  lips  to  the  non-elect. 
As  things  are,  they  may  come  and  claim  the  promise  of  the  text. 
"  No  degree  of  previous  guilt,  no  inveterate  habits  of  vice,  no  sla- 
very to  Satan,  no  secret  decree  of  God,  no  involuntary  mistake, 
would  induce  him  to  reject  a  single  person."  The  invitation  im- 
plied in  the  last  clause  of  the  text,  is  one  of  the  broadest  possible. 
The  old,  the  hardened,  the  .obstinate,  the  most  hopeless  sinner,  is 
as  sure  to  be  accepted  as  any  other,  if  he  do  but  come  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

An  able  writer  on  this  passage  observes,  "  These  two  views  of 
the  Divine  will,  his  secret  will  concerning  those  whom  he  has  cho- 
sen to  salvation,  and  his  revealed  will  concerning  the  actual  salva- 
tion of  every  believer,  are  perfectly  coincident;  for  no  one  will 
come  till  Divine  grace  has  subdued,  and — in  part — changed  his 
heart,  and  therefore  no  one  who  comes  will  ever  be  cast  out." 

If  a  doubt  should  remain  let  the  trial  be  made.  If  a  neighbor  of 
yours  had  prepared  a  feast,  and  had  sent  out  a  general  invitation  to 
all  about  him  to  come  and  partake,  and  yet  by  some  means  or  oth- 
er you  had  imbibed  the  doubt  whether  there  would  be  any  seat  at 
his  table  for  you,  it  would  be  easy  to  go  and  test  the  sincerity  of 
his  invitations.  Appear  at  the  feast  with  your  neighbors,  take 
yonr  seat  with  them,  and  act  as  if  you  too  was  welcome,  and  then 
if  the  host  expel  you  the  truth  of  his  hypocrisy  will  be  establish- 
ed. Let  the  unbeliever  go  and  do  likewise.  Let  him  repent  and 
believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  if  rejected  then  the  case  is 
settled.  Till  then,  in  the  face  of  so  many,  so  broad,  and  unquali- 
fied invitations  it  is  impious  to  doubt.  If  with  the  slothful  ser- 
vant you  suspect  that  <  rod  is  a  hard  master,  do  your  duty  and  then 
know.  Use  the  talents  entrusted  to  you  as  he  directs,  and  wait 
till  the  time  of  Ins  coming.  Then  if  you  find  no  room  for  you  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaver,  the  Bible  will  prove  a  lie,  and  you  will 
cany  with  you  to  perdition  the  consoling  reflection  that  you  are 
imprisoned  and  punished  through  breach  of  faith:  and  a  cordial 
like  this  would  cool  the  fires  of  the  pit. 

REFLECTIONS. 

1.  The  subject  may  well  impress  us  with  respect  for  the  char- 
acter  and  ways  of  God.  How  sovereign,  and  how  mysterious  are 
the  operations  of  his  grace.  One  man  he  has  given  to  Christ, 
while  his  brother,  a  man  no  more  depraved,  is  passed  by. 

2.  The  subject  should  ius>>ire  the  believer  with  gratitude. 
W\  at  me  ey  can  be  so  great  as  to  be  given  to  Christ  >.      And  there 


718  SALVATION    MADE    SURE. 

was  in  us  no  goodness  to  mark  us  out  as  the  vessels  of  mercy. 
And  shall  not  God  now  receive  all  our  services  1  Shall  we  not 
devote  to  him  all  we  have  and  all  we  are  1  Shall  we  not  cast  out- 
influence,  our  wealth  and  all  that  we  have  into  the  scale  with 
him  1  Shall  we  not  come  forward  to  labor  and  suffer,  and  if  it  be 
necessary  to  die  in  the  service  of  him  who  died  for  us  that  he 
might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity  and  purify  us  unto  himself  a  pe- 
culiar people  zealous  of  good  works  1  Can  we  otherwise  than  by 
a  complete  surrender  testify  an  adequate  gratitude  and  affection 
for  our  election  and  adoption  1 

3.  The  subject  reads  an  awful  alarm  to  all  the  impenitent.  As 
yet  they  exhibit  no  promise  of  their  election  in  Christ.  And  the 
same  Egyptian  cloud  will  hang  over  their  future  pro  pects  till  their 
character  is  changed.  When  they  are  seen  at  the  foot  of  the  cross, 
then  will  dawn  upon  them  the  first  hope  that  their  names  were  writ- 
ten in  the  book  of  life  of  the  lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  Till  they  have  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  they  have 
reason  tofear,  for  they  have  no  evidence  of  the  contrary,  that  they 
are  not  of  the  number  given  to  Christ  in  the. covenant  of  redemp- 
tion. If  they  are  going  into  old  age  in  unbelief,  their  apprehension 
on  this  subject  ought  to  strengthen  with  every  year  and  day  and 
hour  of  their  impiety.  I  have  not  the  smallest  fear  that  the 
condition  of  a  stupid  sinner  would  be  made  worse,  by  having 
strong  apprehensions  that  he  was  not  of  the  number  who  were 
eternally  ffiven  to  Christ.  The  contrary  impression  would  doubt- 
less be  calculated  to  keep  him  stupid.  Let  him  finally  believe 
that  he  shall  live,  that  heaven  is  made  sure  to  him  by  the  eternal 
purpose  of  God,  and  that  without  the  possibility  of  failure  he  shall  at 
last  be  made  a  subject  of  grace,  and  we  cannot  conceive  of  an  im- 
pression more  calculated  to  suppress  all  alarm.  His  cry  will  then  be 
a  little  more  sleep,  a  little  more  slumber,  a  little  more  folding  of 
the  hands  to  sleep  :  so  shall  his  poverty  come  as  one  that  travail- 
eth,  and  their  want  as  an  armed  man.  On  the  other  hand,  let  them 
fear  that  they  shall  be  lost,  let  them  have  strong  apprehensions  of 
the  wrath  to  come,  and  those  very  alarms  may  bring  them  to  think 
of  their  ways,  and  turn  their  feet  to  God's  testimonies.  Let  them 
fear,  that  God  has  not  chosen  them  to  salvation  through  sanctifi- 
cation  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth,  and  these  very  fears 
may  lead  them  to  attend  to  the  truth,  and  bring  them  within  the 
reach  of  that  Divine  influence  which  was  sent  to  convince  the 
world  of  sin,  of  righteousness  and  c  f  judgment. 


SERMON    LXI1. 

THF  DESIRES  OP  THE  WICKED  INADMISSIBLE. 

PSALM  CXL.   8. 

Grant  not,  O  Lord,  llio  desires  of  tht  wicked. 

In  our  unhappy  world  there  are  two  grand  interests.  God  has 
a  kingdom,  and  intends  to  exert  his  power  to  make  it  prosper. 
Leagued  with  him  are  all  holy  beings.  They  are  workers  togeth- 
er with  God.  In  this  kingdom  he  governs  with  unlimited  sway 
All  his  dispensations  are  calculated  to  make  his  friends  happy 
Within  this  kingdom  there  is  set  up  a  distinct  and  opposite  inter 
est.  It  is  managed  by  wicked  men  and  devils.  In  their  sad  enter 
prise  they  spare  no  exertions.  Many  who  belong  to  this  kingdom 
seem  not  to  know  their  own  characters.  They  would  fain  believe 
themselves  the  children  of  God,  and  engaged  in  promoting  the 
welfare  of  his  kingdom.  The  subjects  of  each  of  these  kingdoms 
may  be  considered  as  praying  for  their  own  prosperity.  Of  course 
their  prayers  must  clash.  If  one  kingdom  flourish  the  other  suf- 
fers. Hence  the  subjects  of  the  one  must  pray  that  the  prayers 
of  their  opponents  may  not  be  granted.  In  this  surprising  con- 
test, one  thing  must  not  be  forgotten — there  are  no  intelligent  be- 
ings that  stand  neuter.  It  is  a  universal  doctrine,  "  He  that  is  not 
for  me  is  against  me."  Those  who  are  engaged  with  God  in  pro- 
moting the  good  of  his  kingdom,  are  denominated  righteous  ;  all 
others  are  called  wicked.  David,  in  the  text,  entreats  the  Lord 
to  favor  his  own  cause,  and  reject  the  prayer  of  those  who  have 
set  themselves  against  him.  "Grant  not,  0  Lord,  the  desires  of 
the  wicked." 

In  pursuing  the  subject,  I  shall  bring  into  view  some  of  the  de- 
sires of  the  wicked,  and  show  as  I  pass  on,  that  it  must  be  the 
wish  and  the  prayer  of  the  pious  that  their  desires  should  not  be 
granted.  And  while  we  pursue  the  subject,  may  the  eternal  God 
grant  us  his  gracious  presence  and  smil< 

1.  One  desire  of  the  wicked  is,  That  there  is  no  God.  This  we 
learn  from  the  Scriptures,  and  may  easily  learn  the  same  from  ob- 
servation.     "  Wherefore  dost  the  wicked   contemn   God  1   lie  hath 


720  THE    DESIRES    OF   TIIF.    WICKED    INADMISSIBLE. 

said  in  his  heart,  Thou  wilt  not  require  it."  "The  fool  hath  said 
in  his  heart,  There  is  no  God."  The  genuine  meaning  of  this 
text  is,  That  the  fool,  which  is  the  Old  Testament  term  for  sin- 
ner, wishes  in  his  heart  that  there  were  no  God.  The  pride  of 
their  hearts  renders  them  unwilling  that  any  being  should  be  above 
them.  "Who  is  the  Lord  that  I  should  serve  him  1"  They  mani- 
fest their  wish  that  there  were  no  God,  by  leaving  him  out  of  mind, 
by  refusing  to  obey  him,  by  finding  fault  with  his  dealings,  and  by 
quarrelling  with  his  plans.  They  dare  not  submit  their  conduct  to 
Divine  inspiration,  and  would  be  glad  if  there  were  no  being  to  in- 
spect. We  learn  from  all  this  that  they  desire  earnestly  that  there 
were  no  God. 

But  against  this  desire  the  godly  oppose  their  prayers.  It  ever 
has  been  and  must  be  their  wish,  that  the  wicked  may  not  be  grati- 
fied in  their  desires.  And  there  are  good  reasons  why  they  thus 
feel.  If  there  were  no  God,  every  thing  must  immediately  be 
thrown  into  a  state  of  confusion.  Chaos  would  return  ;  universal 
disorder  would  prevail,  and  the  issue  would  be  that  every  thing 
would  immediately  verge  toward  destruction.  War,  and  in  its 
train,  death,  tears,  and  despair  would  fill  every  corner  of  creation. 

Indeed,  were  there  no  God,  no  being  would  wish  to  live.  Anar- 
chy, complete,  would  desolate  every  world  where  there  were  found 
intelligences.  The  very  men  who  had  desired  a  creation  without 
a  God,  would  immediately  recall  their  wish,  and  if  possible,  have 
again  an  omnipotent  Creator  on  the  throne  of  the  world. 

But  why  do  we  speak  of  a  nation  without  a  God  1  Let  God 
cease  to  be,  and  nothing  can  exist.  He  constantly  gives  to  all  be- 
ings life,  and  breath,  and  all  things.  He  is  the  great  fountain  of 
existence.  He  constantly  animates  anew  his  own  creation.  AVell 
then  may  the  godly  pray,  that  the  desires  of  the  wicked  who  wish 
that  there  were  no  God,  may  not  be  granted.  They  consider  their 
being  a  blessing.  They  are  not  willing  to  see  creation  ruined. 
They  will  constantly  elect  anew,  as  their  supreme  Lord  and  mas- 
ter, the  Jehovah  of  the  universe.  They  are  pleased  with  his  gov- 
ernment, and  are  willing  to  leave  him  to  manage  their  concerns. 
They  wish  that  there  may  be  a  universal  empire,  and  in  all  their 
prayers  extol  him  who  rideth  upon  the  heavens  by  his  name,  Je- 
hovah, and  rejoice  before  him.  Thus  do  Christians  oppose  the 
prayers  of  the  wicked. 

2.  If  a  God  do  and  must  exist,  sinners  wish  him  to  be  a  mere 
spectator  of  the  affairs  of  the  world.  The  grand  objection  they 
have  to  his  existence  is,  that  if  he   exist   he  must  have   the  reins 


THE    DESIRES    OF    THE    WICKED    INADMIS  JIBLE.  721 

of  government  If  he  will  allow  men  to  do  as  they  please,  and 
call  them  to  *o  account,  they  can  then  be  willing  that  he  should 
live.  Like  idle  children  they  can  be  pleased  with  a  father  who 
will  not  concern  himself  in  their  affairs,  but  cannot  love  him  if  he 
restrain  them.  Our  tongues  are  our  own,  and  who  shall  be  Lord 
over  us  1  "  Who  is  the  Lord  that  we  should  obey  his  voice  V 
Wicked  men  have  made  it  manifest  that  they  desire  God  to  be  a 
mere  spectator  in  his  own  world,  by  the  exertions  they  have  made 
to  have  this  doctrine  believed  and  received  among  men.  If  they 
have  allowed  that  he  governs  the  larger  affairs  of  his  kingdoms, 
they  have  still  refused  to  acknowledge  that  a  sparrow  cannot  fall 
to  the  ground  without  his  notice,  and  that  the  very  hairs  of  our 
head  are  all  numbered.  If  he  may  dethrone  a  king,  and  aid  in  the 
councils  of  state,  here  his  government  must  cease;  he  must  not 
regard  the  prayer  of  the  peasant,  nor  hear  the  cry  of  the  dying 
slave.  These  things  are  too  small  for  the  notice  of  the  infinite 
God.  Thus  have  men  taken  pains  to  save  God  from  the  care  of 
governing  the  world;  and  in  all  this  have  made  it  manifest  that 
they  earnestly  desire  God  not  to  concern  himself  in  the  affairs  of 
men.  But  their  request  cannot  be  granted.  It  is  the  earnest 
prayer  of  all  the  saints  that  God  would  not  grant  them  the  thing 
they  wish.  They  not  only  desire  God  to  reign,  but  they  wish  him 
to  manage  all  the  affairs  of  creation.  They  cannot  be  willing  that 
a  breeze  blow  without  permission,  or  that  an  atom  fly  without 
direction. 

They  wish  God  to  be  thus  minute  in  his  government,  because 
they  consider  their  own  safety  and  the  safety  of  others  to  depend 
on  this  special  care  of  God.  If  a  mote  may  wander  undirected,  it 
may  put  a  period  to  their  lives  before  their  sanctification  he  com- 
plete. If  the  meanest  prayer  of  the  humble  may  not  be  hoard,  all 
their  hopes  are  destroyed.  They  dare  not  live  in  a  world  where 
one  event  is  regulated  by  chance,  or  there  is  one  creature  without 
control.  Instead  of  wishing  to  save  God  the  care  of  managing  the 
Cesser  affairs  of  creation,  they  delight  to  give  him  the  honor  of 
having  a  universal  kingdom.  They  think  it  an  honor  to  the  eter- 
nal Jehovah,  that  while  he  furnishes  the  sun  with  light  and  heat, 
and  martials  the  stars,  he  can,  without  burdening  his  infinite  mind, 
direct  the  course  of  every  floating  atom.  Thus  the  honor  of  ( rod, 
ns  well  as  the  safety  of  his  creatures,  invite  him  to  universal 
empire,  and  form  two  grand  motives  why  the  children  of  God  pray 
that  the  wicked  may  not  have  their  desires  granted.  They  de- 
light to  sing  with  David,  "  The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth  rejoice/' 


722  THE    DESIRES    OF    THE    WICKED    INADMISSIELE. 

3.  Tf  God  must  exist,  and  must  be  an  active  agent  in  governing 
the  world,  the  wicked  are  desirous  that  he  should  work  without 
any  plan.  They  are  afraid  of  Divine  decrees.  They  fear  that  these 
decrees  do  not  favor  them.  They  know  that  infinite  purity  must 
hate  sin  and  sinners,  and  if  it  decree  any  thing  respecting  them, 
must  dec  rep  their  ruin.  Knowing-  this,  they  are  afraid  that  God 
should  have  any  plan  by  which  to  work  in  future.  In  this  ea«e 
they  can  have  some  comfort.  They  intend  to  reform  their  lives, 
and  they  hope  that  God  will  then  show  them  favor,  unless  some 
dreadful  decree  prevent.  They  have  so  mean  an  opinion  of  God 
as  to  suppose  that  his  views  may  alter,  and  that  in  some  old  de- 
cree he  may  have  resolved  to  do  what  he  now  would  not  wish 
to  do. 

Be  the  cause  what  it  may,  we  learn,  from  every  day's  observa- 
tion, that  sinners  hate  to  hear  of  God's  decrees.  They  quarrel 
with  this  doctrine  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  think,  and  the  quarrel 
never  ceases  till  they  become  Christians,  or  imbibe  some  false  hope 
that  the  decrees  will  favor  them.  In  their  own  little  concerns  they 
have  their  plans,  and  bend  all  their  efforts  to  carry  them  into  effect ; 
but  they  are  unwilling  that  God    should  exhibit  the  same  Avisdom. 

In  this  matter  the  prayer  of  the  godly  must  be  that  their  desires 
may  not  be  granted.  The  friends  of  God  wish  him  to  have  his 
plan.  They  suppose  infinite  goodness  can  act  with  more  energy 
if  it  set  up  an  object  and  then  pursue  that  object.  If  all  the  ope- 
rations of  Deity  may  be  without  design,  they  may  also  be  without 
effort.  No  benevolent  purpose  may  be  accomplished  ;  misery  and 
sin  may  counterbalance  happiness  and  goodness.  The  righteous 
found  all  their  hopes  of  salvation,  both  as  it  regards  themselves 
and  others,  on  the  purposes  of  God.  Remove  God's  electing  love, 
and  you  destroy  all  their  hopes.  This  being  the  fact,  they  must 
pray  that  God  would  have  his  plan,  and  would  pursue  it  in  his  eter- 
nal operations.  They  must,  of  course,  pray  that  God  would  not 
grant  the  desires  of  the  wicked. 

•1.  Sinners  desire  happiness  and  heaven  without  holiness.  Be- 
tween these  two  God  has  established  an  indissoluble  connection. 
Mr  has  decreed  that  holiness  shall  be  the  only  path  to  happiness. 
But  this  connection  sinners  wish  to  destroy.  They  hate  holiness 
wherever  it  appears,  and  yet  they  intend  to  be  happy.  That  they 
hate  holiness,  is  manifest  by  their  opposition  to  the  fruits  of  holi- 
We  are  assured,  and  every  day's  experience  teache-'  us.  that 
they  do  not  choose  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  They  do  not  delight  in 
his  ordinances,  nor  love  his  word,  nor   offer   to  him  any  humble 


THE    DESIRES    OF    THE    WICKED    INADMISSIBLE.  723 

prayer?.  They  take  no  delight  in  the  people  of  God,  nor  in  the 
character  of  God.  By  all  this  they  make  it  manifest  that  tliey  are 
at  war  with  holiness.  "An  unjust  man  is  an  abomination  to  the 
just  ;  and  he  that  is  upright  in  the  way  is  abomination  to  the 
wicked." 

But  the  same  cannot  be  said  as  it  regards  happiness.  This  ob- 
ject they  pursue  with  all  their  powers.  "Who  will  show  me  any 
good?"  is  their  constant  prayer.  But  the  good  they  seek  is 
worldly  good.  They  intend  to  be  happy  without  God.  They 
think  the  creature  sufficient  to  fill  the  mind. 

Beyond  the  grave  they  hope  and  wish  to  live  in  the  Christian's 
heaven.  Yet  they  have  no  idea  of  any  great  change  necessary  in 
order  to  enjoy  their  bliss.  They  are  often  afraid  that  God  has 
decreed  that  none  but  the  holy  shall  enter  heaven. 

To  these  views  of  the  sinner  the  pious  are  decidedly  opposed. 
Their  prayer  is  that  God  would  not  grant  the  desires  of  the  wicked. 
There  is  nothing  they  love  so  much  as  holiness.  Should  the  con- 
nection between  this  and  happiness  be  broken,  it  would  give  them 
pain.  To  be  holy  is  the  grand  object  of  all  the  saints.  The}'  have 
all  their  lives  mourned  the  want  of  holiness.  Nothino-  else  so 
much  assimilates  the  creature  to  God — and  all  the  saints  wish  to 
be  like  God.  It  is  therefore  their  ardent  desire,  that  themselves 
and  all  they  love  may  be  holy.  It  is  also  their  wish  that  none  but 
the  holy  may  reach  heaven,  il  would  pain  them  to  have  any  there 
but  such  as  are  perfect  in  holiness.  In  every  prayer,  then,  which 
they  make,  they  oppose  the  desires  of  the  wicked.  When  they 
pray  for  the  spread  of  religion,  when  they  pray  for  a  holy  heart, 
when  they  thirst  after  God,  and  when  they  look  forward  and  hope 
for  a  holy  heaven,  they  oppose  the  views  of  the  sinner,  and  vent 
their  ardent  supplications  that  his  prayers  and  his  desires  may  not 
be  granted. 

5.  Sinners  desire  that  Christians  may  walk  disorderly,  and  so 
dishonor  the  religion  of  Jesus.  The  Scriptures  and  daily  expe- 
rience establish  this  point.  Sinners  have  ever  been  watching  for 
the  baitings  of  God's  people.  Nothing  seems  to  give  them  more 
refined  pleasure.  Says  the  prophet  Hosea,  "They  eal  up  the  sin 
of  my  people,  and  they  set  their  heart  on  their  iniquity."  No 
figure  can  be  more  striking  than  the  one  here  used.  The  sin  of 
God's  people  is  the  food  of  sinners:  it  is  their  meat  and  their 
drink.  They  must  starve,  if  God's  people  were  perfectly  holy. 
"  Aline  enemies,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "speak  against  mej  and  they 
that  la)   wait  for  my  soul  take  counsel  together."     If  sinners  thus 


724  THE    DESIRES    OF    THE    WICKED    INADMISSIBLE. 

lay  wait  for  the  saints,  they  must  desire  them  to  fall.  And  thai 
this  is  the  fact  is  proved  by  every  day's  experience.  They  seem 
delighted  when  they  hear  of  the  failings  of  those  who  profess  re- 
ligion.  It  is  without  difficulty  that  their  minds  are  impressed  un- 
favorably with  respect  to  the  pious.  Small  evidence  has  great 
weight  in  this  cause.  Hardly  is  any  evidence  required  to  sub- 
stantiate  the  vilest  charge  against  the  friends  of  God  and  of  truth. 
In  all  this  sinners  make  known  their  desires;  we  are  assured  that 
they  wish  the  downfall  of  1fhe  Christian. 

But  in  this  matter,  their  views  are  opposed  by  all  the  saints. 
These  pray  that  they  may  not  be  gratified.  Grant  not,  O  Lord, 
the  desires  of  the  wicked.  To  all  who  love  God,  nothing  is  more 
undesirable  than  that  Christians  should  dishonor  their  profession. 
The  holiness  of  the  saints  constitutes  the  beauty  of  Zion.  This 
beauty  must  not  be  tarnished,  yet  tarnished  it  is,  whenever  the 
saints  stray  from  the  path  of  life.  In  every  such  case,  the  errand 
cause  which  engages  the  heart  of  God,  and  of  the  saints,  suffers 
injury.  Against  these  falls  the  saints  pray,  and  are  grieved  when 
they  take  place.  They  love  their  fellow-saints.  Every  spot  that 
appears  in  their  garments  grieves  their  hearts.  They  feel  some 
of  the  same  distress  on  such  occasions,  as  is  felt  when  they  go 
astray  themselves.  Thus  do  we  see  a  reason  why  the  saints 
should  pray  in  direct  opposition  to  the  desires  of  the  wicked. 

6.  The  wicked  desire  to  remain  ignorant  of  their  own  characters. 
This  is  an  undisputed  fact.  We  see  them  bar  their  minds  against 
conviction  They  dare  not  look  into  their  hearts,  lest  they  should 
become  acquainted  with  themselves.  They  often  oppose  such 
preaching  as  brings  the  truth  to  light,  and  neglect  to  read  those 
parts  of  the  Scriptures  which  are  most  calculated  to  bring  con- 
viction to  the  conscience.  They  dare  not  look  into  their  hearts  ; 
"  They  love  darkness  rather  than  li^ht,  because  their  deeds  are 
evil."  They  dare  not  come  to  the  light  lest  their  deeds  should 
be  reproved.  Thus  the  ancient  Israelites  shut  their  eyes,  and  re- 
quested their  prophets  to  prophesy  smooth  things,  to  prophesy 
deceit.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  those  Israelites  differed  from 
"I her  unbelievers.  Their  desires  were  such  as  are  natural  to  every 
unsanctified  heart.  -Ministers  of  the  gospel  are  urged  to  the  same 
thing  as  were  the  prophets.  It  is  wished  that  they  should  so 
preach  as  to  leave  the  conscience  undisturbed.  Sinners  wish  to 
retain  their  good  opinion  of  themselves. 

These  desires  of  the  wicked,  the  people  of  God  pray,  may  not 
ranted.     To  them   it  is  a  very  desirable   object,  that  men  be 


THE    DESIRES    OF    THE    WICKED    INADMISSIBLE.  725 

come  acquainted  with  their  own  hearts.  It  is  their  daily  prayer 
that  they  may  enjoy  the  favor  of  being  acquainted  with  themselves 
And  they  wish  the  ambassadors  of  truth  to  deliver  their  message 
plainly.  They  wish  that  the  wounds  which  sin  has  made  may  be 
probed  to  the  bottom.  On  this  depends  the  safety  of  the  soul. 
A  flattering  ministry  they  consider  the  greatest  curse  with  which 
God  can  afflict  a  people.  Such  a  ministry  seems  to  stop  up  the 
avenues  of  life.  Men  are  usually  first  deluded,  and  then  damned. 
God  even  speaks  of  sending  them  strong  delusions,  that  they  may 
believe  a  lie,  and  be  damned.  Men  who  wish  to  be  deluded,  and 
who  shut  their  eyes  against  the  light,  are  granted  their  request, 
and  are  so  circumstanced  that  their  delusions  become  riveted,  and 
their  destruction  sure.  In  the  view  of  benevolence,  what  can  be 
more  undesirable  than  such  a  state  of  things  \  How  can  Chris- 
tians fail  to  pray  that  God  would  not  grant  these  desires  of  the 
wicked  \ 

7.  Wicked  men  are  very  desirous  that  there  may  be  no  day  of 
judgment.  They  do  not  wish  the  final  inspection  of  Omniscience. 
They  dare  not  have  their  conduct  brought  to  a  test.  They  know 
that  if  justice  and  truth  fill  the  throne  their  cause  cannot  be  plead. 
There  can  be  no  plea  offered  in  their  favor.  Their  conduct  as  it 
regards  God  has  been  base,  as  it  regards  their  fellow-creatures, 
deceitful  and  often  unjust.  They  have  broken  the  law,  in  all  its 
precepts,  they  have  treated  Christ  with  neglect,  they  have  violated 
the  rights  of  conscience,  have  resisted  the  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  have  rejected  eternal  life.  For  these  crimes  against 
God,  and  truth,  and  duty,  they  have  no  excuse  to  offer,  and  they 
dare  not  attempt  to  urge  a  plea.  They  anticipate  the  confusion 
of  such  an  hour  as  shall  bring  all  their  deeds  to  light.  They  dare 
not  be  judged.  And  they  sincerely  desire  that  no  day  of  judg- 
ment may  approach. 

In  such  desires  the  righteous  cannot  unite.  It  is  their  ardent 
wish  that  there  may  be  a  clay  that  shall  bring  every  deed  to  light, 
and  pass  an  impartial  judgment  on  all  the  actions  of  men.  They 
do  not  expoet  to  answer  for  their  conduct,  any  more  than  sinners 
can  for  theirs.  They  expect,  if  dealt  with  according  to  their  sins, 
eternal  condemnation.  They  intend  to  plead  guilty.  But  they 
hope  that  in  that  great  day  of  dread  decision  and  despair  they  shall 
find  a  friend  in  Christ.  His  blood  will  be  their  only  plea.  They 
will  have  nothing  else  to  say  but  that  they  are  sinners  and  that 
Christ  died  in  their  stead.  But  it  is  not  simply  the  hope  of  safety 
that  reconciles  them  tc  the  approach  of  a  day  of  judgment.     They 


7l3;J  THE    DESIRES    OF    THE    WICKED    INADMISSIBLE. 

wish  such  n  day  to  come  in  order  that  the  whole  truth  may  come 
to  light.  They  are  willing  that  all  their  sins  should  be  Known,  but 
they  are  also  willing  that  every  false  accusation  which  has  been 
laid  against  them  should  be  removed.  If  their  sins  are  all  known 
they  know  that  they  shall  appear  great  sinners,  but  this  will  reflect 
more  honor  upon  Christ  if  he  save  them.  But  to  have  their  char- 
acter cleared  from  every  false  aspersion  will  be  for  the  honor  of 
our  holy  religion. 

A  full  investigation  of  the  character  of  the  sinner  is  considered 
by  ihem  of  vast  importance.  The  honor  of  God  will  require  this. 
They  are  to  be  doomed  to  eternal  despair,  and  that  God  may  ap- 
pear just  while  he  inflicts  such  an  awful  punishment  it  is  impor- 
tant their  sins  should  all  appear  in  all  their  aggravations.  Then 
will  the  world  see  and  confess  that  God  is  just  in  all  he  does. 
Their  sentence  will  be  approved  by  their  own  consciences  and  by 
all  other  intelligent  beings.  The  character  of  God  will  shine  con- 
spicuous. The  character  of  the  Savior  will  be  elucidated,  and 
heaven  will  be  for  ever  the  more  happy  for  the  investigations  of 
the  judgment  day.  These  things  make  it  very  desirable  in  view 
of  the  saints  that  there  should  be  such  a  day.  Hence  they  con- 
stantly pray  that  the  desires  of  the  wicked  in  this  matter  lnay  not 
be  granted. 

8.  The  wicked  are  very  desirous  to  be  left  to  act  without  res- 
traint. Nothing  do  they  desire  more.  Job  represents  the  wicked 
as  saying,  "What  is  the  Almighty  that  we  should  serve  himl 
and  what  profit  should  we  have  if  we  pray  unto  him  1"  In  the  sec- 
ond Psalm  the  kings  and  great  men  of  the  earth  are  represented 
as  Baying  of  Jehovah,  and  his  anointed,  "  Let  us  break  their  bands 
asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us."  James  represents 
the  sinner  as  saying,  "  Our  tongues  are  our  own,  and  who  shall  be 
Lord  over  them."  These  scriptures  join  with  many  others,  and 
with  a  thousand  facts,  to  make  it  manifest  that  they  are  impatient 
of  God's  restraints.  Indeed  the  great  quarrel  between  God  and 
sinners  is  this,  that  God  will  restrain  them.  If  he  would  leave 
them  to  act  their  own  pleasure,  they  would  have  no  objections  to 
his  government,  that  is,  each  would  be  willing  that  he  should  gov- 
ern others  and  restrain  others,  but  are  unwilling  themselves  to  lie 
under  his  control.  He  may  reign  in  hell,  he  may  restrain  devils, 
but  not  me.  Were  sinners  willing  to  be  under  God's  restraints, 
they  would  manifest  it  by  obeying  his  laws.  His  laws  they  con- 
stantly disregard,  and  by  so  doing,  say,  as  plainly  as  it  can  be  said, 
that  they  desire  to  be  without  restraint. 


THE    DESIRES    OF    THE    WICKED    INADMISSIBLE.  727 

In  this  particular  the  children  of  God,  and  all  holy  beings,  oppose 
their  wishes.  It  would  ruin  the  world  to  have  them  gratified. 
Free  the  wicked  from  restraint  and  there  would  be  but  little  dif- 
ference between  earth  and  hell.  None  could  enjoy  themselves. 
'Hie  wicked  could  not  be  happy  themselves,  and  they  would  not 
allow  the  righteous  to  be  happy.  We  are  certain  that  they  could 
not  be  happy  themselves  ;  for  allow  the  unholy  passions  to  reign, 
and  they  uniformly  render  their  possessor  miserable.  They  dis- 
compose the  mind  and  torture  the  soul.  Let  any  one  passion  gov- 
ern and  the  man  is  ruined.  Let  envy  predominate  and  there  can 
never  be  any  joy  in  the  soul.  It  poisons  every  stream  o[  comfort. 
Let  the  other  passions  unite  with  this;  let  pride,  and  anger,  and 
revenge,  and  lust — let  these  have  the  reins,  and  there  is  at  once 
a  very  hell  began  in  the  bosom. 

And  these  passions  breaking  out,  for  they  must  break  out,  will 
uniformly  render  others  unhappy.  Let  a  man  be  intoxicated, 
either  with  passion  or  with  spirituous  liquor,  and  the  happiness  of 
all  around  him  is  gone.  One  might  as  soon  be  happy  in  the  front  of 
battle.  We  have  all  had  experience  on  this  point.  Can  we  then 
wonder  that  the  saints  should  pray  against  the  desires  of  the  wick- 
ed \  Must  it  not  be  the  desire  of  all,  who  wish  to  be  happy,  that 
God  would  restrain  the  wicked  1  Ought  not  the  text  to  be  one 
universal  prayer,  Grant  not,  O  Lord,  the  desires  of  the  wicked. 

INFERENCES. 

1.  Our  subject  shows  us  the  monstrous  wickedness  of  the  heart. 
Perhaps  some  have  doubted  as  I  have  passed  on  whether  human 
nature  is  so  depraved.  That  very  doubt  proves  the  truth  in  ques- 
tion. God  represents  the  heart  as  deceitful  above  all  things,  and 
desperately  wicked.  If,  then,  men  are  ignorant  of  their  depravity, 
their  ignorance  proves  the  text  to  be  true,  and  establishes  the  doc- 
trine. Since  it  is  the  very  nature  of  a  sinful  heart,  to  hide  its 
own  depravity,  ignorance  of  what  is  in  the  heart  proves  it  de- 
praved. 

Some  of  the  things  we  have  said  seem  too  much  to  say 
of  all  sinners;  but  the  Scriptures  support,  amply,  every  charge. 
Every  heart  in  the  fallen  sons  of  men,  possesses  naturally  the  same 
character.  As  face  answers  to  face  in  the  mirror,  so  does  the  heart 
of  man  to  man.  He  hath  fashioned  their  hearts  alike.  If  any  dif- 
ference is  supposed,  those  who  make  the  supposition  must  prove 
the  fact.  In  order  to  know  what  is  in  the  heart,  we  must  place  it 
where  its  feelings  will  be  called  into  action.     We  have  seen  many 


728  THE    DESIRES    OF    THE    WICKED    INADMISSIBLE. 

who  seemed  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  who  possessed, 
apparently,  every  amiable  virtue,  and  seemed  to  be  friendly  to  re- 
ligion, who  in  an  hour  of  clear  conviction,  manifested  the  temper 
of  Satan.  Then  the  character  of  the  heart  was  brought  into  view. 
The  Holy  Spirit  brought  those  objects  before  the  mind  which  were 
opposite  to  the  feelings  of  ihe  heart.  This  brought  the  heart  in- 
to action  and  displayed  its  character.  Ordinarily  men  have  such 
indefinite  ideas  of  God,  and  of  religion,  that  they  know  not 
whether  they  hate  or  love  them.  The  experience  of  all  who  have 
been  born  again,  and  their  confessions,  join  with  Scripture,  to  make 
it  certain  that  the  heart,  while  unrenewed,  is  enmity  against  God 
and  religion.  It  hates  every  thing  that  is  holy.  It  hates  every 
thing  that  opposes  its  selfish  views.  Such  a  heart,  it  is  to  be  ex- 
pected, a  priori,  will  break  out  in  such  desires  as  I  have  in  this  dis- 
course brought  into  view.  It  will  wish  there  were  no  God,  and 
that  its  passions  had  no  restraints  laid  upon  them — even  if  univer- 
sal ruin  ensue.  If,  then,  any  heart  does  not  seem  to  be  so  depraved, 
it  is  because  its  nature  has  not  been  brought  into  view.  It  only 
waits  an  opportunity,  and  its  nature  will  appear. 

2.  We  may  learn  from  our  subject  the  nature  of  that  change, 
which  we  term  regeneration.  It  is  not  a  mere  outward  reforma- 
tion. It  is  a  universal  change  in  the  desires  of  the  heart,  in  the 
affections  of  the  soul.  The  man  may  reform  very  much  without 
being  regenerated.  The  corrupt  principles  of  the  heart  may  for  a 
time  lie  inoperative  without  being  destroyed.  Regeneration  be- 
gins, and  ensures  their  destruction.  In  order  to  hope  that  we  are 
regenerated,  we  must  feel  that  we  have  a  set  of  new  desires,  not 
only  distinct  from,  but  opposite  to  those  desires  which  we  before 
entertained. 

3.  Our  subject  shows  us  the  great  difference  between  the  right- 
eous and  the  wicked.  They  have  directly  opposite  desires.  The 
wishes  and  the  prayers  of  the  one  are  directly  opposed  to  the 
wishes  and  the  prayers  of  the  other.  If  one  is  gratified  the  other 
mourns.  If  one  is  exalted  the  other  sinks.  If  one  is  happy  the 
other  weeps.  Hence  there  is  an  absolute  necessity,  if  they  de- 
pend on  God  for  happiness,  that  one  or  the  other  be  for  ever 
miserable. 

4.  Our  subject  shows  us  why  sinners  do  not  desire  or  relish  the 
society  of  the  righteous.  They  have  opposing  desires.  They 
i  ursue  distinct  interests.  Of  course  their  language  and  their  em- 
ployment  must  be  distinct  and  opposite.  This  being  the  case,  how 
<  '      they  associate  \     While  one  remains  the  friend  of  God,  and 


THE    DESIRES    OF    THE    WICKED    IXADMISSIBLE.  729 

the  other  his  enemy,  one  pursues  the  interests  of  his  kingdom,  the 
other  pulls  down — while  this  remains  the  case  they  must  dwell 
apart,  or  if  together  must  be  unhappy. 

5.  We  learn  from  our  subject  that  there  must  be  hereafter  two 
worlds,  one  for  the  righteous,  the  other  for  the  wicked.  No  doubt 
there  will  be  the  same  difference  in  their  characters  hereafter  that 
there  is  in  this  world.  They  will  continue  to  have  opposite  inter- 
ests. They  cannot  then  dwell  tog-ether  in  peace  in  the  same  world. 
As  the  kingdom  of  light  and  the  kingdom  of  darkness  are  entirely 
distinct  here,  so  they  must  be  hereafter.  Christ  will  say  to  the 
righteous,  "Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kinn-dom 
prepared  for  you   from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 

6.  We  may  infer  from  our  subject,  the  necessity  of  ministers 
preaching  doctrines  which  the  impenitent  will  be  unwilling  to 
hear.  We  have  seen  that  they  are  desirous  not  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  their  own  hearts,  but  the  design  of  preachino-  the 
gospel  is,  to  make  men  acquainted  with  themselves,  that  they  may 
be  brought  to  repentance.  Our  labor,  then,  would  all  be  lost  if 
we  left  out  of  view  those  doctrines  which  sinners  are  more  gener 
ally  unwilling  to  hear.  Instead  of  passing  these  doctrines  by, 
these  are  the  very  doctrines  which,  above  all  others,  we  must 
preach.  They  object  to  these  doctrines  because  they  alarm  their 
consciences.  They  cannot  rest  easy,  they  cannot  feel  satisfied 
with  themselves  while  these  doctrines  are  preached,  hence  they 
complain.  Their  complaints  cannot  be  heard.  The  very  doctrines 
they  oppose  must  often  be  preached. 


SERMON     LXIII 
THE  CHRISTIAN'S  REVIEW. 

ROMANS    VI.    21. 
What  fruit  had  yc  then  in  those  things,  whereof  ye  are  mow  ashamed  ?  for  the  end  of  those  thnifri 

is  death. 

The  apostle  inquires  of  the  converts  of  his  time,  what  fruit  they 
had  in  those  things  of  which  they  are  now  ashamed,  things,  the 
end  of  which  is  death.  Hence  three  questions  proper  to  be  put 
now  to  those  who  were  once  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  under 
the  bonds  of  iniquity  :  What  fruit  had  you  then  in  the  works  of 
sin  !  why  have  you  become  ashamed  of  them  1  and  how  is  their 
end  death  1 

[.  What  part  had  you  in  the  works  of  sin  1  The  question 
amounts  to  this.  What  enjoyments  had  you  1  Did  the  service  of 
the  prince  of  darkness  make  you  happy  1  Or  are  the  Scriptures 
true,  and  was  the  way  of  transgressors  hard  1  Let  me  say,  and 
if  I  fail  to  prove  my  positions,  let  them  be  rejected,  that  the  plea- 
sures of  a  life  of  ungodliness,  are  neither  innocent,  nor  rational* 
nor  satisfying,  nor  elevating,  nor  abiding,  nor  safe. 

1.  They  are  not  innocent.  Men  who  refuse  to  be  happy  in  the 
way  that  God  appoints,  cannot  be  innocently  happy  in  any  way. 
He  directs  that  we  be  happy  in  serv'ng  him  ;  that  we  make  it  our 
meat  and  drink  to  do  his  will  and  pleasure.  "  Whether,  therefore, 
ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  (rod." 
We  are  to  walk  in  the  ways  of  wisdom,  and  have  the  promise  that 
we  shall  find  them  ways  of  pleasantness  and  paths  of  peace.  Now 
if  men  do  not  love  God,  and  will  not  take  pleasure  in  obeying  him, 
it  must  be  that  they  are  not  innocently  happy.  Made  as  we  are, 
we  shall  either  love  God  supremely,  and  then  shall  be  happy  in 
serving  him,  or  shall  set  up  some  idol  in  his  place,  and  put  our 
trust,  and  draw  our  enjoyment,  from  some  forbidden  source.  It 
matters  not  as  it  regards  the  innocence  of  our  enjoyments,  whe- 
ther they  are  derived  from  one  created  object  or  another,  if  we  dc 
not  joy  in  God,  we  cannot  he  innocent.  If  we  permit  the  noblest 
object  he  ever    built,  to  take  the    place  of  himself  in  our  esteem. 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    UK  VIEW.  731 

and  every  unregenerate  man  does,  God  must  feel  himself  robbed 
and  insulted. 

2.  The  pleasures  of  ungodly  men,  not  being  innocent,  are  not 
rational.  I  know  that  many  may  think  this  a  high  and  unwar- 
ranted charge  against  the  whole  family  of  the  unsanctified,  and 
still  it  is  easily  supported.  It  surely  is  most  reasonable  that  men 
put  themselves  under  the  guidance  of  their  Maker,  and  obey  him 
in  all  things,  and  on  him  place  supremely  their  affections.  But 
none  of  these  is  true  of  the  ungodly.  They  are  not  willingly  un- 
der the  Divine  guidance,  else  they  would  have  the  best  possible 
evidence  that  they  are  the  children  of  God.  His  law  \\\ey  do  not 
make  their  guide,  nor  his  word  the  man  of  their  counsel,  else  they 
would  have  the  testimony  of  this  text  among  others  that  they  are 
his  children,  "  Then  are  ye  my  disciples,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I 
command  you."  And  the  charge  against  them  is,  that  thev  love 
the  world  and  the  things  of  the  world,  and  that  the  love  of  the 
Father  is  not  in  them  :  and  all  this  cannot  be  reasonable.  Hence 
the  pleasures  of  ungodly  men  are  not  reasonable  pleasures,  in  other 
words  they  are  not  rationally  happy.  If  we  inquire  in  what  their 
pleasures  consist,  we  shall  gain  additional  evidence  tint  they  are 
not  rational.  They  consist  in  the  gratification  of  their  appetites 
and  passions,  not  in  those  pursuits  that  elevate  the  mind  and  mend 
the  heart. 

3.  The  pleasures  of  unregenerate  men  are  not  satisfying.  That 
which  is  neither  innocent  nor  rational,  we  should  not  expect  would 
be  satisfying;  we  should  promptly  declare  it  impossible.  God  has 
made  the  brute  creation,  but  not  man,  to  be  satisfied  with  the  gra- 
tifications of  appetite.  This  is  their  noblest  power,  the  highest 
happiness  they  are  capable  of.  Of  them  God  has  not  required  a 
higher  aim,  nor  even  this  ;  he  requires  nothing.  Of  man  he  re- 
quires, that  we  give  him  our  hearts,  and  man  he  has  made  capable 
of  a  higher  enjoyment  through  the  medium  of  the  moral  affections, 
than  through  the  gratifications  of  appetite.  And  he  requires  us 
*o  be  happy  through  this  higher  medium.  Ho  will  not  be  satisfied 
that  our  noblest  powers  lie  dormant  ;  and  while  he  is  not  so,  nei- 
ther shall  we  be.  If  we  are  capahle  of  ten  degrees  of  happiness, 
five  will  not  satisfy  us.  Feed  the  appetites  to  the  full,  and  we 
have  only  tin'  five  degrees,  and  are  not  satisfied.  Wen  have  made 
the  t  ill.  We  have  an  instance  exactly  in  point  in  Solomon.  He 
built  houses,  and  planted  vineyards,  and  made  gardens,  and  orch- 
ards, and  pools  of  water,  and  got  him  men  and  maid  servants,  and 
cattle,  and  silver  and  gold, and  musicians,  and  every  thing  that  his 


732  the  christian's  review. 

heart  could  desire.  And  when  done,  he  declares  them  all  vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit  ;  they  did  not  satisfy  him.  And  if  such  is 
the  experience  of  one  who  had  the  means  of  gratifying  his  senses 
to  t lie  full,  and  spared  no  pains  to  do  so,  what  must  be  the  sure 
experience  of  all  other  men,  when  they  shall  have  made  their 
highest  efforts.  They  know  their  own  comforts  to  be  poor  and 
unsatisfying,  but  are  so  unhappy  as  to  doubt  whether  religion 
would  furnish  them  any  better  comforts.  Hence  they  press  on, 
and  still  hope  that  some  object  may  lie  ahead,  not  yet  overtaken. 
that  will  yield  them  the  very  blessedness  they  covet. 

4.  The  pleasures  of  ungodly  men  are  not  calculated  to  elevate, 
but  to  depress  their  nature.  They  take  pleasure  in  objects  beneath 
the  dignity  of  their  being.  If  they  would  uniformly  pursue  science, 
and  aim  to  elevate  their  minds,  and  take  some  mighty  grasp  of  the 
works  of  God,  then  would  less  be  said  ;  though  still,  till  they  should 
give  him  their  hearts,  they  would  find  themselves  meanly  em- 
ployed. But,  unhappily,  they  do  not  care,  ordinarily,  to  attend  at 
all  to  the  elevation  of  their  being.  The  things  they  might  easily 
know,  they  do  not  care  to  know  ;  the  books  they  might  read,  and 
that  lie  in  their  way,  they  will  not  read  ;  the  very  hours  they  have 
to  spare,  and  that  hang  heavy  on  their  hands,  they  would  rather 
occupy  in  trifles  than  in  the  acquisition  of  solid  science.  The 
Sabbaths,  for  instance,  that  are  not  spent  in  the  sanctuary,  how  sel- 
dom are  they  employed  in  the  acquisition  of  science,  though  to 
thus  employ  them  would  be  wrong.  And  the  evenings,  and  other 
hours  of  relaxation,  how  belittling  is  more  generally  the  employ- 
ment with  which  they  are  filled  up — the  most  useless  conversation, 
or  the  merest  indolence.  0,  how  much  these  hours  might  do  for 
the  mind — suppose  it  of  no  importance  that  the  heart  be  made 
better.  How  might  all  our  young  men  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
history,  and  enter  more  or  less  profoundly  into  science,  and  rise 
to  the  ability  of  reasoning  ably,  and  speaking  eloquently,  and  wield- 
ing  an  honest  and  masterly  influence  in  any  great  matter  of  interest 
that  should  come  before  them.  What  a  pity  it  would  seem  to  be, 
that  the  noble  mind,  made  in  the  image  of  God,  and,  for  ought  we 
know,  capable  of  soaring  in  company  of  angels,  in  flights  of  sublime 
conception,  should  be  held  down  by  a  depraved  taste,  and  by  sor- 
did appetites,  to  daily  converse  with  the  merest  trifles  of  time  and 
sense.  I  remember  the  disgust  it  gave  me,  when  I  read  of  one 
of  the  emperors  of  antiquity,  that  most  of  his  time  was  spent  in 
catching  flies.  Though  a  mere  child,  when  I  met  with  tins  histo- 
rical fact,  I  involuntarily  inquired,  why  his  crown,  and  throne,  and 


THE    CHRISTIAN  S    REVIEW.  <oJ 

tceptre  1  A  beggar  boy  might  succeed  as  well  as  he,  in  his  sordid 
occupation.  But  why  did  he  appear  meanly  occupied,  hut  as  1 
compared  his  employment  with  some  nobler  business  that  might 
have  occupied  him  \  Go,  then,  with  me  to  some  place  of  idle  con- 
course, and  I  will  show  you  many  a  mind  occupied  as  meanly, 
compared  with  its  powers,  and  perhaps  with  its  ultimate  destiny, 
as  in  the  case  named.  It  is  more  than  possible  that  the  youth  who 
is  wasting  his  evenings  in  noisy  laughter  and  trifling,  if  not  lewd 
and  profane  conversation,  might  soon  render  himself  capable 
of  the  noblest  excursions  of  science,  and  follow  Newton  in  his 
track  among  the  stars. 

Ah  !  who  does  not  see,  that  if  men  had  minds  only,  no  conscience, 
no  powers  of  affection,  nor  hopes  of  immortality,  the  belittling  occu- 
pations of  sin  disgrace  their  intellectual  character,  and  fix  reproach 
upon  them.  But  when  we  consider  man  in  his  nobler  parts,  capa- 
ble of  loving  and  honoring  his  Maker,  capable  of  being  employed 
as  angels  are,  in  executing  the  noblest  designs  oi  infinite  love,  how 
can  we  fail  to  see,  in  the  ordinary  enterprises  of  depraved  men, 
danger  that  they  will  let  down  their  nature ;  danger  that  they  will 
find,  when  life  is  done,  that  they  have  degraded  their  being,  as  well 
as  lost  their  souls.  Suppose  that  Newton,  after  he  made  his  noble 
excursions  in  science,  could  have  remembered  that  he  was  once  a 
menial,  occupied  with  the  merest  drudgeries  of  life  -would  it  not 
have  seemed  to  him  a  pity  that  he  had  not  begun  his  excursions 
earlier,  and  not  employed  his  noble  mind  in  what  must  have  tended 
to  cramp  and  contract  its  powers.  And  should  those  hereafter 
become  Christians,  who  now  are  quite  content  with  the  little  play 
things  of  time  and  sense,  how  would  they  mourn  at  the  retrospect. 
And  be  it  otherwise,  it  alters  not  the  fact,  that  unsrodly  men  are 
employed  in  a  manner  beneath  the  dignity  of  their  nature. 

5.  I  remark  again,  that  the  pleasures  of  the  wicked  are  not 
abiding.  What  joy  they  have,  and  it  is  far  beneath  what  they 
might  have,  is  fleeting  and  transitory.  There  is  no  steady  light 
of  day  shining  upon  their  path  ;  they  walk  by  the  glimmerings  of 
a  taper,  or  at  the  best,  by  the  lightning's  glare,  or  the  twinkling  of 
some  distant  star.  If  somewhat  happy,  they  often  know  not  why, 
or  if  they  know  why,  dare  not  dwell  on  the  cause  of  their  joy, 
knowing  it  to  be  such  that  a  single  hour  may  make  them  wretched. 
Would  they  tell  the  reason  why  they  are  happy,  it  would  he  seen 
to  be  merely  a  reason  why  they  should  be  afflictc'l  and  mourn,  and 
convert  their  laughter  into  mourning,  and  their  joy  into  heaviness. 
Every  object  on  which  their  joy  depends  is  perishing — ,js   a  dying 


734  the  christian's  review. 

and  a  transitory  object.  They  were  not  created  to  be  the  perma- 
nent food  of  an  immortal  mind.  They  answer  as  the  mere  play* 
things  of  men  that  have  no  richer  treasures,  no  "inheritance  in- 
corruptible, undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  eternal  in  the 
heavens."  In  the  dying  hour,  at  the  farthest,  and  often  long  be- 
fore, the  treasures  of  the  ungodly  take  to  themselves  wings,  and 
fly  away  ;is  an  eagle  toward  heaven.  Just  when  they  calculated 
that  their  joy  would  be  perfect,  it  proves  a  dream.  What  they 
grasped  at  was  a  mere  shadow,  and  shrunk  away  from  their  grasp. 
Their  hope  perished,  when  God  took'  away  the  soul.  To  expect 
permanent  bliss,  and  base  tin1  hope  of  it  on  that  which  worms  can 
devour,  and  thieves  break  through  and  steal,  is  to  expect  grapes 
of  thorns  and  li^s  of  thistles  ;  is  to  sow  to  the  wind  and  reap  the 
whirlwind  ;   is  to  pierce  ourselves  through  with  many  sorrows. 

6.  The  ungodly  are  conversant  only  with  dangerous  pleasures. 
Their  pleasures  are  constantly  the  means  of  their  undoing,  being 
guilty  and  forbidden.  That  a  nature  capable  of  loving  his  Maker, 
should  fix  his  supreme  attachment  elsewhere,  is  offering  God  a 
perpetual  insult,  and  exposing  the  offender  to  the  indignation  and 
wrath  of  the  holy  and  jealous  Jehovah.  The  stronger  our  affec- 
tions, and  of  course  the  higher  our  pleasure,  the  more  imminent 
our  danoer.  The  best  chance  of  safety  consists  in  not  allowing 
ourselves  to  be  very  happy,  if  our  joy  is  not  in  God  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  know  that  common  opinion,  and  dangerous 
as  it  is  common,  that  men  should  feel  it  their  duty  to  be  happy, 
but  I  see  no  warrant  for  it  in  the  Scriptures.  If  to  be  very  happy 
we  must  love  idolatrously  what  G©d  has  forbidden  us  to  love,  then 
is  nothing  plainer  than  that  our  guilt  must  increase  with  our  hap- 
piness, and  God  be  the  more  offended.  In  such  objects,  then,  if 
we  be  asked  whether  it  is  our  duty  to  try  to  be  happy,  the  answer 
is  in  the  negative.  God  would  see  his  creatures  happy,  if  they 
will  joy  in  him,  but  has  said  in  his  word  that  delight  is  not  seemly 
for  a  fool,  and  has  bid  the  ungodly  to  be  afflicted  and  mourn. 
Hence  all  those  amusements  where  ungodly  men  find  their  high- 
est delight,  are  but  cunningly  devised  means  of  doing  without  God, 
and  are  dangerous,  in  proportion  as  they  are  fascinating.  Nor  is 
it  kind  to  wish  them  the  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  these  high 
and  absorbing  idolatries.  Were  I  in  India,  I  would  oppose 
the  worship  of  the  pagoda,  because  there  is  worshiped  in  these 
little  sanctuaries,  the  images  which  God  has  forbidden  both  the 
making  of,  and  bowing  down  to  •  hut  [  would  oppose  more  yet  the 
feasts  of  Jugernaut,  because  an  art  fid  priesthood  has  thrown  more 


THE    CHRISTIA:     -     RE     IEW. 

Fascinations  about  the  sacred  car  of  that  idol.  At  the  worsh 
the  latter,  an  Indian  would  be  the  most  exhilarated,  or  if  you 
please,  the  :nost  happy,  but  for  this  very  reason  Uie  most  guilty 
Then  he  would  devote  his  whole  heart  to  the  false  god,  and  then 
offend  his  Maker  most.  It  is  thus,  precisely,  with  unregenerate 
men.  There  are  some  of  their  pleasures  which,  perhaps,  they 
could  be  persuaded  to  abandon,  but  others  they  would  risk  their 
lives  to  defend.  But  the  whole  are  unsafe  pleasures,  and  those  the 
most  loved  the  most  dangerous.  Let  the  man  sit  down  thus  de- 
liberately, and  make  out  the  full  catalogue  of  those  objects  that 
hold  his  heart  away  from  God,  placing  at  the  top  of  that  list  his 
highest,  dearest  idol,  where  his  heart,  clings  with  the  grasp  of 
death,  and  he  may  rest  assured  that  the  most  beloved  object  is  the 
mOsI  dangerous,  and  that  the  residue  are  dangerous  in  proportion 
to  the  strength  of  affection.  Till  we  have  given  God  the  supreme 
place  in  our  hearts  it  is  dangerous  to  love  any  object,  as  one  the 
most  trifling  may  become,  before  we  are  aware,  our  supreme  idol. 
How  has  tin;  game  at  cards  weaned  away  a  man  from  his  family, 
and  become  dearer  to  him  than  his  beloved  wife  and  his  flock  of 
children  !  And  the  guilty  carouse,  and  the  forbidden  cup,  how 
have  they  a  thousand  times  torn  asunder  every  ligature  that  held 
the  husband  and  the  father  to  his  home,  and  his  fireside  1  What 
pleasure,  then,  is  not  a  dangerous  one,  if  our  supreme  delight  is 
not  in  God  ! 

Thus   the    Christian   can    look   back  to  the  time  when  his  heart 

went  after  forbidden  pleasures,  but  when  he  had  no  fruit  in   those 

things  of  which  he  is  now  ashamed,  and  the  end  of  which  is  death*. 

were  neither  innocent,  nor  rational,  nor  satisfying,  nor  elevated, 

nor  abiding,  nor  safe. 

How  wonderful,  that  he  should  have  made  his  escape  from  such 
a  labyrinth  of  danger  !  It  will  be  to  the  good  man  a  source  of 
wonder  f'"i  ever,  that  sin  did  not  prove  his  ruin.  And  the  grace 
of  God,  which  -uatched  him  as  a  brand  from  the  burning,  will  be 
in  the  future  world  the  subject  of  his  elevated   and    eternal  pi 

Having  noticed  how  entirely  without  any  fruit  or  enjoyment 
was  the  good  man  in  his  unconverted  state,  in  those  things  which 
lie  once  tried  to  enjoy,  we  shall 

II.  View  him  under  the  operation  of  tint  shame  and  regret  to 
which  his  past  conduct  lias  subjected  him.  Unregenerate  men 
have  no  idea  that  they  are  now  putting  forth  those  affections  and 
betraying  that  character  'hat  they  shall  hereafter  be   ashamed   of. 


736  the  christian's  REVIEW. 

They  have  usually  very  high-minded  notions  of  their  own  demean* 
or  ns  honest,  and  upright,  and  dignified,  and  above  all  censure. 
But  this  pride  is  the  result  of  their  ignorance  of  their  own  hearts, 
of  the  law  of  God,  and  of  that  spirit  and  temper  which  the  gos- 
pel requires.  The  man  has  only  to  know  himself,  to  become 
ashamed.  And  this  would  never  be  but  for  the  agency  of  the  Ho- 
ly Ghost.  He  would  continue  till  he  dies  in  all  the  pride  of  unbe- 
lief, if  not  enlightened  from  above.  But  we  have  our  eye  on  the 
man  whom  it  was  the  Divine  purpose  to  bring  to  a  timely  repent- 
ance, and  to  do  this  would  first  render  him  ashamed  of  the  very 
things  which  he  once  sought  as  his  supreme  delight. 

He  is  brought  to  see  that  God  is  worthy  of  his  whole  heart,  and 
that  he  has  withheld  it,  and  has  worshiped  and  served  the  creature 
more  than  the  Creator,  who  is  over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever.  He 
becomes  conscious  of  a  quarrel  with  his  Maker,  but  for  no  reason 
that  he  dare  now  assign.  Every  attribute  of  his  nature  is  glorious. 
and  every  act  of  his  government  holy,  and  just,  and  good. 

And  still  the  sinner  has  placed  his  supreme  love  on  some  idol,  and 
refused  to  love  and  worship  his  Maker  and  his  Redeemer.  Years 
and  years  he  persevered  in  this  course  of  downright  revolt,  break- 
ing every  law  of  his  rightful  Sovereign,  and  suffering  his  heart  to 
be  governed  in  all  its  affections  by  some  worthless  object,  that  did 
not  deserve  his  love.  And  all  this  time,  as  he  now  sees,  God  was 
his  kind  and  gracious  benefactor.  This  thought  fdls  him  with  the 
deepest  shame.  As  if  one  should  discover,  late  in  life,  that  some 
good  man,  that  he  had  always  hated,  and  ten  thousand  times 
abused,  privately  and  publicly,  had  been  his  kind  and  constant  be- 
nefactor;  had  fed  his  family,  and  provided  covertly  for  all  his 
wants  ;  how  covered  with  shame,  in  that  case,  would  he  be,  on 
discovering  that  he  had  his  best  friend  in  one  that  he  had  ever 
treated  contemptuously,  and  hated  and  abused  most  cordially. 

Thus  the  good  man,  when  he  waked  to  a  sense  of  his  condition, 
was  filled  with  confusion.  "  Then  shalt  thou  be  ashamed,"  says 
the  prophet,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  "  and  never  open  thy  mouth 
any  more,  because  of  thy  shame,  when  I  am  pacified  toward  thee 
for  all  that  thou  hast  done."  And  the  Psalmist  says,  "Thou 
makest  me  to  bear  the  iniquities  of  my  youth."  His  shame  is 
greatly  enhanced  by  the  consideration  that  he  must  now  be  in- 
debted, as  he  always  has  been,  for  all  his  benefits  to  one  whom  he 
has  always  expelled  from  his  affections. 

He  sees,  too,  that  the  ground  of  his  preference  for  idols  was  a 
depraved  and  base   heart,   that    would   prefer    any  thing  to  God, 


THE    CHRiSTTAINfs    REVIEW.  737 

would  love  a  stock  or  a  stone  more  than  the  infinitely  adorable  and 
kind  Creator;  and  in  the  mean  time,  would  not  be  convinced  that 
the  course  he  took  ruined  him,  that  his  misplaced  affections  pol- 
luted and  belittled  his  mind,  and  that  he  was  ensnared,  and  im- 
poverished, and  destroyed  by  the  works  of  his  own  hands.  Now 
it  is  that  the  man  becomes  filled  with  shame  and  confusion  of 
face.     I  proceed, 

III.  To  show  that  the  end  of  these  things  would  naturally  have 
been,  to  the  now  regenerate  man,  and  must  be  to  all  men  who  do 
not  repent,  death:  the  end  of  these  things  is  death.  This  will  be 
seen,  when  we  consider,  That  a  course  of  sin  leads  to  bad  socictij, 
absorbs  precious  time,  engenders  an  erroneous  creed,  benumbs  the  right 
affections,  nourishes  the  wicked  passions,  and  provokes  the  Spirit  of 
God. 

1.  A  course  of  sin  leads  to  bad  society.  If  men  will  be  trans- 
gressors, they  must  of  necessity  associate  with  men  of  similar 
pursuit.  The  gregarious  nature  of  man  prompts  him  to  seek 
society,  and  renders  him  unhappy  when  alone,  or  when  insulated 
from  his  fellows.  Hence  men  that  do  not  love  the  Lord,  must 
mingle  with  that  portion  of  the  human  family  that  have  on  the 
same  general  character.  And  those  who  have  gone  the  greatest 
lengths  in  vice,  have  thus  opportunity  to  approach  and  pollute  all 
the  residue.  Suppose,  then,  that  some  unrenewed  man  should 
determine  not  to  be  polluted  by  those  who  are  worse  in  temper 
and  habits  than  himself,  how  shall  he  prevent  it  1  Suppose  him 
not  profane,  how  shall  he  be  a  social  man  if  he  will  not  associate 
with  the  godly,  and  not  come  in  contact  and  be  injured  by  those 
who  lift  their  mouth  against  the  heavens  1  Suppose  him  not  accus- 
tomed to  speak  lightly  of  Divine  institutions,  or  of  good  men,  or 
those  measures  that  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  Church;  still 
how  shall  he  be  social  with  the  ungodly,  and  not  come  into  con- 
stant fellowship  with  men  of  this  character  1  Make  the  attempt  to 
collect  a  company  of  sober,  serious,  thoughtful,  ungodly  men,  and 
if  you  do  not  soon  discover  that  no  such  society  can  be  formed, 
then  have  we  very  much  mstaken  the  true  state  of  the  world. 
Where  will  you  assemble  them  1  Not  at  the  sanctuary — not  at 
the  place  of  conference  and  prayer — not  by  the  fireside  of  the 
man  of  God  : — there  the  godly  meet.  You  must  keep  your  serious 
unregenerate  man  at  home,  or  you  must  carry  him  to  the  place 
where  sinners  love  to  meet,  and  then  you  bring  him  in  contact 
with  profanity,  and  lewdness,  and  evil  speaking;  and,  first  or  last 


738  the  christian's  review. 

with  all  lliat  is  coarse  and  vulgar  in  vice.  He  must  walk  in  the 
counsel  of  the  ungodly,  and  he  must  stand  in  the  way  of  sinners, 
and  must  at  length  sit  down  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful.  Thus,  the 
fact  of  his  being  unregenerate,  if  he  mingle  with  men  at  all,  brings 
him  naturally  into  bad  society,  and  into  contact  gross  and  dan- 
gerous with  all  that  is  polluting  in  moral  character.  There  are 
but  two  societies,  the  godly  and  the  ungodly.  I  know  some  pains 
may  be  taken  to  exclude  from  some  of  these  circles  somewhat  of 
the  low  and  vulgar  in  character;  but  I  know,  too,  that  such  efforts 
are  but  to  a  very  small  extent  successful.  There  may  be  excluded 
the  sot,  who  has  been  seen  by  every  one  in  his  most  disgusting- 
fits  of  inebriation  ;  but  I  never  knew  the  exclusion  to  extend  to  the 
more  decent  inebriate,  who  will  have  his  wine  after  dinner,  and 
drink  himself  senseless  at  the  midnight  card  table.  There  may  be 
excluded,  perhaps,  some  more  vulgar  of  the  profane,  but  never  the 
men  who  can  sneer  decently,  and  shape  their  oaths  a  little  to  the 
time,  and  place,  and  company-  There  may  be  excluded  some  spe- 
cies of  the  lewd  and  the  profligate,  but  never  wholly  the  men  that 
practice  that  iniquity  according  to  the  maxims  of  high  and  polished 
life.  Thus  is  it  vain  to  hope  that  the  society  of  the  ungodly  can 
be  purged,  so  that  it  shall  not  be  the  high  road  to  all  the  grosser 
vices,  and  to  death  itself. 

2.  A  course  of  sin  absorbs  precious  time.  Unregenerate  men 
throw  away  very  many  years  of  their  probation.  All  that  time 
that  the  Christian  must  spend  in  his  closet,  in  the  study  of  the 
Bible,  and  in  the  duties  of  domestic  worship,  the  ungodly  have  to 
spare.  Hence  time  often  hangs  heavily  on  their  hands,  and  hence 
the  pastimes,  properly  so  called,  are  means  invented  to  murder  all 
those  precious  hours  that  are  not  filled  up  in  the  acquisition  of 
wealth.  Now,  if  men  must  associate  with  those  who  have  time  to 
spare,  they  must,  of  course,  form  the  habit  of  wasting  time.  This 
shortens  life,  and  begets  the  habit  of  not  thinking — the  habit  of 
placing  the  mind  in  an  attitude  of  listlessness  and  inattention,  than 
which  no  habit  can  be  more  ruinous  to  one  whose  happiness  in  this 
life  and  in  the  life  to  come  depends  so  much  on  prompt  and  vigor- 
ous action.  If  we  are  to  reach  heaven,  and  would  be  preparedfor 
it,  we  must  form  soon  the  very  opposite  habit,  and  must  learn  to 
husband  well  every  hour  that  lies  between  us  and  the  grave. 

If  there  were  no  oaths  heard,  and  no  evil  bias  of  the  affections 
generated,  still  no  price  should  tempt  the  man  who  hopes  to  come 
to  heaven,  to  waste  his  mornings  and  his  evenings,  and  his  leisure 
days,  in  the  places  of  lounging  indolence.      The  mere  habit  of  let- 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    REVIEW.  73[) 

ting  time  pass  unoccupied,  has  a  fatal  influence  upon  the  welfare 
of  the  soul.  We  have  known  it  to  draw  back  from  the  path  of 
life  many  a  man,  who,  but  for  having  formed  this  one  habit,  bid 
fair  to  reach  the  kingdom  of  God.  His  apostacy  from  a  fair  pro- 
fession, and  the  hopes  of  glory,  began  in  his  return  to  the  habit  of 
chatting  and  laughing  away  leisure  hours.  The  Christian  has  no 
leisure  hours.  There  are  no  little  nooks  of  time  that  he  cannot 
fill  up  to  the  best  advantage  ;  and  he  may  as  soon  return  to  any 
other  vicious  course,  as  to  the  habit  of  wasting  his  precious  hours. 
Should  we  find  he  had  returned  to  his  oaths,  or  to  his  Sabbath- 
breaking,  or  to  his  cups,  though  it  might  shock  us  more,  it  would 
not  be  more  ominous  of  his  future  entire  apostacy,  than  a  return  to 
his  idle  amusements. 

3.  A  course  of  sin  is  death,  as  it  leads  to  the  adoption  of  bad 
sentiments,  and  engenders  an  erroneous  creed.  There  is  a  whole 
system  of  infidelity  taught  and  believed  in  the  promiscuous  asso- 
ciations of  the  ungodly  It  may  not  be  styled  infidelity,  and  lec- 
tures may  not  be  g^iven  in  the  formal  didactic  mode,  but  the  result 
may  be  the  same.  Let  the  child  hear  it  said  to-day  at  the  tavern 
door,  that  there  is  no  harm  in  the  milder  forms  of  profanity,  and 
he  imbibes  the  idea  that  there  is  no  obligation  in  that  terrible  law, 
"  Thou  shall  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain  ;"  and 
this  is  infidelity.  Let  him  bear  it  said  in  the  same  place  or  some 
other,  that  these  Christians  are  a  set  of  the  most  profound  hypocrites, 
and  he  learns  to  doubt  whether  God  requires  his  people  to  be  a 
chosen  generation,  a  peculiar  people,  and  this  is  infidelity.  Let  him 
hear  it  said  the  next  day,  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  mere  child  of 
Joseph,  and  not  as  he  pretended,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh  ;  and  this 
again  is  infidelity.  Let  him  hear  again  that  probably  the  Bible  has 
been  wrongfully  translated,  and  much  corrupted  by  designing  men, 
so  that  we  cannot  know  how  much  of  it  is  the  testimony  of  God  ; 
and  this  is  a  still  more  open  and  barefaced  infidelity.  Thus  our 
children,  if  they  may  spend  their  evenings  and  their  play-days 
about  the  place  of  idle  concourse,  ;ire  taught  intelligibly  and  fa- 
tally to  reject  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  Thus  many  of  our  young 
men,  while  perhaps  they  have  attended  morning  and  evening  upon 
a  father's  prayers,  have  been  put  into  the  school  of  infidelity,  ana 
the  parent  has  discovered  just  when  he  hoped  they  would  become 
a  comfort  to    him,  that  their  sentiments   had   been    ruined,  and  the 

broad  l'< dation  laid  for  their  final  perdition. 

I  have  proceeded  on  the  principle  that    sentiment   is  the  founda- 
tion  of  character,  and  character  the   ground   of  salvation.     Hence 


740  THE    CHRISTIAN'S    REVIEW. 

the  end  of  these  things  is  death.  No  man  can  without  danger  im 
bibe  one  wrong  sentiment.  It  will  assuredly  bias,  wrong  his  heart, 
and  be  acted  out  in  conduct  that  will  offend  the  Lord.  Thus  the 
end  of  these  things  is  death. 

4<.  A  course  of  sin  benumbs  the  right  affections.  It  tends  to  des- 
troy filial  confidence,  and  fraternal,  and  parental,  and  conjugal  af- 
fection. Devotion  to  some  idol  easily  becomes  stronger  than  any 
of  the  natural  relationships,  and  thus  neutralizes  many  a  restraint, 
that  the  God  of  nature,  as  the  infidel  would  name  Jehovah,  has  im- 
posed. But  when  we  pass  these  and  speak  of  the  religious  affec- 
tions, it  hardly  need  be  said  that  all  these  are  suppressed  and 
quenched  by  a  course  of  sin.  How  many  children  that  have  been 
taught  the  fear  of  God,  a  respect  for  his  word,  a  reverence  for  his 
Sabbath,  regard  for  his  people  and  his  house,  and  his  ordinance, 
have  had  them  all  eradicated  as  they  rose  in  life,  and  mingled  with 
men  versed  in  the  art  of  undermining  virtue.  I  have  seen  the  lad 
of  promise  at  the  family  altar,  ready  to  believe  a  father's  testimony, 
and  listen  to  a  mother's  instruction,  and  giving  high  hope  that  as 
he  rose  in  life  he  would  fill  respectably  his  father's  place  ;  and  I 
have  seen  the  same  lad  proud  and  stout-hearted,  and  far  from 
righteousness;  the  advocate  of  infidel  sentiment  and  vicious  habits, 
and  profligate  manners,  pressing  his  way  down  to  that  death 
spoken  of  in  the  text  as  the  end  of  these  things.  And  I  have  seen 
his  parent's  heart  more  grieved  at  some  act  of  his  conduct  than 
he  would  have  been  to  be  called  to  follow  his  corpse  to  the  grave. 
0  it  is  awfully  foreboding  to  see  disappearing  all  the  good  impres- 
sions of  an  early  religious  education  ;  and  substituted  in  their 
place  the  revelling,  and  the  doubt,  and  the  indifference  to  holv 
things  that  so  often  marks  the  downward  course  to  death. 

5.  A  course  of  sin  ends  in  death  as  it  nourishes  the  unhallowed 
passions.  We  totally  and  fatally  mistake  man  when  we  forget  that 
he  is  born  depraved.  We  are  not  to  suppose,  and  shall  be  fatally 
disappointed  if  we  do,  that  our  children  are  in  point  of  character 
that  clean  white  paper  on  which  any  impression  we  please  can  be 
made  with  equal  ease  and  certainty.  No  they  have  a  bad  moral 
character  before  we  can  well  reach  them.  Hence  our  early  busi- 
ness is  to  eradicate  the  wrong,  as  well  as  implant  the  right.  If 
this  is  not  early  done,  and  we  cannot  do  it  without  God,  these  evil 
passions  are  already  to  be  nurtued  and  matured.  lit  nee  a  life  of 
unregeneracy  is  the  whole  of  it  a  nursery  in  which  these  vile 
plants  are  watered  and  reared,  and  bring  forth  their  evil  fruits,  the 
ripening  of  which  is  death.      Men    grow   worse  day    by    day  while 


the*  christian's  review.  741 

they  remain   in  the  gall   of  bitterness  and  under  the  bonds  of  ini- 
quity.    Their  position  is  never  stationary,  but  their  course  down 
ward,  downward,  downward  toward  the  blackness  of  darkness  for 
ever. 

Finally  a  course  of  sin  tends  to  death  as  it  offers  constant  pro- 
vocation of  the  Spirit  nf  God.  On  the  operations  of  his  Spirit  we 
are  dependent  for  life  and  salvation.  Then*  is  no  amount  of  means, 
or  force  of  human  eloquence,  or  impetus  of  natural  resolution  that 
can  arrest  the  course  of  sin.  Men  will  not  try  to  stop  themselves, 
nor  allow  themselves  to  be  stayed  in  their  course  by  any  human 
power.  Hence  our  only  hope  is  that  God  will  make  them  willing 
in  the  day  of  his  power.  But  every  act  of  sin  is  resistance  made 
to  the  efforts  of  his  mercy  and  the  influences  of  his  Spirit.  God 
strives  with  men.  He  did  so  in  the  old  world,  and  does  so  still. 
And  as  then,  so  now,  there  will  come  a  time  when  he  will  strive 
no  longer.  And  when  he  shall  so  determine  with  regard  to  any 
soul,  that  soul  is  lost.  The  decree  of  heaven  is,  "  He  is  joined  to 
idols,  let  him  alone." 

Thus  we  see  the  danger  that  all  God's  people  have  been  in,  and 
that  which  still  awaits  all  the  ungodly.  Their  course  is  down  to 
death.     The  end  of  these  things   is  death.     I   close  with  a  sinsrle 

REMARK. 

Have  any  of  us  reason  to  hope  that  we  have  been  arrested  in  our 
mad  career  1  then  what  gratitude  and  what  holy  obedience  do  we 
owe  our  gracious  deliverer,  and  how  kind  and  faithful  should  we 
be  to  those  who  arc  still  in  all  the  danger  that  we  once  were.  And 
as  was  the  case  with  us  they  are  ignorant  of  their  danger,  and  are 
not  willing  to  be  alarmed,  and  esteem  it  unkind  that  we  concern 
ourselves  with  them.  But  all  this  alters  not  our  duty.  If  we 
saw  one  asleep  in  a  burning  building,  and  he  knew  not  his  danger, 
and  did  not  wish  to  know,  and  would  esteem  it  unkind  should  we 
try  to  wake  him,  still  we  should  not  stop,  but  snatch  him  if  possi- 
ble from  his  perilous  condition.  And  all  to  save  his  life  only. 
Should  we  not  then  take  greater  pains  still  to  save  the  soul,  and 
do  it  at  more  hazard,  and  more  expense,  and  inward  assurance  that 
our  kindness  would  be  repaid  with  wrath. 


SERMON     LXIV. 

THE  INFALLIBLE  COMPARISON 

PROVERBS  xir.  26. 
The  righteous  in  more  excellent  th;m  his  neignbor. 

While  the  term  righteous  is  so  frequently  usee:  />_  me  Bible,  to 
designate  the  good  man,  we  infer,  without  the  danger  of  mistake. 
that  the  good  man  will  be  honest.  A  false  or  fraudulent  believer, 
is  a  character  not  recognized  in  the  volume  of  inspiration.  That 
religion  which  saves  the  soul,  is  sure  to  render  us  good  and  use- 
ful citizens  of  the  present  world,  and  any  expectation  of  eternal 
life,  when  this  first  effect  of  piety  is  not  produced,  is  vain.  The 
text  implies  a  fact  which  we  have  all  observed,  that  the  righteous 
are  scarce.  When  you  find  a  good  man,  it  is  almost  certain  that. 
his  neighbor  is  wicked.  This  would  not  be  the  case,  were  the 
pious  as  numerous  as  the  men  of  opposite  character.  While  a 
comparison  is  drawn  between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  the 
favorable  conclusion  is  not  built  upon  any  thing  that  relates  to 
birth,  or  blood,  or  wealth.  In  the  esteem  of  God,  there  is  no  va- 
lue in  these  external  things.  Man  looketh  on  these  outward  ap- 
pearances, but  God  looketh  on  the  h^art.  That  superior  excellence 
which  he  esteems,  has  its  origin  in  the  temper  of  the  heart.  Hence 
the  comparison  should  neither  render  the  one  proud,  nor  mortify 
the  other.  It  should  make  the  believer  humble  and  thankful,  and 
produce  awakening  and  conviction  in  the  mind  of  the  sinner.  If 
God  has  made  us  willing  in  the  day  of  his  power,  it  becomes  us 
to  remember  for  ever  the  rock  from  whence  we  were  hewn,  and 
the  hole  of  the  pit  from  whence  we  were  digged.  If  we  are  asso- 
ciated with  the  righteous,  the  praise  of  changing  our  state,  and 
altering  our  condition,  belongs  to  Him  who  produced  the  change. 
By  nature  men  are  all  the  degenerate  plants  o(  a  strange  vine, 
born  the  enemies  of  God,  and  the  heirs  of  perdition,  and  left  to  act 
oul  our  own  temper,  we  should  all  carry  with  us  to  the  grave  the 
same  odious  character,  and  die  the  heirs  of  the  same  fearful  des- 
tiny as  others.  Hoping  then,  neither  to  awaken  pride  or  envy, 
but  gratitude  and  conviction,  I  proceed  to  compare  the  pious  man, 
with  the  man  unsanctified.  "The  righteous  is  more  excellent  than 
his  neighbor  :" 


THE    INFALLIBLE    COMPARISON.  743 

I.  Jls  he  is  jwssessed  of  a  better  temper,  adopts  better  maxims,  and 
acts  from  better  motives.  By  the  temper  of  the  heart,  we  mean  that 
disposition,  taste,  or  views,  which  generates  all  its  moral  actions, 
and  gives  them  their  character.  We  are  born  with  evil  tempers, 
and  retain  till  the  moment  of  the  new  birth,  a  taste,  a  relish,  a  bias, 
a  propensity,  to  what  is  morally  wrong,  to  what  God  hates  and 
forbids.  While  this  temper  remains,  disobedience  is  more  plea- 
sant than  duty.  A  selfish,  contracted,  unpitying,  unforgiving1,  and 
unrelenting  disposition  is  drawn  out  in  every  moral  action.  The 
temper  that  lives  within,  reigns  without,  colors  every  deed,  writes 
approved  or  disapproved  upon  every  exertion  that  partakes  of  s 
moral  character. 

The  work  of  grace  begins  with  a  change  in  this  native  bias  of 
the  soul.  It  becomes  essentially  altered  so  as  to  be  pleased  with 
that  which  displeased  before,  and  disgusted  with  that  which  be- 
fore gave  pleasure.  Hence  the  heart  of  the  good  man  is  inclined 
to  order,  mercy,  justice,  truth,  honesty,  holiness,  and  happiness. 
The  feelings  now  generated  arc  in  unison  with  God,  and  with  all 
holy  beings. 

Hence  originate  a  set  of  principles  or  maxims,  diametrically  op- 
posite to  those  which  govern  the  unrenewed  man.  Good  men 
xvill  naturally  pursue  a  course  that  will  gratify  the  temper  of  the 
heart.  Hence  the  maxims  or  principles  by  which  the  life  shall  be 
governed,  will  correspond  to  the  temper  which  the  grace  of  God 
has  generated.  It  was  the  maxim  of  the  unregenerate  man,  that 
the  promotion  of  his  own  interest,  was  a  good  to  be  pursued,  al- 
though it  might  greatly  injure  the  Church  or  the  world;  now,  a 
smaller  private  good  must  yield  to  a  greater  public  interest.  Re- 
venge was  sweeter  than  forgiveness  ;  now,  forgiveness  is  an  exer- 
cise that  gives  pleasure,  while  revenge  gives  pain.  Retaliation 
appeared  righteous  and  desirable,  but  is  now  a  principle  to  the 
last  degree  odious  and  abominable.  A  deed  of  wrong,  not  dis- 
covered, was  viewed  as  comparatively  innocent,  but  a  holy  temper 
sees  in  sin,  however  secretly  done,  all  the  hatefulness  that  could 
attach  to  it  when  made  public.  It  was  felt  that  the  things  unseen 
are  worthless,  and  that  the  present  world  has  charms  that  belong 
to  no  other  ;  but  when  sanctified,  faith  discovers  better  treasures 
in  the  heavens  than  earth  can  afford.  And  thus  every  maxim  that 
governed  the  life  was  inverted,  when  the  heart  was  sanctified. 

And  this  change  in  the  temper,  and  in  the  principles  of  action, 
have  led  to  an  entire  new  set  of  motives.  The  good  man  loves 
God  and  his  kingdom,  and  loves  his  fellow-men,  and   n<  w  often 


7*4  THE  INFALLIBLE  COMPARISON. 

acts  against  his  own  interest,  when  he  can  promote  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  good  of  others.  The  things  that  used  to  move  him 
in  opposition  to  his  own  conscience,  have  now  lost  their  influence. 
He  considers  it  more  important  to  act  so  as  to  approve  of  himself, 
than  to  promote  his  own  interest.  To  be  poor,  and  low,  and  of 
little  credit,  is  of  smaller  moment  than  to  be  miserable  when  he 
retires  to  think. 

Hence  we  can  place  in  the  man  of  piety  more  confidence,  can 
feel  a  greater  security  that  he  will  not,  if  occasion  require,  injure 
and  betray  us,  than  in  his  neighbor.  If  we  need  his  aid,  and  have 
nothing  to  pay,  if  we  are  in  his  power,  and  have  no  escape,  if  onr 
property  or  life  is  in  his  hand,  there  is  smaller  danger  than  when 
there  is  none  but  an  unsanctified  temper  and  selfish  motives 
Hence  "  the  righteous  is  more  excellent  than  his  neighbor." 

II.  He  sets  a  better  example,  and  exerts  a  better  influence.  Every 
man's  life  will  correspond  to  the  temper  of  his  heart,  and  the 
maxims  and  motives  that  govern  him.  Hence,  by  their  fruits  ye 
shall  know  them.  Men  do  not  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of 
thistles.  It  never  happened  that  there  was  one  principle  in  the 
heart,  and  another  acted  out  in  the  life.  When  the  whole  con- 
duct is  minutely  examined,  every  man  is  what  he  appears  to  be. 
The  good  man  not  only  sets  an  example  of  industry,  sobriety,  hon- 
esty, and  generosity,  which  perhaps  he  did  before  his  heart  was 
sanctified,  but  is  conscientious,  humble,  watchful,  prayerful,  bene- 
volent, and  heavenly-minded.  Whatever  property  of  nature  was 
excellent  in  him  before  his  conversion,  is  now  still  more  conspicu- 
ous, while  many  things  in  him  are  entirely  new. 

Grace  improves  the  properties  which  it  does  not  regenerate. 
If  naturally  honest,  he  will  now  be  more  scrupulous  ;  if  hospitable, 
or  liberal,  or  modest,  or  industrious,  he  will  now  exhibit  advance- 
ment in  all  these  valuable  endowments.  His  example  in  many 
points  will  be  new  and  valuable,  and  worthy  of  imitation.  Hence 
said  the  Savior,  "  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world  ;  a  city  set  on  a 
hill  cannot  be  hid.'1  And  again,  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth." 
To  the  full  extent  of  his  circle,  his  conduct  has  a  salutary  influ- 
ence on  all  around  him,  restrains  vice,  enlightens  the  ignorant, 
and  gives  countenance  to  virtue. 

Hence  the  influence  he  exerts  is  salutary,  and  deservedly  enrols 
him  among  the  world's  benefactors,  among  the  friends  of  God  and 
of  men.  The  poisoning  influence  of  sin,  whose  tendency  is  to 
pollute  and  destroy,  Ends  an  antidote  in  the  example  of  God's  peo- 


THE    INFALLIBLE    COMPARISON'.  7J5 

pie,  else  this  world  would  verge  rapidly  to  ruin.  Show  me  a  dis- 
trict where  there  is  no  piety,  and  I  will  show  you  the  effects  of 
vice,  in  the  prostration  of  every  thing  that  is  excellent. 

And  the  good  man  exerts  an  influence,  when  he  neither  speaks 
nor  acts.  If  his  conversation  is  such  as  becomes  godliness,  the 
world  takes  knowledge  of  him  that  he  has  been  with  Jesus.  And 
men  of  very  loose  morals,  and  whose  consciences  are  fearfully  dis- 
eased, will  act  differently,  in  any  given  circumstances,  from  what 
otherwise  they  would,  because  they  know  how  the  good  man  in 
similar  circumstances,  would  act.  Thus  the  man  of  godliness,  the 
profession  of  whose  lips,  and  the  tenor  of  whose  life  are  coinci- 
dent, will  exert  a  salutary  influence  even  when  he  rests  upon  his 
bed.  He  may  be  as  retired  as  he  pleases,  but  a  pattern  will  be 
taken  of  his  life,  and  it  will  be  handed  round  as  a  model  after  which 
men  may  form  their  characters,  and  shape  the  tenor  of  their  life. 
But  his  ungodly  neighbor  exerts  no  such  influence.  At  the  best 
he  can  boast  of  nothing  more  than  a  scanty  morality,  whose  high 
est  motive  is  self-love,  and  his  most  splendid  actions  honesty,  so 
briety,  hospitality,  and  generosity. 

III.  He  is  more  excellent,  inasmuch  as  he  is  the  subject  of  more  ho- 
norable alliances.  As  there  exists,  between  all  the  parts  of  God's 
holy  kingdom,  a  close  and  endearing  relationship,  so  each  indivi- 
dual believer  is  united  to  God  and  to  all  holy  beings  by  the  best  of 
all  ties,  that  of  a  kindred  affection.  Every  believer  is  permitted 
to  address  God  as  his  father,  and  to  approach  him  with  the  confi- 
dence which  that  title  implies,  while  Christ  is  spoken  of  as  his 
elder  brother.  He  is  attached  to  the  family  of  heaven,  to  angels, 
and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  will  ever  find  a 
friend  and  brother  in  every  holy  being.  And  the  covenant  that 
binds  the  believer  to  God  is  everlasting.  He  never  will  be  permit- 
ted to  act  so  as  to  forget  the  privileges  of  that  holy  alliance  that 
binds  him  to  the  whole  family  of  pure  beings. 

Now  as  among  men  it  uniformly  attaches  respectability  and 
worth  to  one  who  can  boast  of  high  and  honorable  alliances,  so  the 
believer  is  entitled  to  whatever  excellence  may  accrue  to  him  from 
his  union  to  the  Creator,  the  Redeemer,  and  the  Sanctilier,  and  to 
the  members  of  that  holy  family  who  shall  at  last  gather  about  the 
throne  and  be  seated  at  the  supper  of  the  Lamb.  It  is  impossible 
not  to  derive  worth,  and  honor,  and  beauty,  from  an  intercourse  so 
free,  and  a  sympatny  so  endearing  as  that  which  is  the  happy  des- 
tiny of  the  believer. 


7-16  THE    INFALLIBLE    COMPAKISON. 

Now  the  unbeliever,  however  high  may  be  his  views  of  himse.f. 
and  however  shielded  he  may  be  in  his  own  self-importance,  and 
self-este<  m,  and  self-respect,  can  boast  of  no  such  high  and  holy 
alliances.  Said  our  Lord  to  a  company  of  unbelievers,  and  through 
them  to  all  others,  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil,  and  the  lusts 
of  your  father  ye  will  do.  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning. 
Thus  the  sinner  may  claim  his  descent  or  rather  may  avow  his 
adoption  by  a  father  who  has  lost  his  character  with  heaven,  and 
has  sunk  to  unspeakable  ignominy,  and  must  own  as  his  brethren 
none  but  the  outcasts  of  the  moral  world. 

True,  Hod  was  his  Creator,  and  will  ever  have  a  right  to  his  ser 
vice,  but  he  has  sold  himself  to  commit  iniquity,  and  has  become 
the  servant  of  sin ;  has  forfeited  all  relationship  to  heaven  and  to 
all  holy  beings,  and  can  derive  no  honor  from  any  single  alliance 
by  which  he  is  bound.  The  only  covenant  that  holds  him  is  a 
covenant  with  death,  and  from  this  union  there  attaches  nothing 
to  him  but  disgrace  and  infamy. 

IV.  He  is  more  excellent,  inasmuch  as  he  has  better  enjoyments.  He 
has  a  relish  for  higher  pleasures.  The  unsanctified  man  extends 
his  views  to  no  objects  but  such  as  are  seen  and  temporal.  His 
best  treasures  are  all  perishable  objects,  objects  which  moths  can 
eat,  and  rust  corrupt,  and  thieves  plunder.  There  is  not  an  object 
on  which  in1  has  set  his  heart  that  will  be  within  his  reach  the  first 
moment  when  he  has  quit  the  body,  not  one  that  will  survive  the 
ruins  of  the  last  day.  And  the  objects  he  loves  are  as  poor  as 
they  are  perishing.  While  they  abide  they  can  furnish  to  their 
adorer  but  a  poor,  and  scanty,  and  mean,  and  dying  pleasure.  He 
feels  amid  their  highest  enjoyments  a  distressing  deficiency  of 
happiness,  and  is  a  stranger  to  what  deserves  the  name  of  enjoy- 
ment. 

But  the  good  man  sets  his  heart  on  objects   which   are,  in   their 
nature,  grand  and  imperishable.     These  objects  are    God    and   his 
kingdom.     And    the   joy   they    yield   him    is  solid  and  substantial. 
They  lie  beyond  the  influence  of  vicissitude,  are  of  an  unchanging 
nature,  and  will  be  equally  within  his  reach    when   he    is   dead   a 
while  living.     Hence  he  is  said  to  have  a  joy  with  which  ihe  s'.rnr. 
yer  intermeddleth  not.     As  neither  moth,  nor  rust,  nor  robber  ca 
touch  his  treasures,    so  nothing   can   diminish    the  joj    they  yiel'j 
him.      Hence  he  is  prepared    to   meet,  without   horror   or   despair, 
those  calamities  which  ruin,  for  ever,  the  man  who  has  deposited 
all  his  treasures  on  earth.     He  can  say:    "Although   the   fig  tree 


THE    INFALLIBLE    COMPARISON.  747 

shah  not  blossom,  neither  shall  fruit  be  in  the  vine  ;  the  labor  of 
the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the  fields  shall  yield  no  meat ;  the  flock 
shall  be  cut  off  from  the  fold,  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the 
stalls,  yet  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my 
salvation."  "  When  flesh  and  heart  fail  him,  God  is  the  strength 
of  his  heart,  and  his  portion  for  ever."  And  what  a  worth  do  such 
rich  enjoyments  attach  to  their  possessor!  His  vast  capacity  of 
happiness  is  partially  filled.  He  not  only  lasts,  but  lives — and  the 
life  he  lives  bears  some  relation  to  the  blessedness  of  heaven. 
Hence  the  righteous  is  more  excellent  than  his  neighbor. 

V.  He  entertains  richer  hopes.  Give  the  impenitent  all  they  hope 
for,  and  their  enjoyments  would  be  poor.  They  can  hope  for  no 
enjoyments,  entirely  distinct  in  their  nature,  from  any  they  have 
ever  felt.  Hence  their  richest  hopes,  even  the  heaven  they  hope 
for,  extends  to  no  other  than  perishing  and  unsatisfying  pleasures. 
Give  them  even  the  full  extent  of  their  wishes,  give  them  the  best 
objects,  and  all  the  objects  they  have  ever  loved,  and  let  the  pos- 
session be  permanent,  and  still  they  would  necessarily  be  poor. 
Their  affections  have  never  extended  to  any  but  material  objects, 
and  of  course  to  none  but  dying  objects. 

But  the  good  man,  while  he  enjoys  at  present  better  pleasures 
than  any  other,  entertains  also  richer  hopes.  The  things  unseen 
attract  his  gaze,  and  he  counts  among  his  choicest  treasures  the 
blessings  that  are  in  reserve  for  him  beyond  the  grave.  He  would 
feel  himself  to  be  poor  if  he  could  fear  that  he  wrere  enjoying  his 
best  things  now.  He  believes,  and  his  "faith  is  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen."  He  is  so  com- 
forted by  the  expectation  of  future  good,  that  he  can  endure  the 
loss  of  all  those  good  things  on  which  the  impenitent  place  their 
supreme  affections.  Hence,  in  the  present  world,  he  becomes  a 
pilgrim  and  a  stranger,  and  seeks  a  city  to  come,  which  hath 
foundation,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.  He  is  not  depend- 
ant on  this  poor  world  for  his  enjoyments,  nor  will  be  ruined  when 
all  its  treasures  shall  be  consumed  in  the  conflagration  of  the  last 
day.  His  hopes,  even  in  the  darkest  hour,  enter  within  the  veil, 
and  he  there  discovers  resources  of  blessedness  that  can  never  be 
exhausted. 

VI.  The  righteous  is  better  than  his  neighbor,  inasmuch  as  he  is  the 
heir  of  a  better  destiny.  The  heirs  of  glory  and  the  children  of 
wrath  resemble  each  other  more  now  than    they  ever    will    hereaf 


748  THE    INFALLIBLE    COMPARISON. 

ter.  When  grace  is  first  implanted,  the  difference  between  the 
good  man  and  the  man  unrenewed,  is  seemingly  very  small. 
From  that  moment  they  diverge  for  ever.  Still,  in  the  pre- 
sent life,  the  difference  will  always  be  comparatively  small 
But  when  the  Christian  shall  heir  his  crown  of  glory,  and  shall  be 
made  a  king  and  a  priest  to  God  and  to  the  Lamb  for  ever,  the 
difference  between  him  and  the  lost  sinner  will  be  infinitely  widen- 
ed. One,  it  is  said,  shall  come  forth  to  everlasting  life,  and  the 
other  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt.  The  one  is  to  have  his 
part  with  devils,  and  the  other  is  to  live,  and  reign,  and  rejoice 
with  angels.  One  is  to  display  in  his  eternal  ruin  the  justice  of  a 
Bin-avenging  God,  while  the  other  is  to  stand  in  heaven  an  imper- 
ishable monument  of  redeeming  grace.  On  the  one  God  will 
frown  forever,  while  on  the  other  he  will  for  ever  smile.  The  one 
will  be  removed  from  his  presence,  and  must  have  his  everlasting 
abode  in  perdition,  while  the  other  will  be  permitted  to  see  his 
face  without  a  veil,  and  beholding  as  in  a  glass  his  glory,  will  be 
changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory. 

If,  then,  the  good  man  does  not  at  present  appear  to  any  very 
great  advantage,  there  comes  a  day  when  he  will.  If  his  present 
deformities  conceal  his  noble  birth,  and  his  present  rags  and 
poverty  hide  his  high  and  holy  destiny,  still  he  will  one  day  break 
from  this  disguise,  and  will  be  clothed  with  the  honor  and  the 
attire  of  a  prince,  and  live  and  reign  with  Christ  for  ever. 

If  at  present  the  righteous  is  more  excellent  than  his  neighbor, 
there  will  come  a  day  when  his  superior  excellence  will  be  seen 
and  acknowledged  by  all  beings,  in  all  worlds.  There  will  come 
a  moment  when  every  deformity  will  forsake  him,  when  every 
blemish  will  be  bleached,  when  every  excellence  of  character  will 
be  illustrated,  when  he  will  awake  in  the  likeness  of  his  Lord,  and 
wear  his  beauties  for  ever.  A  moment  will  arrive  when  such  will 
be  his  character,  and  such  his  condition,  that  angels  will  respect 
him,  and  heaven  do  him  honor 


1.  If  this  subject  should  render  the  believer  proud,  he  has  entirely 
mistaken  its  design.  If  he  has  any  excellence  of  character,  it  is  the 
gift  of  God  ;  or  if  he  has  reached  any  state  of  joy,  entertains  any 
exalted  hopes,  sustains  any  honorable  relationship,  or  is  the  heir 
of  any  high  anil  holy  destiny,  it  is  all  of  grace.  When  heaven  un- 
dertook to  save  him,  be  was  a  beggar  and  a  wretch.  And  he  is 
still  the  degenerate  plant  of  a   strange  vine,  and   should  for  ever 


THE    INFALLIBLE    COMPARISON.  749 

remember  the  rock  from  whence  he  was  hewn,  and  the  ho.'e  of  the 
pit  from  whence  he  was  digged.  If  we  are  believers,  the  subject 
should  make  us  thankful,  but  can  never  render  us  proud.  We  are 
conscious  of  having  been  totally  deformed,  and  must  know  that 
there  remains  still  in  the  heart  a  mass  of  moral  pollution,  exposing 
us  to  ruin,  and  rendering  us  worthy  to  be  sent  into  eternal 
exile  from  the  family  of  God.  And,  if  one  is  finally  saved,  he  is 
to  be  saved  as  a  rebel,  and  is  to  be  made  an  eternal  monument  of 
the  power  and  grace  of  God,  which  can  make  a  beggar  rich,  and 
a  wretch  happy.  And  the  believer,  although  one  day  he  shall  be 
like  his  master,  will  carry  with  him,  through  all  the  year«  of  hea- 
ven, a  deep  and  humiliating  sense  of  his  own  native  defilements, 
and  will  owe  his  redemption  to  the  pardoning  mercy  of  God. 

2.  If  this  subject  should  render  the  sinner  envious,  and  dispose  him 
to  censoriousness  and  detraction  toward  the  character  which  thus  out' 
shines  his  own,  this,  too,  is  the  very  opposite  of  the  effect  it  should  pro- 
duce. It  should  alarm  hirn  to  find  that  he  possesses  deformity  of 
moral  character,  but  it  should  be  his  joy  that  some  of  his  fellow- 
men  have  put  ofF,  in  a  measure,  this  deformity,  and  have  been 
minded  to  favor  with  God  and  with  heaven.  It  is  a  blessing  to 
the  world  that  God  has  sanctified  some  of  its  polluted  population, 
else  this  world  would  be  in  a  double  and  in  a  fearful  sense,  the 
valley  of  death.  God  would  not  hold  that  sun  in  its  orbit,  nor 
would  he  Avater  this  earth  with  his  showers,  did  he,  in  his  survey 
of  its  inhabitants,  see  nothing  but  moral  pollution.  Believers  are 
the  salt  of  the  earth — are  an  honor  to  their  friends,  and  a  blessing 
to  their  enemies.  They  should  be  honored  because  Christ  honors 
them  ;  should  be  loved  because  he  loves  them ;  and  should  be 
treated  kindly,  because  it  is  the  purpose  and  the  promise  of  God 
that  they  shall  be  happy. 


SERMON    LXVI. 

KEPT  OF  GOD. 

DEUTERONOMY    XXXIII.  25. 

Thy  shoes  shall  be  iron  and  Inns- :  and  us  thy  days,  su  shall  thy  strength  be. 

This  is  a  part  of  that  blessing  which  Moses,  the  servant  of  the 
Lord,  at  the  close  of  life,  pronounced  upon  the  tribe  of  Asher. 
That  tribe  had  their  inheritance  in  the  north-western  corner  of 
Palestine,  a  hilly  country,  bordering  upon  the  Mediterranean,  and 
received  a  blessing,  as  did  all  the  other  tribes,  suited  to  the  part  it 
was  to  act,  and  the  station  it  was  to  fill  among  the  thousands  of 
Israel. 

As  the  very  name  signifies  a  blessing,  so  Moses  predicted  to 
him  a  numerous  increase  ;  "  Asher  shall  be  blessed  with  children  ;" 
the  permanent  friendship  of  the  other  tribes.  "  Let  him  be  accept- 
able to  his  brethren;"  and,  it  is  added,  "Let  him  dip  his  foot  in 
oil;"  to  indicate,  probably,  that  his  portion  of  the  land  of  promise 
should  abound  in  the  oil  of  olives. 

\\  hen  it  is  added,  "Thy  shoes  shall  be  iron  and  brass,"  some 
have  supposed  that  Moses  had  allusion  to  the  vast  mines  of  iron 
and  brass  which  abounded  in  this  portion  of  the  land  of  promise. 
and  were  thus  like  shoes  under  their  feet.  This  allusion,  however, 
seems  not  so  natural,  as  to  suppose  the  prediction  to  mean,  That 
as  they  were  to  lia\e  a  mountainous  country,  were  to  travel  in 
rough  roads,  climb  the  craggy  precipice,  and  stand  upon  the  slip- 
pery eminence,  so  they  should  be  shod  accordingly  ;  their  shoes 
should  be  iron  and  brass,  meaning  that  they  should  be  fitted  for 
their  allotment.  If  this  be  the  meaning,  the  same  idea  is  repeated 
in  the  lasl  clause,  "  As  thy  days,  so  shall  thy  strength  be;" — as 
thy  days  thy  strength. 

As  no  Scripture  is  of  private  interpretation,  the  text  may  be  ap- 
plied generally  to  the  Lord's  people,  and  contains  a  promise  that 
they  shall  be  fitted  for  every  allotment  of  Providence  ;  their  feet 
shall  be  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel.  The  text  has 
been  thus  applied  in  all  ages  of  the  Christian  Church.  Seldom 
bas  the  believer  been  brought  into  perplexity  when  he  hasnotgiv- 


KEPT    OF    GOD.  751 

en  utterance  to  this  prayer,  "  As  my  day  is  so  let  my  strength  be." 
And  the  history  01  the  Church  abundantly  assures  us  that  God 
hus  heard  that  prayer,  and  has  granted  his  people  timely  strength. 
This  delightful  thought  I  shall  endeavor  to  illustrate. 

1.  If  God  prosper  his  people  he  will  still  keep  them  humble 
Occasionally  he  prospers  them  in  worldly  things.  He  permits 
them  to  gain  wealth,  and  influence,  and  places  them  in  circumstan- 
ces of  ease  and  independence;  This  appears  to  have  been  the 
case  with  Job,  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  with  Joseph, 
and  Solomon,  and  David,  and  with  others  more  or  less  in  every 
age  of  the  Christian  Church.  It  is,  however,  a  small  minority  of 
the  family  of  believers  who  have  such  an  allotment.  God  does 
not  seem  to  have  viewed  it  as  the  safest  path  to  heaven.  Most  of 
his  people  are  poor,  and  many  of  them  despised  in  the  present 
world,  that  thus  they  may  have  their  minds  supremely  occupied 
with  the  concerns  of  a  better  life. 

But  when' God  prospers  his  people  he  provides  for  their  safety. 
He  ever  plants  some  thorn  in  the  flesh,  sends  some  messenger  of 
Satan  to  buffet  them,  that  thus  they  may  be  kept  mindful  that  the 
present  life  is  not  their  home,  nor  the  present  enjoyments  their 
heaven.  Job,  lest  he  should  be  too  much  elevated,  must  come 
down  from  his  height  and  Jay  in  ashes,  receive  the  reproaches  of 
his  w.fe  and  his  servants,  and  must  lo?e  all  his  children.  Abra- 
ham must  have  in  his  family  a  wild  Ishmael,  and  Isaac  a  pro  fan  ? 
Esau.  Jacob  must  mourn  the  fate  of  his  idolized  Joseph,  and 
must  be  pained  by  the  envy  and  treachery  of  his  other  children. 
David  must  witness  murder  and  rebellion  in  his  own  family,  and 
must  hear  it  said  that  war  should  not  depart  from  his  house.  He 
must  bury  his  Absalom,  and  must  be  forbidden  the  honor  of  build- 
ing the  house  of  the  Lord.  Solomon  must  find  a  rottenness  and  a 
plaarue  in  every  terrestrial  enjoyment,  and  must  write  "vanity"  on 
every  thing  that  is  done  under  the  sun.  And  from  that  day  to  this, 
every  good  man  who  has  been  greatly  prospered,  has  also  been  at 
some  period  of  his  life  greatly  humbled,  or  perhaps  through  the 
whole  course  of  his  elevation  has  experienced  some  mortifying  and 
painful  alloy,  which  like  a  millstone,  bore  him  down  from  his  gid- 
dy and  dangerous  eminence.  An  unpolished  partner,  or  a  vicious 
son,  or  a  sickly  constitution,  or  some  other  unpropitious  circum- 
stance, has  ever  preyed  upon  the  spirits  of  the  prosperous  believ 
er  And  these  mixtures  of  hitter  ingredients  in  his  cup  of  bless- 
ings, have  kept  him  from  selling  his  birthright  for  the  perishing 
«r:d  contemptible  objects  of  sense.     He  was  led  by  these  trials  to 


','52  KEPT    OF    GOD. 

become  sick  of  comforts  so  poor  and  so  coarse,  and  to  kt.ep  hig 
mind  fixed  on  heavenly  things.  Thus  his  strength  was  made 
equal  to  his  day.  When  he  came  to  die,  he  would  quit  the  world 
without  regret.  He  had  found  that  every  earthly  sweet  had  its 
poison,  and  was  prepared  to  cast  an  eye  of  faith  into  that  world 
where  its  pleasures  are  unmixed.  We  have  in  the  history  of  Lot 
a  striking  example  of  God's  faithfulness  to  his  promise.  He  chose 
a  place  of  prosperous  wickedness  as  his  residence,  but  God  di- 
rected that  he  should  come  out  naked  from  his  guilty  retreat.  Lot 
might  have  been  ruined  if  Sodom  had  not  been  burned.  But  when 
he  saw  all  his  treasures  and  all  his  family  perishing  in  the  flames, 
it  waked  him  from  his  worldly  reveries,  and  brought  him  back  to 
duty  and  to  God.  The  whole  of  this  amazing  transaction  said  to 
Lot,  in  a  language  which  he  could  not  mistake,  "  As  thy  days,  so 
shall  thy  strength  be."  No  worldly  prosperity  shall  be  able  to 
subdue  the  fire  of  holy  love  that  I  have  enkindled  in  your  heart, 
or  break  the  everlasting  covenant  that  binds  my  heart  to  your  bet- 
ter interests.     Thus  God's  people  are  humble. 

2.  If  God  afflict  his  people,  he  will  bestow  those  comforts 
which  will  keep  them  happy,  and  make  them  thankful.  Hope  is  a 
grace  which  God  is  as  much  resolved  to  cherish  in  his  people  as 
humility.  Hence,  if  he  pain  them,  he  is  sure  to  preserve  them  from 
despair.  While  there  is  the  deep  conviction  that  his  strokes  are 
fewer  than  their  crimes,  and  lighter  than  their  guilt,  there  is  too 
clear  discovery  of  a  parental  hand  which  wields  the  rod,  and  a  pa- 
rental eye  which  smiles  through  every  cloud  that  covers  them. 

Perhaps  their  lot  is  poverty.  They  are  pressed  all  their  days  by 
the  iron  hand  of  indigence.  At  times  they  know  not  how  their 
wants  are  ever  to  be  supplied,  how  they  shall  obtain  their  bread 
and  their  raiment.  There  is  consequent  upon  their  poverty  a  loss 
of  influence,  and  in  the  view  of  men  a  degradation  of  character 
that  prevents  their  usefulness,  and  contracts  their  benevolent  exer- 
tions. But  the  promise  is  that  their  strength  shall  correspond  to 
their  day — hence,  in  fulfilling  this  promise,  God  will  keep  them 
from  all  the  moral  evils  incident  to  a  state  of  penury.  God  will 
make  them  so  afraid  of  sin  as  to  keep  them  from  coveting  the  pains 
of  dishonesty.  He  will  adapt  their  appetite  to  the  coarsenesss  of 
their  provisions.  He  will  give  them  to  see  his  hand  in  the  supply 
of  their  wants.  Their  faith  will  he  strengthened  by  their  daily  ex- 
perience,  and  they  will  find  it  as  pleasant  to  receive  their  daily 
bread  at  the  hand  of  God,  as  to  be  able  to  draw  upon  the  treasury 
of  their   own.      They    are   exonerated    from    those    cares    which 


KEPT    OF    GOD.  753 

would  otherwise  intrude  upon  their   seasons   of  devotion,   and  re- 
tard the  growth  of  grace.     They  will  not   be  permitted   to   doubl 
the  superintendence  of  pivine  Providence,    because  God   permits 
his  children  to  be  poor.     Their  estimation  of  heaven  will  inc 
as  thej-  find  that  they  are  to  have  but   few   enjoyments   here.     -At 
death  there  will  be  but  few  ties  to  be  sundered.     Their   interest   is 
all  above.     Thus  as  their  day  is  so  is  their  strength.    And  the 
1  have  now  described  is  not  rare.     Thus  many  a  child  of  poverty, 
while  to  others  lie  may  seem  wretched,  is  passing  on  to  heaven. 
with  iron  and  brass,  and  strong  to  pursue  his  pilgrimage.     He  will 
bring  to  the  employments  of  heaven  a  nobler  mind,  and   to  its  en- 
joyments a  more  enlarged  capacity  than  many,  who  may  think  his 
lot  hard,  and  his  life  a  burden. 

There  is  often  connected  with  poverty  a  scene  of  toil  and  endur- 
ance. The  pilgrimage  is  rough  and  unpleasant.  The  spirits  are 
jaded  with  the  fatigue  requisite  to  feed  and  clothe  the  dying  body. 
The  mind  is  in  such  instances  often  unfitted  for  its  heavenly  em- 
ployment. It  seems  grievous,  that  a  spirit  born  from  above  should 
be  retarded  in  its  homeward  course  by  cares  and  pains  too  mean 
fur  its  powers.  But  the  promise  must  meet  this  case  too.  These 
toils  render  rest  more  sweet,  and  the  hope  of  an  endless  rest  in- 
valuably rich  and  sweet.  The  Sabbath  is  a  welcome  day  ;  and  the 
return  of  evening  brings  with  it  a  pleasure  to  which  the  idle  and 
the  voluptuous  and  independent  have  no  claim.  The  toils  i 
body  subdue  and  tame  the  unhallowed  passions  ;  and  we  have  seen 
often  the  strongest  confidence  in  God,  and  the  wannest  grati- 
tude, where  it  would  seem  the  prospect  must  be  profoundly  dark, 
and  the  enjoyments  few  and  small.  One  who  has  seen  the  old  pil- 
grim, covered  with  a  coarse  and  homely  garb,  and  rising  from  his 
scanty  meal,  to  pour  forth  his  praise  into  the  ear  of  his  Maker,  will 
never  have  a  doubt,  but  that  even  in  his  condition,  the  promise  of 
the  text  is  all  fulfilled.  He  toils  hard,  and  would  sometimes  faint 
in  his  course,  were  not  his  feet  covered  with  iron  and  brass,  and  his 
strength  equal  to  his  days. 

But  there  is  another  scene  in  which  it  would  seem  that  the  pro- 
mise fails.  Some  who  are  on  their  way  to  a  better  land,  are  af- 
flicted with  disease.  Weakness,  instead  of  strength,  would  seem 
to  be  their  characteristic  feature.  If  any  thing  escapes  them  but 
sighs  and  complaints,  it  seems  incongruous.  Life  is  filled  up  with 
pain  and  tears.  And  still  in  this  very  case,  the  promise  may  be 
verified.  One  may  be  weak  in  body,  and  yet  strong  in  the  Lord, 
and  in   t lie  power  of  his   might.     Patience   must   have   its  perfect 


754  KEPT    OF    GOD 

work.  We  rise  as  high  in  the  scale  of  Christian  character,  when 
\vc  cheerfully  suffer  the  will  of  God,  as  when  we  laboriously  do  his 
will.  And  if  God  bestow  a  submissive  mind,  and  a  spirit  of  pa- 
tient endurance,  he  renders  our  strength  equal  to  our  day. 

When  the  affliction  is  not  personal,  but  falls  upon  our  family  and 
friends,  we  need,  as  much  as  in  any  other  case,  the  support  of  this 
promise,  and  may  expect  its  fulfilment.  Believers  have  often 
feared  that  they  should  not  be  willing  to  see  their  friends  die  ;  and 
have  looked  forward  to  the  parting  scene  with  a  fearful  and  hor- 
rid interest.  In  prospect,  their  own  dissolution  could  not  awaken 
a  more  agonizing  sensation.  Every  fibre  of  the  heart  was  tortured  ; 
and  every  earthly,  and  perhaps  every  heavenly  comfort,  lost  its 
sweetness.  But  when  the  trying  hour  came,  the  promise  was  ful- 
filled, and  the  heart  yielded  its  beloved  object  into  the  hands  of 
Him  who  was  still  more  beloved.  The  language  was,  "  The  Lord 
gave,  and  the  Lord  has  taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord  !"  Parents  have  parted  with  an  only  child,  without  uttering 
a  single  complaint.  I  recollect  a  statement  like  this:  A  father 
was  watching  by  the  sick  bed  of  an  only  son.  It  was  seen  that 
his  soul  was  troubled,  and  that  he  often  retired  to  pray,  but  ap- 
peared to  return  to  the  dying  bed  in  the  same  state  of  mental 
agony  as  when  he  retired.  At  length  there  was  seen  upon  his  face 
a  placid  smile,  and  on  being  asked  the  cause,  he  replied,  "  0  that 
I  had  just  so  dear  a  son  to  give  up  to  God  every  day!"  Another, 
who  had  experienced  one  stroke  after  another,  till  it  was  feared  he 
would  go  into  distraction,  was  at  length  heard  to  say,  "The  Lord 
intends  to  have  my  ichoh  heart  and  he  shall."  But  cases  like  these 
are  not  uncommon.  God  has  only  to  smile  upon  his  people,  and 
they  are  too  happy  in  him  to  mind  any  other  friend.  They  see  in 
him  all  that  they  desire,  and  are  as  happy  as  they  could  wish.  The 
loss  of  earthly  friends  does  but  disengage  the  heart,  and  prepare 
it  to  enoross  all  its  energies  in  loving  that  friend  which  sticketh 
closer  than  a  brother.  Thus  David  mourned  till  his  child  was 
dead  :  lie  then  wiped,  away  his  tears,  and  sat  down  to  eat  bread 
To  the  best  possible  advantage  have  we  seen  the  Christian  through 
the  tears  that  bedewed  the  corpse  of  a  beloved  friend.  It  was  then 
that  he  needed  the  presence  of  his  Master  and  his  Lord,  and  then 
his  promised  presence  was  granted.  He  had  no  complaint  to 
to  utter.  God  had  done  all  things  well.  He  had  bestowed  im- 
measurable merges.  The  affliction  was  lighter  than  had  been  de- 
served.    Cod  ntio-ht  take  what  he  had  given.     If  a  murmur  began 


KEPT    OF    GOD.  755 

to  be  uttered,  this  sentiment  stilled  it:  "It  is  of  the  Lord's  mer- 
cies that  we  «re  not  consumed." 

And  when  the  good  man  approaches  the  period  of  his  own  dis- 
solution, he  finds  that  he  has  trusted  in  a  faithful  God,  who  will 
permit  nothing  to  fail  of  all  the  gracious  things  he  has  spoken. 
He  had  feared  the  hour  that  should  close  his  probation,  and  had 
been  through  much  of  his  life  subject  to  bondage,  through  fear  of 
death.  But  as  the  hour  comes,  the  world  which  had  allured  him 
loses  all  its  enchanting  power,  and  heaven  opens  him  an  avenue 
to  its  glories,  by  which  he  becomes  attracted  in  a  new  direction, 
and  can  without  a  sigh,  let  go  his  grasp  of  every  thing  below  the 
sun.  He  had  read,  "  When  thou  passest  through  the  waters, 
I  will  be  with  thee,  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow 
thee,"  and  he  now  finds  the  promise  true.  His  whole  life  had  been 
like  one  stormy  and  dismal  night,  but  the  clouds  break,  and  the 
darkness  is  dispersed,  as  he  approaches  the  haven  of  rest.  As 
flesh  and  heart  fail  him,  God  becomes  the  strength  of  his  heart  and 
his  portion  for  ever.  To  live  was  Christ,  but  to  die  is  gain.  The 
fact  is  beyond  controversy,  that  most  of  those  who  honor  Christ 
in  their  life,  enjoy  his  presence  in  death,  find  their  strength  equal 
their  conflict  in  that  last  and  dreadful  hour. 

But  there  sometimes  comes  a  trial  from  men  harder  to  bear 
than  the  pains  inflicted  by  the  immediate  hand  of  God.  And  this 
is  a  case  when  the  believer  needs  the  fulfilment  of  the  promises. 
He  may  not  feel  that  he  deserves  to  suffer  at  their  hands.  He 
may  be  conscious  of  wishing  to  promote  their  interest,  while  they 
injure  him  ;  and  may  feel  that  he  has  deserved  of  them  a  kinder 
treatment.  Perhaps  he  has  been  their  benefactor,  and  has  waked 
their  envy  by  attempts  to  promote  their  best  interest.  Here  there 
is  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  the  best  affections,  meekness, 
patience,  submission,  and  a  spirit  of  forgiveness.  These  affections 
of  the  heart,  as  well  as  every  other  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  must  he  cul- 
tivated. And  it  cannot  admit  a  doubt  but  that  God  places  his 
people  in  those  circumstances  where  the  Christian  character  may 
be  matured  to  the  best  advantage,  in  which  circumstances  should 
they  not  be  prepared  for  their  trials,  they  would  but  dishonor  thc!r 
Lord,  and  pierce  themselves  through  with  many  sorrows.  Hence 
the  triumphant  language  of  the  apostles,  in  an  hour  of  sore  and 
distressing  conflict,  "  We  are  troubled  on  every  side,  yet  not  dis- 
tressed ;  we  are  perplexed,  but  not  in  despair  ;  persecuted  but  not 
forsaken;  cast  down,  but  not  destroyed  ;  always  bearing  about  in 
the  body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that   the  life  also  of  Jesus 


7oG  KEPT    OF    GOV. 

might  be  made  manifest  in  onr  mortal  flesh."  It  is  evident  that 
the  apostles  were  happy  in  the  midst  of  their  trials.  As  their 
days  were,  so  God  made  their  strength.  They  were  troubled, 
perplexed,  and  persecuted;  but,  they  were  not  distressed,  nor  for- 
saken, nor  in  despair,  nor  destroyed.  They  bore  in  their  body  ihe 
dying-  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  were  assimilated  to  him  in  his  Bufferings, 
his  griefs,  and  his  tears;  but  the  life  also  of  Jesus  was  made  mani- 
fest in  their  life.  They  exhibited  not  only  the  wounds  and  scars 
by  which  he  was  afflicted  in  the  house  of  his  friends,  but  there 
shone  in  their  conversation  the  meekness,  the  humility,  the  watch- 
fulness, the  heavenly-mindedness,  and  the  prayerfulness  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  Thus  while  in  the  strength  of  Christ,  they  .vere 
strong,  in  his  image  they  were  lovely. 

And  what  was  done  for  the  afflicted  apostles,  God  will  do  for  all 
his  afflicted  people.  No  weapon  formed  against  them  will  prosper. 
In  every  temptation,  he  will  provide  a  way  of  escape.  He  will 
be  with  them  in  six  troubles,  and  in  seven  he  will  not  forsake 
them.  All  things  are  theirs,  "whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Ce- 
phas, or  the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or  things  to 
come;  all  are  yours ;  and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's." 
The  pledge,  which  God,  in  infinite  compassion,  has  given  to  his 
redeemed  family,  that  where  he  has  begun  a  good  work,  he  will 
carry  it  on  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ,  implies  a  regular  and 
constant  supply  of  grace  and  strength,  proportioned  to  the  trials 
with  which  we  meet,  the  conflicts  in  which  we  engage,  and  the 
sufferings  we  are  called  to  endure.  God  has  undertaken  to  bring 
his  people  to  heaven,  their  growth  in  grace  is  a  necessary  prepa- 
ration for  that  state,  and  that  growth  depends  on  a  constant  Divine 
influence.  Hence  he  will  never  leave  them,  he  will  never  forsake 
them.  The  light  which  has  illumined  their  darkness  will  shine 
more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.  They  shall  go  from  strength 
to  strength,  every  one  of  them  appearing  in  Zion  before  God. 

REMARKS. 

1.  How  safe  and  happy  are  the  Lord's  people.  They  are  not 
exempt  from  trials,  but  are  permitted  to  know  that  their  strength 
shall  be  proportioned  to  their  burdens.  They  are  to  be  tempted, 
but  shall  he  kept  from  falling;  are  to  be  afflicted,  but  the  fruit  of 
the  affliction  will  be  to  take  away  sin  ;  they  are  to  bear  a  burdens 
and  wear  a  yoke,  but  that  yoke  shall  he  easy,  and  that  burden 
light  ;  they  are  to  be  scourged,  but  the  strokes  will  be  fewer  than 
their  crimes,  and   lighter   than    their   guilt.     Hence  they   are  the 


KEPT    OF    GOD.  757 

blessed  of  the  Lord.  They  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which 
strengthened  them.  They  are  dear  to  his  heart,  who  governs 
the  world,  who  notices  the  sparrow  and  the  worm,  and  will  not 
suffer  a  hair  of  their  head  to  perish.  They  have  not  yet  arrived 
at  heaven,  but  they  are  sure  to  reach  that  world,  and  live  for  ever 
in  the  presence  of  their  Lord.  And  all  this  blessedness  belongs 
to  the  meanest  disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Not  one  who  has  ever 
possessed  a  heavenly  temper,  will  find  his  conflict  too  severe,  or 
come  short  of  that  rest  that  remains  for  the  people  of  God.  They 
will  be  able  in  their  dying  song  to  tantalize  their  last  enemy,  and 
say,  "0  death!  where  is  thy  sting"?  Oh,  grave !  where  is  thy 
victory  1" 

2.  Their  present  strength  and  courage  do  not  decide  how  they 
shall  appear  in  the  hour  of  conflict,  or  what  shall  be  their  future 
condition.  It  is  absurd  that  the  believer  should  yield  his  hope 
because  he  does  not  find  himself  prepared  for  trials  which  have 
not  yet  come.  He  expects,  in  this  case,  a  mercy  never  promised. 
God  will  prepare  him  when  he  tries  him,  will  give  him  strength 
when  he  calls  him  to  the  onset.  Our  strength  is  not  to  be  greater 
than  our  day,  but  equal.  Should  it  be  greater,  we  should  become 
proud  ;  should  it  be  less,  we  should  be  discouraged.  The  inter- 
positions of  Divine  mercy,  will  exactly  suit  the  exigencies  of  our 
case.  Christians  may  fear  that  they  will  not  be  prepared,  should 
they  be  called  to  this  and  that  affliction,  and  still  may  do  honor  to 
the  Lord  in  the  very  trial.  They  may  tremble  to  contemplate  that 
stroke  which  shall  sunder  them  from  some  beloved  friend,  and 
may  be  all  their  life  time  in  bondage,  through  fear  of  death,  and 
still  may  close  the  eyes  of  that  friend,  and  their  own  eyes,  with 
the  most  entire  composure.  Tender  and  delicate  females  have, 
when  supported  by  the  Divine  presence,  braved  the  terrors  of  a 
crucifix,  and  stood  undaunted,  while  the  fires  were  kindling  to 
consume  them.  I  have  seen  the  widowed  mother  quite  happy, 
while  she  softly  shut  the  eyelids  of  a  dying  son,  on  whom  she  had 
hoped  to  lean  as  the  prop  of  her  old  age,  and  for  whom  she  felt  a 
peculiar  attachment.  I  have  seen  the  father  employed  in  blessing 
the  Lord,  while  the  object  of  his  earthly  hopes,  and  the  only  sup- 
port of  his  name,  lay  amid  the  throes  of  an  agonized  death.  And 
it  happens  with  almost  all  the  Lord's  people,  that  they  quit  the 
world  calm  and  happy.  He  whom  they  serve  in  life  will  not  for- 
sake them  in  death. 

If,  then,  we  find  our  strength  equal  to  our  present  conflicts,  we 
have   nothing  to   feai.       Our  courage   will   kindle    as  the    battle 


758  KEPT    OF    GOD. 

thickens,  and  our  strength  increase  as  we  march  on  to  the  more 
desperate  onset.  If  01  r  present  strength  is  sufficient  for  our  pre- 
sent purpose,  this  is  all  that  God  has  promised,  and  is  enough. 
Here  is  the  test  by  which  we  are  to  try  our  character.  Do  we 
submit  cheerfully  to  present  disappointments,  and  exhibit  a  right 
temper  under  all  the  present  lit:!o  corroding  incidents  of  this  con- 
flictiuo-  world  \  He  who  feels  no  impatience  under  the  aching  of 
a  tooth,  nor  pores  with  regret  over  the  loss  of  a  dollar,  may  hope 
to  exhibit  the  same  submission  and  the  same  patience,  when  he 
feels  the  cold  chill  of  death,  and  parts  with  all  that  he  had  ever 
loved  in  this  world.  We  are  to  live  under  the  same  government 
for  ever ;  and  if  we  can  entirely  approve  of  the  present  Divine 
ministrations,  we  may  rest  assured  that  the  government  of  God 
will  fill  us  with  joy  through  all  future  periods. 


SHORT  SERMONS. 


OR 


OUTLINES    OF  DISCOURSES: 


No.  I. 

THE  SINNER'S  DESPERATE  DEPRAVITY.f 

JEREMIAH    III.   5. 

Behold,  thou  hast  spoken  and  done  evil  things  as  thou  couldest. 

This  passage  evidently  teaches  the  doctrine,  that  men  are  as  de- 
praved as  they  can  be  in  present  circumstances.  The  charge  is  made 
by  the  infinitely  Holy  One,  and  can  be  fully  substantiated  against 
every  member  of  the  unregenerate  family.  The  justice  of  the 
charge  may  appear  from  a  consideration  of  the  following  positions 

I.  That  God  in  his  providence  has  surrounded  the  sinner  with 
many  circumstances  operating  powerfully  to  modify  human 
character. 

II.  That  by  these  circumstances  every  sinner  is  actually  restrain 
ed  in  his  wickedness,  and  held  back  in  his  downward  career. 

III.  That  every  sinner  does  make  the  attempt,  and  succeeds  as 
far  as  God  will  let  him,  to  sunder  these  ligatures  that  would  hold 
him  fast  to  reason,  hope,  and  heaven. 

Among  the  circumstances  which  illustrate  the  first  position,  I 
mention, 

1.  Education.     This   makes  Christendom   differ   from  the  dark 

•The  following  plans  of  sermons,  contain  heads  of  thought,  with  partial  ampli- 
fication, prepared  and  used  by  the  Author  in  extemporaneous  preaching. 

f  This  skeleton  was  taken  by  the  reporter  of  the  Charleston  Observer,  when  de- 
livered by  the  author  in  Charleston,  S.  C. 


7H0  DESPERATE    DEPRAVITY. 

places  of  the  earth,  which  are  full  of  the  haoitations  of  cruelty. 
This  makes  the  same  land  differ  from  what  it  was  while  a  land  of 
idolatry.  This  makes  us  to  differ  from  our  forefathers  when  un- 
der the  superstition  and  tyranny  of  the  Druids.  This  occasions 
the  difference  between  us  and  the  savage  of  the  western  wilds. 
Education,  then,  operates  greatly  in  modifying  character,  and  in 
preventing  men  from  being  as  had  as  they  would  be. 

•2.  Human  law  has  a  similar  effect.  How  near  right,  think  you, 
would  men  be,  if  they  were  not  controlled  by  human  laws  ( 
Look  at  some  country  while  in  a  state  of  anarchy.  Look  at  some 
city  or  village  where  the  influence  of  law  is  suspended.  Look 
at  France,  while  under  the  reign  of  terror,  when  law  was  abro- 
gated, and  see  one  company  after  another  pass  under  the  guillo- 
tine ;  and  the  executioners  of  to-day  the  victims  of  to-morrow  ; 
and,  tell  us,  is  not  character  greatly  modified  by  municipal  law  1 

3.  By  the  law  of  God.  if  men  have  no  other  belief  in  it,  but 
that  which  may  be  denominated  the  faith  of  history,  it  still  greatly 
modifies  human  character.  Men  have  been  sorry  a  thousand  times 
i hat  God  ever  issued  his  law.  They  have  hated  to  read,  "Thou 
shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me."  They  have  been  sorry  to 
read,  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy  ;"  "Thou  shall 
not  commit  adultery  ;"  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill  5"  "  Thou  shalt  not 
steal,"  &c.  But  men  have  been  in  a  measure  restrained  by  these 
laws,  while  they  have  hat^d  the  Lawgiver,  and  despised  his  statutes. 

4.  The  troublesome  supervision  of  conscience  has  greatly  modi- 
fied human  character.  This  everlasting  censorship,  while  it  has 
held  men  back  from  sin,  has  been  hated,  and  warred  against,  and 
scowled  upon,  by  the  whole  human  family. 

5.  The  whole  Gospel, — the  law  drawn  out  into  offensive  inter- 
ference with  the  sinful  pleasures  and  follies  of  men,  has  modified 
human  character  beyond  all  calculation.  It  so  commends  itself  to 
their  reason,  and  applies  such  power  to  their  consciences,  that  it 
becomes  exceedingly  difficult  to  withstand  it.  It  is  so  tender,  ma- 
jestic, commanding,  and  reasonable,  that  it  for  a  time  melts  and 
overawes  many  who  ultimately  reject  its  provisions. 

6.  All  the  Gospel  institutions — the  Sabbath,  the  sanctuary,  the 
church-going  hell,  the  Lord's  supper,  the  ordinance  of  baptism, 
every  thing  associated  with  Christian  worship,  operates  in  modifying 
human  character,  and  rendering  it  in  appearance,  better  than  it  is. 

7.  The  desire  of  heaven  has  the  same  effect.  None,  perhaps, 
are  so  abandoned  as  not  to  hope  that  they  may,  after  all,  live  and 
be  happy  after  death.     The  bare  possibility  that  they   shall   reach 


DESPERATE    DEPRAVITY^  761 

heaven,  and  wish  to  unite  in  the  song  of  redemption,  prevents  them 
from  being  as  wicked  as  they  would  be.  This  operates  as  a  pow- 
erful restraint,  and  helps  greatly   to   modify  character. 

8.  The  fear  of  hell,  also,  holds  back  many  from  the  commission 
of  crime.  Men  are  afraid  that  what  they  have  heard  respecting 
hell  is  true.  Though  the  subject  often  excites  their  unhallowed 
mirth,  it  is  a  mirth  which  has  its  misgivings.  Their  very  laugh- 
ter betrays  their  fears.  And  though  they  trifle  with  the  thought 
of  everlasting  burnings,  it  is  with  the  manifest  design  of  keeping 
their  courage  up.  The  fear  of  hell  thus  operates  in  modifying  the 
character,  perhaps  even  of  the  most  worldly. 

9.  The  expectation  of  a  judgment  has  the  same  effect.  They 
have  some  apprehension  that  they  may  be  called  to  answer  at  the 
bar  of  God  for  their  deeds  on  earth.  They  have  "a  fearful  look- 
ing for"  of  this  dread  reality.  They  think  it  may  be  true  that  God 
will  bring  them  into  judgment,  for  every  work,  whether  it  be  good 
or  evil,  and  apportion  his  awards  accordingly.  And  hence,  this 
apprehension  serves  as  a  wonderful  restraint  upon  their  character. 

10.  Public  sentiment  is  a  great  preventive  of  crime.  Men  are 
so  constituted  as  to  be  obliged  to  respect  public  sentiment.  They 
cannot  endure  the  indignation  of  a  whole  community  ;  and  public 
sentiment  in  Christian  lands  favors  virtue,  and  frowns  on  vice.  The 
assassin  is  thus  disarmed— the  thief  becomes  honest — the  swindler 
pays  his  debts — because  public  sentiment  compels  him.  No  one 
has  daring  enough  to  be  utterly  indifferent  to  the  good  opinion  of 
all  his  acquaintance)  and  character  is  thus  greatly  modified. 

11.  The  domestic  affection  produce  the  same  result.  The  silk- 
en cords  which  entwine  around  the  family  circle,  prevent  the  com 
mission  of  many  a  crime.  The  father,  the  husband,  the  mother, 
the  wife,  the  son,  the  brother,  the  daughter,  the  sister— all  the  en- 
deared relations  which  the  members  of  a  family  sustain  to  each 
other,  and  which  are  strengthened  every  day,  operate  greatly  in 
the  formation  of  character.  How  many  a  son  has  been  saved 
from  rum,  through  the  affection  which  he  bore  to  his  mother  I 
How  often  has  a  sister's  entreaties  tamed  the  ferocious  spirit  of  a 
brother,  and  rendered  it  yielding  and  lovely. 

Thus  we  see  how  curbed  men  often  are,  while  in  their  native 
state.  This  world,  then,  is  in  disguise.  God,  who  only  knows 
the  full  influence  of  these  modifying  circumstances,  knows  what 
is  in  man.  Therefore,  when  he  looks  down  from  heaven,  he  still 
pronounces  "  the   whole   head   sick   and  the   whole   heart,  faint," 


762  PESPETCATE    DEPRAVITV. 

"every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  evil,"  specious  appearances  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

Thus  wo  have  recounted  some  of  the  circumstances  which  mo- 
dify ihe  human  character.  These  are,  indeed,  of  vast  importance. 
They  result  in  what  we  term  civility,  good  morals,  &c. — all  bearing 
kindly  upon  the  present  condition  of  man.  They  all  speak  the 
wis  loin  and  kindness  of  God, — they  are  so  many  golden  chains 
let  down  to  earth,  to  modify  its  moral  corruptions.  God  is  good 
in  every  such  ligature,  by  which  he  holds  men  within  t.he  reach  of 
that  blessed  influence,  which  can  sanctify  and  make  them  meet  to 
be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  We  ought, 
then,  to  thank  God  for  these  modifying  circumstances,  and  pray 
that  he  would  put  these  chains  all  on,  and  keep  them  on,  till  even 
the  vilest  and  most  obdurate  shall  yield  to  his  infinite  love.  We 
ought  to  view  men  in  more  hopeful  circumstances,  in  proportion 
as  God  shall  hold  them  by  these  moral  bonds.  For,  while  a  young 
man  respects  the  Sabbath,  and  is  obedient  to  his  parents,  there  is 
more  hope  of  him  than  afterwards.  While  he  is  afraid  to  swear, 
we  may  hope  that  he  will  begin  to  pray.  While  he  dare  not  avow 
open  infidelity,  we  may  hope,  if  we  do  our  duty,  that  he  will  yet 
believe  revealed  truth,  to  the  saving  of  his  soul. 

II.  By  these  circumstances  every  sinner  is  actually  restrained 
in  his  wickedness,  and  held  back  in  his  downward  career.  In  proof 
of  which,  we  observe, 

1.  Men  are  uneasy  under  these  circumstances,  which  shows 
them  to  be  restraints.  Let  men  be  unrestrained,  and  they  will  he 
easy.  It  is  only  pain  of  some  kind  that  renders  them  uneasy,  and 
willing  to  change  their  position.  Hence  they  will  not  come  to 
the  light,  lest  their  deeds  should  be  reproved. 

2.  Men  are  constantly  trying  to  alter  their  circumstances.  But 
they  are  too  indolent  by  nature  to  try  to  alter  their  circumstances, 
unless  they  are  circumstances  of  restraint. 

So,  when  a  raging  fever  burns. 

They  shift  from  side  to  side  by  turns; 

And  'tis  a  poor  relief  they  gain, 

To  change  the  place,  but  keep  the  pain. 

3.  When  men  at  length  alter  their  circumstances  in  any  of  these 
respects,  they  often  show  out  a  worse  character;  manifesting 
what  they  would  have  been  before,  if  they  might,  if  these  restraints: 
had  been  sundered    and  they  let  loose  upon  the  world. 


DESPERATE    DEPRAVITY.  7G3 

4.  When  these  restraints  are  all  removed,  men  are  uniformly 
far  more  wicked  than  if  they  had  not  been  imposed.  All  will 
admit  this.  It  is  therefore  manifest,  that  these  circumstances  ope- 
rate powerfully  in  restraining  men  from  a  career  of  sin  and  ruin. 
Even  in  the  Church  itself,  there  are  vast  multitudes  who  become 
apostates,  because  their  apparent  goodness  was  made  up  by  such 
restraints  :  they  had  really  no  concern  for  the  glory  of  God,  and 
were  not  religious  because  they  loved  religion.  Beware,  then, 
1  st  you  be  left  to  fall  away  from  your  supposed  faith,  and  hurry 
on  to  destruction.  Not  only  should  professors  fear,  but  the  im- 
penitent also  should  fear  and  tremble  ;  because  God  holds  them  as 
accountable  beings,  completely  in  his  power;  and  in  kindness,  for 
a  time,  lets  down  ten  thousand  restraints  upon  them.  God  noAv 
controls  the  madness  of  his  enemies.  He  puts  his  hook  in  their 
nose,  and  his  bridle  in  their  lips;  binds  them  with  his  restraints, 
and  holds  them,  perhaps,  in  apparent  subjection.  In  this  the  cha- 
racter of  hypocrites  and  unbelievers  is  distinguished  from  the  truly 
religious.  Their  wickedness  is  merely  suppressed,  not  subdued  : 
their  amiable  appearances  are  produced  by  restraining  providence, 
not  by  converting  grace.  The  heart  of  the  real  Christian  is  not 
suppressed,  but  radically  changed.  The  grace  of  God  has  trans- 
formed the  tiger  into  a  lamb,  and  the  wolf  into  a  kid.  The  Chris- 
tian abandons  sin  because  he  hates  it,  and  follows  after  holiness 
because  he  lovres  it.  This  constitutes  the  beauty  of  the  Christian 
character,  and  this  the  distinguishing  glory  of  heaven.  There  will 
be  there  no  restraint  but  love.  The  whole  population  will  love  to 
do  right ;  and  impelled  by  love  alone,  will  employ,  in  doing  right, 
their  energies  for  ever.  On  the  other  hand,  as  the  character  of 
the  wicked  is  here  varied  and  modified  by  restraints,  God  will 
only  need  to  take  off  those  moral  ligatures,  and  substitute  the 
everlasting  chains  of  darkness,  to  surround  them  with  the  horrors 
of  hell.  The  exceeding  baseness  of  the  wicked  appears  in  this — 
that  all  these  powerful  restraints  are  required  to  hold  them  fast  in 
mercy,  and  prevent  them  from  doing  worse  ;  and  the  horror  of 
hell  in  this — that  all  its  population  will  love  to  do  wrong,  and  in 
wrath  be  let  loose  to  do  it,  so  far  as  they  can  amidst  fetters  which 
will  hold  fast  only  to  gall,  and  chains  which  will  confine  only  to 
burn.  How  amazing,  in  view  of  all  these  considerations,  is  the 
operation  of  these  providential  circumstances  in  restraining  the 
career  of  the  wicked  !  We  arc  thus  prepared  to  consider  the  re- 
maining position,  viz.: 


764 


DESPERATE    DEPRAVITY. 


III.  That  every  sinner  does  make  the  attempt,  and  succeeds  as 
far  as  God  will  let  him,  to  sunder  these  ligatures  that  would  hold 
him  fast  to  reason,  hope,  and  heaven. 

One  would  think  that  a  sinner  would  not  wish  to  have  these 
kindly  ligatures  sundered.  Where  may  he  wander,  or  rather 
where  may  he  not  wander,  and  against  what  rock  may  he  not 
dash,  and  into  what  bottomless  vortex  may  he  not  plunge  with  all 
his  interests,  and  perish  with  his  all,  when  he  shall  have  thrown  off 
the  fastenings  that  hold  him  to  the  throne  of  the  Eternal  1  While 
we  go  the  ground  over,  and  see  how  he  raves,  and  rages,  and 
flounces  like  a  bull  in  the  net,  and  would  break  loose  from  God, 
if  he  might,  whatever  be  the  probable  result  upon  himself,  and  his 
hopes,  and  his  family,  and  his  character,  and  whatever  the  rela- 
tionship he  must  sunder,  we  are  amazed  at  every  step  of  the  ex- 
periment, and  we  are  amazed  at  the  result,  and  at  the  blindness  of 
the  immortal  bung  that  is  in  a  measure  let  loose  to  try  his  skill 
in  the  awful  experiment,  till  God  gives  him  up  to  hardness  of  heart 
and  blindness  of  mind,  and  leaves  him  a  prey  to  himself,  and  he 
is  destroyed  in  his  own  waywardness.  Let  us,  then,  trace  his 
steps,  and  see  his  ravings : 

1.  See  how  he  breaks  over  and  breaks  through  the  restraints  of 
education.  He  tries  to  throw  off  what  he  knew  of  God,  and  all  he 
had  learned  of  the  Savior,  and  of  the  operations  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  all  he  had  learned  of  the  operations  of  the  Godhead,  in  the 
history  of  the  Church.  And  when  he  cannot  forget,  he  raves  at  his 
own  recollections,  and  madly  reproaches  the  mind  that  cannot  forget, 
and  will  not  retrace  and  throw  off  what  it  is  now  to  him  a  burden 
and  curse  to  recollect.  But  the  Bible  rushes  upon  his  unholy 
mind  with  the  vividness  of  a  new,  and  fresh,  and  hated  story.  O, 
that  he  had  never  read  that  book  !  he  cries;  that  his  mother  had 
not  furnished  him  a  Bible  when  he  left  his  home,  or  had  not  made 
him  promise  to  read  it  every  day!  But  if  in  his  senses  he  may 
not  forget,  perhaps  he  may  induce  God  to  put  out  his  mind,  and 
destroy  the  powers  of  recollection.  And  this  is  now  the  only 
prayer  he  makes,  and  the  only  thing  he  cares  for.  In  the  mean 
time,  he  hates  the  very  lessons  that  he  learned  in  school,  and 
would  tread  them  all  down  as  one  does  the  worthless  weeds  that 
are  overgrowing  his  path  in  a  garden.     But, 

J.  When  he  has  tried  for  a  time,  but  has  tried  in  vain,  to  retrace 
the  process  of  education,  he  finds  himself  reined  in  by  hum  an  laws. 
If  he  cannot  forget  God,  perhaps  he  can  snap  asunder  the  power 
of  human  control.     Man  cannot  be  omniscient.     He  can  evade  all 


DESPERATE    DEPRAVITY.  765 

lie  can  rise  above  the   law,  and  tread   it  down  like 
the  mire  of  *he  street.     Or  he  can  violate  its  precepts  and  despise 
its  regulations,  and  hold  on  and  hold  out  in  despite  of  all  its  sanc- 
tions, presuming  in  his  heart  that  God  will  not  know,  neither  will 
the  Almighty  consider  it.     If  the  law  does  say,   "  Thou  shalt  not 
^  iplate  the   rest  of   the   Sabbath,"  he  can  drink   and   carouse,  or 
lounge  and  loiter,  and  the  world  will  only  esteem  him  the  better, 
especially  if  he  add  generosity  and   liberality  to  his  infidelity  and 
to  his  deeds  of  daring  and  outrage.     He  may  violate  any  law  that 
lays  its  restraints  on  this  side   of  the  judgment.     Perhaps  there 
may  come  no  day  of  hated  and   holy  retribution,  and  then  he  can 
have  the  infernal  satisfaction  of  laughing  at  the  Christians.     If  the 
failure  of  the  Divine  promise  of  such  a  day  should  ruin  the  world, 
it  will  not,  as   he   conceives,  ruin  him.     He  would  be  willing  that 
no   such  appointment   should  be  fulfilled,  even  though  the  failure 
should  tarnish  for  ever  the  character  of  Jehovah.     If  the  law  does 
say,  "Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,"  if  he  can  violate    it,  and 
the  crime  be  hid,  and  no   human  tribunal  take  coonizance  of  the 
deed,   he   cares  not  for  the   law.     He   cares  not  what   misery  his 
iniquities  occasion,  if  his  deeds  do  not  break    into   open  daylight. 
U  it  break  the  heart  of  a  mother,  and  if  a  father  writhe  under  the 
agony  of  a  ruined   son,  he  does  not  care  for  the   tears  of  that 
mother,  nor  the  agonies  of  that  father.     The  deed  he  litis  done  he 
does  not.  intend  shall  come  to  light,  in  the  present  life,  and  lie  can 
easily  bring  himself  to  care  for  nothing  beyond.     Thus  he  throws 
ofl*  nearly  all  the    restraints   of  human   law,  and  contents  himself 
with  the  purpose   never  to  commit  murder,  or  theft,  or  any  crime 
that  would  draw  him  out  to  the  light.       Thus  he  blesses  himself  in 
his  own  delusion,  and  trusts  for  safety  in    his  own    righteousm 
But  he  meets  with  more  disturbance  yet. 

3.  From  the  law  of  God.  Impenitent  and  unbelieving,  he  has 
read  in  that  law  what,  if  he  cannot  put  down,  he  is  a  ruined  man  : 
"  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me."  Thus  is  dashed,  al 
the  first  stroke,  the  whole  fabric  of  a  dark  and  fatal  idolatry.  If 
man  worships  his  money,  or  his  merchandize,  or  his  farm,  or  his 
friend,  or  any  thing  but  God,  or  gives  any  thing  else  his  supreme 
affection,  even  if  lie  does  not  professedly  worship  it,  he  is  con 
.  demned  of  God.  And  he  adds,  "Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  c 
the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain."  But  how  unfashionable  it  would  be 
to  care  about  this  commandment,  and  let  the  apprehension  that 
GrO(I "  will  not  hold  him  guiltle  t  thai  taketh  his  name  in  vain,'" 
pro  luce  a  serious  moment,  or  a  pang  of  distress  !      It    is  so  noble 


7G6  DESPERATE    DEPRAVITY. 

not  to  care  about  God,  or  what  God  can  say,  or  do,  and  it  would 
be  so  cowardly,  so  ungentlemanly,  to  be  afraid  to  sin,  that  the 
offender  just  breaks  this  grand  and  controlling  ligature  easier  than 
many  that  would  seem  to  have  no  such  power  to  bind  and  to  re- 
strain. An  erlbrt  not.  so  mighty  as  that  which  sundered  Samson's 
green  withes,  puts  them  all  aside.     But, 

4.  Not  quite  so  easily  does  he  dispose  of  the  troublesome  super- 
vision of  conscience.  This  vicegerent  of  Heaven  stays  often  many 
a  month  after  open  war  is  declared.  It  sometimes  will  hold  close 
conference  with  the  heart,  although  the  heart  may  wish  to  be  alone. 
It  is  that  power  that  will  not  die,  nor  see  corruption.  It  will  not 
go  to  sleep  in  the  grave:  it  will  watch,  even  while  the  wretch  is 
dying,  to  secure  the  honor  of  God,  and  gather  courage  for  a  fresh 
attack  just  by  the  dying  pillow.  And  the  agony  of  its  first  onset 
in  the  unseen  world,  hard  by  the  place  of  dying,  devils  cannot 
know.  For  they  have  never  spurned  a  dying  Savior,  and  they  have 
never  died. 

But  all  the  embrasures  that  can  be  opened  upon  the  soul  by  this 
moral  avenger  must  be  closed,  or  its  eternal  thunders  will  be  heard 
ami  felt.  Yes,  even  here  the  heart  sometimes  says  to  conscience, 
an  to  the  Savior,  "Art  thou  come  to  torment  me  before  the 
time  V  But  it  is  the  conflict  of  desperation,  and,  like  the  mur- 
derer who  came  into  close  and  terrible  embrace  with  the  man 
whose  blood  he  would  spill,  and  was  heard  to  say,  "  You  must  die," 
and  with  that  saying  put  forth  a  thrust  that  forced  the  dagger  to 
his  heart ;  so  in  assailing  conscience,  to  put  down  its  spirit  of  ad- 
monition, it  must  be  assailed  desperately,  and  if  the  victory  cannot 
be  otherwise  secured,  it  must  be  drawn  to  the  crater,  where  the 
wretch  stands  to  torment  himself,  and  to  be  hardened  by  a  view  of 
its  fires;  and  here  may  perhaps  end  the  conflict,  till  it  is  renewed 
again  on  the  other  side  of  time.  Now  there  is  but  little  left  for 
'nner  to  do.  Conscience  has  ceased  its  admonitions.  But 
still  he  lias  ;i  slight  conflict. 

5.  With  the  institutions  of  the  Gospel.     We  noticed   in  his  con 
flicl  with  the  law,  which  spreads  abroad   its  troublesome   interfer- 

with  his  lusts  and  his  pleasures,  how  readily  he  could  con- 
trive to  evade  its  claims.  But  the  Gospel,  like  some  faithful  par 
ty  in  the  field  of  blood,  still  keeps  up  the  chase,  and  deeply  wounds 
at  every  shot.  It  proves  not  so  easy  as  was  apprehended  to  still 
this  avenger  of  justice.  It  pursues  the  sinner  close  through  all  the 
narrow  lane  of  life,  and  even  down  to  the  gfate  of  hell,  unless  sove- 
reign ;  »ose,  or  long  injured  mercy  say,  "Let 


DESPERATE    DEPHAVITY.  7G7 

him  alone.'''1  But  see  the  ungrateful  struggle  of  the  sinner  to  cast 
off  this  fastness  of  heaven — this  Gospel  of  salvation.  Every 
church-going  bell  (ils  his  conscience  with  guilt,  and  each  return  of 
the  day  of  rest  reminds  him  of  the  quiet  of  his  paternal  roof,  where 
a  mother'."  prayers  used  to  be  joined  with  the  Sabbath  day,  in  ren- 
dering the  time  of  rest  too  holy  to  be  endured.  He  must  pervert 
its  holy  design,  or  writhe  and  bleed  under  the  lashes  of  a  guilty 
conscience.  If  he  can  get  some  scene  of  iniquity  open,  to  prevent 
his  soul  from  thinking ;  if  the  theatre  may  be  opened,  or  any  otner 
house  of  death,  or  he  may  sport  himself  with  the  pleasures  of  the 
turf,  and  thus  kill  time,  and  throw  off  this  one  additional  fastness 
of  heaven,  and  put  himself  afloat  upon  the  sea  of  life,  then  he  can 
be  comparatively  happy,  boasting  like  the  school  boy's  kite, — 

See  how  yon  crowd  of  gazing  people 
Jldmire  my  height  above  the  steeple; 
How  would  you  wonder,  did  you  know, 
But  what  a  kite  like  I  can  do  ? 

It  tugged  and  pulled,  while  thus  it  spoke, 

To  break  the  string ;  at  last  it.  broke ; 

Deprived  at  once  cf  all  its  stay, 

In  vain  it  tried  to  soar  away  ; 

Unable  its  own  weight  to  bear, 

It  fluttered  downward  through  the  air; 

Unable  its  own  course  to  guide, 

The  wind  soon  plunged  it  in  the  tide. 

Thus  it  will  not  fail  to  happen  to  the  immortal  being  who  shall 
try  to  do  without  the  Gospel.  He  may  go  off  from  God,  and  de- 
spise the  power  that  would  pull  him  back,  but  he  will  go  to  wander 
amid  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever ! 

Had  I  time,  I  would  go  on  through  the  whole  catalogue  of  re- 
straints, and  show  how,  one  by  one,  the  sinner  wantonly  throws 
them  off.     But  I  can  notice  only  one  or  two  more  particulars. 

6.  The  hardened  sinner  would  dislodge  himself  from  all  thought 
of  heaven  or  fear  of  hell.  And  yet  these  are  very  powerful  liga- 
tures, and  often  the  last  to  be  sundered.  When  men  think  of  re- 
linquishing heaven,  they  sometimes  forget  that  awakening  previous 
question,  "If  I  abandon  the  thought  of  heaven,  where  shall  I  thou 
be  1  What  means  that  worm  which  never  dies  1  What  mean 
those  chains  of  darkness — and  that  gnashing  of  teeth — and  that 
quenchless  fire  1"  Ah  !  when  the  sinner  is  arrested  by  such  ques- 
tions, and  must  answer  them,  and  answer  them,  too,  under  the 
operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  will  find  it  hard  work  to  answer 


7G8  DESPERAVE    DEPRAVITY. 

tliem,  and  sin  on.  The  throes  produced  will  be  like  those  of  the 
second  death  ;  and  whoever  has  tried,  will  not  need  again  to  ask 
what  is  meant  by  the  undying  worm.  That  eternal  separation 
from  the  society  of  the  good,  and  that  imprisonment  with  the  devil 
and  his  angels,  if  it  bites  like  a  serpent  and  stings  like  an  adder, 
when  only  anticipated, — what  will  the  reality  be  1  I  am  scared 
at  my  own  question,  it  will  be  a  death  that  never  dies — a  living 
death  !      But, 

7.  There  is  still  another  thought.  The  sinner  must  have  broken 
through  all  the  restraints  of  public  sentiment,  before  we  can  know 
how  bad  he  would  be;  and  this  ligature  he  tries  to  snap  asunder. 
But  he  will  find  that  public  very  populous,  before  he  gets  through. 
After  he  has  gone  his  round  with  mortals,  and  has  learned  not  to 
care  what  men  think  of  his  conduct,  he  must  cease,  too,  to  care 
what  is  thought  of  his  deeds,  in  heaven.  Those  beings  that  have 
kept  watch  over  his  pillow  by  night,  that  have  warded  off  fire  and 
pestilence,  or  waked  him  in  time  to  flee,  that  have  loved  his  father 
and  mother,  and  love  them  still  in  heaven, — what  will  they  think 
of  the  puny  worm  who  has  brought  himself  to  despise  them,  and 
sport  with  their  opinion.  But  even  this  is  not  all  ;  for  devils,  too, 
have  their  opinion.  And  he  must  cease  to  care  what  they  think  of 
him  in  hell.  And  their  judgment,  remember,  is  not  depraved  like 
their  hearts.  One  might  almost  as  well  attempt  to  silence  the 
opinion  of  heaven  as  of  hell.  The  murmurs  of  that  dark  world 
against  the  man  who  casts  its  burning  sentiments  behind  his  back, 
will  be  like  the  distant  roar  of  a  thousand  cataracts,  or  like  the 
dashing  of  as  many  icebergs  conflicting  with  each  other  in  some 
boundless  polar  sea.     And, 

Finally:  there  yet  remains  to  be  noticed  one  of  the  most  pow- 
erful motives  of  restraint,  the.  domestic  affections.  It  is  impossible 
ess  what  men  would  be,  till  they  throw  off  the  hold,  for 
i  i stance,  that  a  mother  has  upon  a  profligate  son.  We  must 
r  icollect  how  John  Newton  managed,  and  how  miserable  he  was, 
while  a  mother  lived  to  hold  the  cord  entwined  about  his  heart. 
When  '".fry  other  tie  had  been  sundered,  the  mother  kept  hold  of 
him  by  this  ;  when  his  character  was  gone,  when  he  had  de- 
scended to  the  meanness  of  serving  a  black  mistress,  and  of  eating 
his  morsel  from  her  leavings;  when  her  favor  was  life  to  him,  and 
her  frown  filled  him  with  despair,  and  he  had  no  other  friend,  then 
he  remembered  a  mother's  counsels  and  a  mother's  prayers;  and 
then  and  there  •me  his  heart  to  hi--  Savior.  There,  from  Africa's 
dark  soil,  and  from  a  condition  and  character    darker  still,  he   first 


RECIPE    FOE    A    REVIVAL.  709 

lifted  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  began  to  breathe  eternal  life  ;  and 
he  lives  now,  and  sings  redeeming  grace  in  heaven,  and  tells  in 
every  song,  how  hard  it  is  for  a  sinner  to  conflict  with  the  re- 
straints of  infinite  love. 

But  all  these  are  a  part  only  of  the  circumstances,  the  restraints, 
that  goto  modify  human  character;  all  of  which  the  sinner  delibe- 
rately strives  to  neutralize.  And  if  in  nothing  else  has  he  shown  a 
character  bad  as  language  can  describe,  or  actions  prove,  he  has 
given  a  climax  of  the  whole  in  his  attempts  to  sunder  all  such 
ties,  and  cut  himself  loose  from  God,  and  from  the  whole  family 
of  kindly  influences  that  would  save  his  soul  from  death. 

Such  is  the  obstinacy,  the  rebelliousness,  the  ingratitude  of  the 
sinner  :  must  he  not,  then,  be  born  again,  have  a  new  heart  and  a 
new  spirit,  or  never  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  1 


No.    II. 
RECIPE   FOR  A    REVIVAL. 

2    CHRONICLES    VII.    14. 
If  my  people,  which  are  called  by  my  name,  shall  humble  themselves,  and   pray,  and  seek  my 
face,  and  turn  from  their  evil  ways;  then  will  I  hear  from  heaven,  and  will  forgive  their  sins,  and 
heal  their  land. 

The  manner  of  the  approach  of  God's  people  to  him,  so  as  to 
secure  his  blessing,  and  draw  down  covenant  mercies  on  the 
Church  and  the  world,  is  the  grand  secret  of  being  useful  and 
happy.  1  consider  this  thought  amply  and  beautifully  illustrated 
in  the  text,  leaving  scarcely  any  important  point  untouched.  In 
illustrating  this  subject,  my  plan  will  be  purely  textual 

1.  The  Lord  has  in  this  world  a  precious  people.  They  are 
"called  by  liis  name."  They  are  "dear  to  him  as  the  apple  of  his 
eye."  He  has  "engraven  them  on  the  palms  of  his  hands."  They 
are  more  precious  to  him  than  any  other  portion  of  the  creation. 
Hence  we  hear  it  said,  the  "  Lord's  portion  is  his  people  ;  Jacob 
is  the  lot  of  his  inheritance." 

2.  They  are  called  by  his  name. 

In  great  condescension  to  his  people,  God  thus  lets  them  bear 
his  name.     Jacob  was  so  named  when  he  wrestled  with  the  angel 


770  RECIPE    FOR    A    REVIVAL. 

of  the  covenant  at  Fennel.  And  the  Christians  are  so  called,  be 
(  ause  they  partake  of  the  character  of  the  Lord  Jesns  Christ.  And 
we  care  not  whether  this  name  was  given  them  byway  of  reproach 
or  otherwise.  It  honors  them,  and  if  they  honor  it,  they  will  pro- 
mote their  own  best  interests.  In  Eastern  countries,  it  is  a  com- 
mon fact  for  kings  and  princes  to  give  their  own  name  to  strangers 
whom  they  would  honor.  And  I  suppose  God  has,  for  the  same 
reason,  and  in  reference  to  this  custom,  permitted  his  people  to 
wear  his  name,  while  they  stay  in  this  distant  world,  away  from  his 
palace  and  their  house. 

3.  If  they  shall  humble  themselves. 

God  seems  to  have  put  it  into  the  power  of  his  people  to  make 
Ives  what  he  would  have  them.  He  shapes  them,  through 
their  own  agency,  to  be  instruments  of  usefulness  to  the  Church, 
and  to  be  blessings  to  the  world  at  large.  There  are  many  things 
brought  to  their  view  which  are  calculated  to  humble  them.  God 
may  give  them  a  distinct  view  of  their  own  hearts,  or  of  the  spirit- 
uality and  extent  of  his  law.  Thus  permitting  them  to  look  to  the 
rock  whence  they  were  hewn,  and  the  hole  of  the  pit  whence  they 
were  digged,  they  are  prepared  to  walk  softly  before  the  Lord, 
and  take  the  very  place  he  would  have  them  take  in  his  temple, 
and  do  the  very  things  he  would  have  them  do  for  his  honor. 

4.  And  pray. 

But  what  can  this  mean  1  Are  not  the  Lord's  people  a  praying 
people  '.  and  has  it  not  been  characteristic  of  them,  "  Behold  he 
prayeth  1  "  True  as  this  may  be,  his  people  become  cold  in  prayer, 
and  virtually  neglect  to  pray  in  the  manner  that  God  dictates. 
They  often  lose  sight  of  God,  and  their  prayers  do  not  come  up 
into  bis  ear,  nor  reach  his  heart,  nor  draw  forth  those  kindred 
emotions  of  his  soul,  which  is  the  very  design  of  prayer,  and 
which,  more  than  anything  besides,  secures  the  blessing  of  Hea- 
ven, as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  particular. 

5.  And  seek  my  face. 

But  what  can  this  mean  1  Can  the  people  of  God  pray,  without 
seeking  the  face  of  God  1  I  suppose  there  may  be  this  defect  in 
their  prayers,  that  they  do  not  seek  his  face.  God  will  not  have 
his  people  approach  him  in  that  manner,  which  is  characteristic  of 
B  mere  slave,  who  may  not  open  his  mouth  in  the  presence  of  his 
master,  bul  who  stands  in  the  outer  apartment  of  his  house,  and 
sends  in  his  petitions  by  proxy.  He  would  have  us  come  imme- 
diately to  his  face.  And  there  is  one  sweet  text  that  encourages 
i-  to  do  so — M  0,   my  dove,   that  art    in  the  clefts  of  the  rock,  in 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  771 

the  secret  places  of  the  stairs,  let  me  see  thy  countenance,  let  m e 
hear  thy  voice  ;  for  sweet  is  thy  voice,  and  thy  countenance  is 
comely."  I  do  not  believe  that  God  ever  intended  his  people 
should  pray  to  him  in  that  distant  manner,  which  exhibits  them  a  i 
strangers. 

6.   And  turn  from  their  evil  ways. 

This  is  a  condition  in  the  hypothesis  very  important.  If  Chris- 
tians do  not  turn  from  their  wicked  ways,  they  will  not  honor  God, 
and  God  will  not  hear  their  prayer.  He  does  not  here  define  what 
are  the  wicked  ways  we  are  to  turn  from,  but  leaves  the  Christian's 
mind  to  operate  under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit.  I  am  led  to  be- 
lieve that  any  wicked  ways,  persevered  in,  will  effectually  shut 
out  our  prayers. 

.uul  now  the  promise — 

1.  Then  will  I  hear  from  heaven. 

The  way  is  prepared  now  for  the  Christian  to  offer  any  prayer 
he  pleases,  that  is  dictated  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  To  be  a  worker 
together  with  God  in  rendering  the  Church  holy  and  the  world 
happy.  We  have  heard  a  great  deal  about  the  prayer  of  faith,  but 
it  strikes  me  there  is  too  little  account  made  of  the  preparation  of 
faith  which  we  here  see  carried  out.  "  Then  will  I  hear  from  hea- 
ven." I  will  hear  any  prayer  my  people  shall  choose  to  offer.  I 
will  hear  them  whenever  they  have  this  preparation.  When  Da- 
niel would  carry  hefore  God  the  case  of  the  captive  tribes,  he  be- 
gan to  pray  at  the  time  of  offering  up  of  the  evening  sacrifice.  A 
council  seemed  to  be  called  in  heaven,  and  the  decree  went  out, 
that  his  prayer  should  be  heard  and  his  request  granted,  and  an 
angel  came  to  whisper  it  in  his  ear  while  yet  on  his  knees.  And 
when  feter,  sleeping  between  the  two  soldiers,  cast  his  eves  up  to 
heaven,  the  time  of  his  deliverance  came,  his  chains  fell  olf  from 
him,  the  gales  of  his  prison  flew  open,  and  he  was  free.  Thus  God 
seems  to  have  fixed  the  time  when  he  will  answer  the  prayers  of 
his  people,  and  has  made  it  depend  on  their  preparation  to  offer 
the  prayer,  when  their  requests  shall  be  granted.  There  are  two 
distinct  blessings,  which  God  is  ready  to  pour  out  on  his  people, 
when  they  have  thus  prepared  themselves  to  offer  the  effectual, 
fervent  prayer  of  the  righteous,  that  availeth  much. 

In  the  first  place,  God  will  forgive  their  si/is.     As  often  as   the 
Holy   Ghost   thus   leads  them   to   prepare  themselves,   lie  foil 
them.     Thus  the   people  of  God   may  be  pardoned   in   the   morn- 
ing, again  at  noon,    and    in    the  evening  ;  they   may  lie  pardoned 


772  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

on  the  Sabbath,  and  through  the  week  ;  and  thus  pardons  be  strung, 
like  precious  gems,  along  the  whole  course  to  heaven. 

In  the  second  place,  lie  will  heal  their  land.  This  includes  the 
removal  of  any  calamity  that  may  have  come  upon  them — whether 
war  desolates,  or  pestilence  lays  waste,  or  mildew  blights,  or  any 
oilier  woe  be  upon  them,  every  evil  is  removed,  when  they  thus 
come  prepared  to  the  throne  of  grace.  ,  Thus  there  is  dependent 
on  the  prayers  of  God's  people  the  removal  of  all  those  calamities 
which  are  preying  on  the  life-blood  of  the  world.  The  same  may 
be  said  with  respect  to  the  bestownient  of  all  those  positive  bless- 
ings, of  which  his  people,  or  the  world,  stand  in  perishing  need. 
They  may  all  be  summed  up  in  a  precious  revival  of  his  work,  by 
which  he  gladdens  his  Churches,  blesses  his  ministers,  and  loves 
his  people,  and  by  which  he  holds  back  the  world  from  those 
strides  in  iniquity  which  would  carry  them  beyond  the  reach  of 
grace  and  of  glory. 

REMARKS. 

1.  If  any  say,  that  this  makes  a  revival  depend  too  much  on  hu- 
man contrivance  ;  I  can  only  say,  it  is  God's  own  contrivance.  It 
is  the  plan  he  contrived  for  his  ancient  people,  and  the  plan  he  still 
pursues  with  his  Church  under  the  gospel,  and  probably  ever  will, 
to  all  future  ages.  He  makes  his  people  glad  in  his  house  of 
prayer  for  ever. 
^  2.  Thus  the  Church,  like  the  ladder  which  Jacob  saw,  becomes 
a  medium  of  communication  between  God  and  the  world,  present- 
ing to  him  its  wants,  and  communicating  to  it  his  favors. 

3.  If  this  be  so,  how  important  and  responsible  a  situation  the 
Christian  fills !  and  how  important  that  he  should  perform  the  du- 
ties incumbent  on  him ! 


No.    111. 

JEREMIAH  X.  5. 
They  weary  themselves  to  commit  iniquity. 

This  is  a  suffering  world  in  more  senses  than  one.  We  are 
ibject  to  toil  and  labor  in  consequence  of  the  apostacy,  an. I  to 
perpetual  vexation  of  mind,  in  consequence  of  our  opposition  to- 
the  Divine  will.  The  sinner,  therefore,  is  compelled,  if  he  will 
continue  in  sin,  to  maintain  a  mental  war  which  devours  and 
exterminates  from  his  breast  all  the  elements  of  vital  joy. 
Determined  not  to  repent — yet  anxious  for  happiness — compelled 
by  the  necessities  of  his  nature  to  cry  out  for  peace  of  mind,  yet 
averse  to  holiness,  its  necessary  means,  he  toils  hard,  and  travails 
in  pain,  and  ripens-  in  agony  here,  for  the  agony  eternal,  which  lies 
before  him.  To  delineate  the  particulars  of  this  mental  war.  I 
remark, 

\.  The  sinner  must  sustain  morality  without  piety.  He  must  bo 
moral  or  miserable.  The  vices  are  so  many  demons,  resolved  into 
their  original  elements.  They  torment  a  man  before  his  time. 
Disgrace  ;  loss  of  property  ;  of  all  real  friendship  ;  of  domestic 
affection  ;  of  the  health  and  life  ;  of  self-respect  and  elevated  com- 
panionship ;  all  wait  around  a  course  of  vice.  The  vicious  man 
sinks  deeper  and  deeper  in  the  mire.  The  reptiles  of  the  slough, 
in  which  he  journeys,  grow  more  and  more  venomous  and  malig- 
nant. He  must  be  moral  or  miserable,  it  is  hard  work,  however, 
to  maintain  morality  without  religion.  The  passions  are  strong; 
the  world  is  full  of  temptation  ;  the  soul  is  liable  to  be  beat  off 
from  its  hold  on  morality,  unless  recovered  by  grace  ;  its  course 
will  be  tremendous,  the  progress  of  its  depravity  vehement,  and 
great  the  fall  of  it. 

II.  He  must  feel  secure  without  a  promise.  No  man  can  realize 
the  final  wreck  of  the  soul,  and  feel  happy  in  the  prospect.  The 
mind,  in  the  ordinary  stages  of  depravity,  shudders  and  recoils, 
and  hides  itself  from  the  prospect.  Even  the  hardest  incrustations 
of  sin  cannot  prepare  the  soul  to  look  fully  at  eternal  wailing  mi- 


774  SHORT   SERMONS,    OB 

daunted.  There  it  stands,  that  never  ceasing  view;  that  vivid 
painting  of  the  future;  that  dark,  shadowy,  but  distinct,  and  fear- 
ful representation  of  utter  ruin  ;  it  is  hung  out  before  the  soul  by 
the  stern  truth  of  God,  from  behind  every  scene  of  guilt,  and  along 
c\  ery  winding  of  the  soul's  weary  path.     How  can  he  feel  secure  1 

now  can  he  bear  to  face  that  vision  1  If  he  looks  to  nature, 
i.  wain-  him  ;  to  his  companions,  they  are  falling  into  the  arms 
of  the  monster.  He  is  warned  in  the  family  circle,  in  the  scene 
of  futurity,  in  the  haunts  of  dissipation,  around  the  grave  ;  every 
where  a  compassionate  eternity  weeps  about  him;  angels  of  grace 
draw  aside  the  veil  of  the  pit,  and  with  earnest  countenance  cry, 

;ape  for  thy  life!"  If  he  looks  to  the  Bible,  he  has  no  pro- 
mise. If  he  thinks  of  mercy,  no  promise.  If  he  looks  to  the  end, 
there  is  the  falling  flood  and  its  dreadful  roar;  and  its  fearful  spray, 
and  its. havoc  of  apostate  mind,  in  the  boiling  depths  below,  but  no 
rainbow  of  promise.  He  reads  all  around  him  the  startling  in- 
scription, "  The  fear  of  the  wicked,  it  shall  come  uoon  him.'''' 

III.  He  must  hope  for  heaven,  while  forming  a  character  for  perdi- 
tion. He  must  hope,  and  will  hope,  even  if  he  knows  his  hope 
will  do  no  good.  Heaven  is  the  only  place  of  final  rest  ;  if  he 
miss  it  he  is  lost,  undone  for  ever.     Holy  as  it  is,  and  much  as  he 

holiness,  he  must  enter  there,  or  eternally  be  an  undone 
man.  No  man  can  bear  the  idea  of  confessed,  manifest,  public, 
and  hopeless,  irrecoverable  disgrace.  Every  man,  therefore,  clings 
to  the  idea  of  a  final  heaven,  as  long  as  he  can.  But  here  the 
sinner  lias  a  hard  task.  His  supreme  selfishness  leads  him  to  hold 
on  upon  the  idea  of  rest  after  this  life,  but  that  very  selfishness 
is  malting  his  failure  sure.  The  cords  of  habit  are  twined  all 
about  his  character;  they  are  not  threads  of  flax,  except  when  the 
Spirit  rends  them.  They  are  strong  cords  to  the  Avearied  sinner, 
and  he  shall  be  holden  by  them,  if  he  will  continue  to  sin,  and  all 

nils  and  departments  of  his  character  will  be  fitly  compacted 
together,  to  make  it  the  meet  habitation  of  eternal  life.  It  is  hard 
work  while  these  formations  of  character  are  going  on,  for  a  soul 
lo  be  shut  up  to  the  necessity  of  keeping  alive  a  hope  of  heaven, 
\<t  this  the  sinner  must  perform. 

IV.  He  must  resist  Christ  without  a  cause.  He  is  supposed  im- 
penitenl  and  determined  on  continued  sin.  Exposed  to  endless 
death,  he  has  an  offer  of  Christ  and  salvation.  The  claims  of 
Christ  are  not  only  just,  but  compassionate  and  benevolent.     If  he 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  775 

will  sin,  he  must  contend  against  the  Savior  in  the  very  interpo- 
sitions of  his  astonishing,  overwhelming,  agonizing  mercy.  This 
is  hard  work  for  the  conscience  ;  the  wheels  of  probation  drag 
heavily  ;  their  voice  grates  fearfully ;  their  cry  of  retribution 
waxes  loud. 

V.  He  must  try  to  be  happy  while  guilty.  This  he  cannot  accom- 
plish, yet  he  must  try.  He  will  fail  in  every  attempt,  yet  he  must 
renew  the  trial.  If  he  will  not  repent  and  obtain  pardon  in  the 
blood  of  Christ,  then  he  must  retain  his  guilt,  and  feel  it  on  his 
conscience,  and  groan  under  it  as  it  continually  grows  heavier, 
while  he  must  struggle  for  peace.  The  nature  of  happines  renders 
his  efforts  necessary.  He  will  make  them,  and  will  always  fail. 
He  will  choose  a  thousand  phantoms ;  he  will  grasp  after  every 
shadow ;  be  will  be  stung  a  thousand  times,  yet  will  he  renew  the 
toil,  till  wearied,  hopeless,  and  sullen,  he  lies  down  to  die.  It  is 
hard  toil  to  do  what  a  guilty,  unbelieving  sinner  is  compelled  to 
do  in  trying  to  be  happy. 

VI.  He  must  have  enough  of  the  world  to  supply  the  place  of  God 
in  his  heart.  The  heart  must  have  a  supreme  object  ;  God  is  able 
to  fill  it.  On  him  the  intellect  may  dwell,  and  around  the  ever- 
expanding  developments  of  his  character,  the  affections,  like  gen- 
erous vines,  may  climb,  and  gather,  and  blossom,  and  hang  the 
ripe  cluster  of  joy  for  ever  ;  but  the  sinner  shuts  out  God,  every 
vision  of  his  character  is  torment,  and  he  turns  away  to  fill  the 
demands  of  his  heart  with  the  world.  He  has  commenced  a  thank- 
less task  ;  he  has  enlisted  in  a  severe  service.  The  whole  world, 
if  gained,  would  infinitely  fail,  yet  he  can  gain  but  little  of  it,  and 
that  little  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.  Yet  painful  and  hope- 
less as  this  may  be,  the  sinner  must  toil  at  it  till  he  dies. 

VII.  He  must  arrange  matters  for  death,  while  he  is  afraid  to  think 
of  dying.  He  must  work  to  get  property  for  his  children  when  he 
is  gone.  He  must  put  his  business  in  a  train,  so  that  it  maybe 
settled  advantageously  when  he  is  gone.  He  must  do  all  this  on 
the  strength  and  under  the  impulse  of  an  idea  at  which  he  trembles. 

VIII.  He  must  read  the  Bible,  whilst  he  is  afraid  to  think  or  pray. 
This  is  especially  true  of  the  worldly-minded  professor.  If  he 
keeps  up  the  form  of  family  worship,  or  attends  at  the  house  of 
God,  the   Bible,  the  holy  and   accusing   book,  is    in   his  way.      Its 


77G  SHORT    SERMONS,   OR  OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES. 

truths  lie  across  his  path.  He  cannot  turn  aside,  he  must  trample 
over  them,  while  he  beholds  them  under  his  feet.  He  knows  that 
his  footsteps  are  heard  around  the  retributive  throne.  If  driven 
to  console  himself  by  the  promises  of  error,  the  sinner  has  to  per- 
vert and  wrestle  with  the  Bible.  Its  denunciations  catch  his  eye, 
and  burn  him  while  he  tries  to  explain  them  away.  Its  promises 
turn  into  curses  within  his  soul,  as  he  attempts  to  incorporate 
them  in  his  hopes. 

CONCLUDING    THOUGHTS. 

1.  Have  we  no  compassion  for  a  suffering  world  1  How  little, 
Christian  brethren,  do  we  feel  for  the  wretched,  toiling,  dying 
sinner,  with  whom  we  associate  ;  for  the  fond  relative  with  whom 
we  mingle  affections  ;  for  the  multitudinous  mass  of  mind,  ruined, 
undone,  and  miserable,  that  are  ripening  all  around  us  for  endless 
woe  1 

2.  Can  we  do  nothing  to  relieve  this  miserable  condition  of  our 
fellow-men  1  We  can  do  much  if  we  will  only  feel  its  nature  and 
tendencies,  and  bear  it  before  a  compassionate  God.  If  we  will 
but  take  the  gospel,  and  lead  its  giant  motives  forth,  and  lean  upon 
the  Spirit's  power,  the  work  of  renovation,  of  redemption,  and  of 
joy  will  roll  on.  Every  dav  cries  aloud,  and  all  around  us,  for 
our  awakening  to  duty.  The  time  for  God's  people  to  pray,  and 
awake,  and  endeavor  mightily,  is  now — and  with  most  of  us,  now 
or  never 


No.    IV. 

LUKE   X.    11. 
Notwithstanding,  be  ye  sure  of  tiiis.  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you. 

I.  What  is  meant  by  the  kingdom  of  God?  Sometimes  the 
kingdom  of  God  means  the  place  of  the  blessed  in  heaven.  Some- 
times it  means  merely  the  visible  church.  Sometimes  it  seems  to 
mean  the  r.hurch  invisible,  or  the  collection  of  real  believers 
Sometimes,  as  in  the  text,  it  signifies  the  gospel  merely — which 
describes  the  king,  and  gives  us  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the 
kingdom,  and  permits  us  to  look  in  upon  the  very  seat  of  his  holy 
empire. 

II.  When  may  the  gospel,  which,  as  we  see,  means  the  kingdom  of 
God,  be  said  to  come  nigh  to  an  individual  or  a  people  1 

A  material  object,  we  know,  may  come  within  a  greater  or  less 
distance — may  come  within  a  mile,  or  two,  or  ten.  It  may  come 
within  the  sight  of  the  eye,  or  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  or  the  reach 
of  the  arm. 

1.  So  the  gospel  may  come  to  a  near  or  a  more  remote  proxim- 
ity. It  may  come  within  the  hearing  of  the  ear.  To  many,  in 
heathen  lands,  it  has  never  made  this  approach :  they  have  only 
heard  of  the  gospel,  but  have  never  heard  the  gospel.  They  have 
heard  that  the  missionaries  have  come  to  other  portions  of  their 
dark  territory,  but  have  never  seen  them,  or  listened  themselves 
to  its  glad  accents.  No  messenger  of  eternal  life  has  ever  stood 
in  their  presence,  and  sounded  the  good  news.  They  have  never 
been  told  the  conditions  upon  which  salvation  is  offered  them,  or 
been  invited  to  come  to  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb 

To  all,  in  gospel  lands,  it  has  made  a  nearer  approach  ;  they 
have  heard  the  conditions  upon  which  mercy  is  offered  them,  and 
have  had  described  to  them  the  kingdom  of  God  in  all  its  fascina- 
tion and  in  all  its  glory. 

2.  It  makes  a  still  nearer  approach,  when  it  reaches  the  under* 
standing.  Men  not  only  hear  the  gospel,  but  think  about  it,  and 
perhaps  become  speculative  believers  ;  and  possibly  even  profes- 
sors of  religion  ;  and  it  may  be,  even  sustain  a  good  Christian 
character,  when,  after  all,  the  gospel  may  never  have  approached 


778  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

tlicin  but  to  this  second  degree  of  nearness.  It  lias  passed  through 
the  car,  and  lit  upon  the  understanding,  and  floats  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  mind,  as  oil  upon  the  ocean,  without  exhibiting  any 
propensity  to  amalgamate. 

3.  The  gospel,  or  kingdom  of  God  makes  a  still  nearer  approach, 
when  it  passes  through  the  understanding,  and  reaches  the  con- 
science ;  and  there  it  holds  its  position,  and  preys  upon  the  con- 
science, which  may  ho  subjected  to  a  more  or  less  severe  pressure, 
according  to  circumstances. 

[f  a  husband  or  wife  is  subjected  to  the  sanctifying  influence  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  or  a  child  is  made  to  submit  to  the  power  that 
renders  him  a  new  creature  ;  then  it  is  that  the  truth  presses  upon 
the  conscience  with  a  force  unequalled  in  any  other  circumstances. 

But  we  .must  stop  to  inquire, 

4.  Why  the  gospel  is  brought  thus  nigh  to  some  who  are  finally 
lost  1  This  is  the  nearest  approach  it  ever  makes  to  a  soul  that 
does  not  submit  to  its  overtures.  If  the  gospel  stays  here  long, 
the  sinner  must  become,  under  its  corroding  influence,  a  cunning 
sinner.  He  must  thus  parry  every  point  of  truth  presented  in  the 
book  of  God,  until  finally,  he  becomes  a  hardened  sinner,  and  brow- 
beats the  anathemas  of  the  gospel  with  a  hardiness  that  is  veteran 
and  desperate.  Soon  it  will  render  him  a  caviling  sinner,  and 
adroit  at  parrying  every  thrust  it  makes  at  his  heart.  It  will  not  be 
long  in  rendering  him  a  wretched  sinner,  hardened  to  the  greatest 
degree  of  obduracy — as  when  one  is  represented  as  exposed  to  the 
lightnings  of  heaven,  until  his  flesh  is  hardened  to  the  intensity 
of  a  rock. 

But  several  important  points  are  now  in  a  process  of  being  set- 
tled, while  the  sinner  is  held  in  this  condition,  and  truth  is  beating 
upon  his  naked  soul. 

1.  It  settles  the  question,  How  depraved  the  heart  is.  It  has 
been  doubted  whether  the  heart  be  totally  depraved,  and  whether 
the  character  of  God  might  not  be  so  exhibited  that  it  would  love 
him  without  being  regenerated. 

But  when  the  gospel  is  brought  thus  nigh,  and  falls  upon  theear, 
and  passes  through  the  understanding,  and  presses  upon  the  con- 
science, and  is  held  there  for  a  time,  then  it  is  that  a  man  sees 
what  he  is,  and  others  see  what  he  is  ;  and  that  important  question 
is  settled,   that   men   have   spoken  and   done  evil  things  as  they 

Could. 

In  the  meantime,  we  learn — 

2.  Whether  all  men  are  equally  depraved.     It  has  been  acknow- 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  779 

lodged  that  some  men  are  totally  depraved,  but  has  been  denied  that 
all  are  so.  It  has  been  asserted  that  some  only  need  to  be  sub- 
jected to  the  bleaching  influence  of  the  gospel  to  be  made  white 
again. 

But  here  the  question  is  for  ever  settled,  for  the  mildest  of  men, 
and  even  females  of  lovely  character,  have  needed  the  same  pow- 
erful regeneration  to  make  them  new  creatures,  and  bring  them 
to  duty,  holiness,  and  heaven.  And  in  many  of  our  revivals  of 
religion,  we  can  find  cases  in  which  individuals  of  the  mildest 
temperament  have  been  waked  up  to  a  kind  of  madness,  by  the  con- 
victing influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  until  their  friends  have  even 
been  afraid  to  enter  their  apartments  while  they  were  raving  under 
this  full  blaze  of  Gospel  light,  as  one  would  loathe  to  enter  a  den 
mad  wolves.  Thus  the  question  is  settled,  that  however  mild  and 
amiable  a  man  may  he  by  nature,  he  needs  the  same  renovating 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  make  him  a  new  creature. 

Another  very  important  question  is  now  settled — 

3.  That  God  must  change  the  heart,  and  that  it  cannot  be  done 
by  the  influence  of  mere  moral  suasion.  For  all  kinds  of  means 
have  been  used,  and  motives  presented  to  the  sinner  without  effect, 
till  the  time  came  when  God  would  make  him  willing  in  the  day 
of  his  power.  But  it  seems  easy  when  God  undertakes,  for  al- 
though he  seems  to  draw  the  sinner  as  if  he  would  not  come,  he 
seems  now  to  run  as  if  he  had  not  been  drawn. 

Another  question  is  now  settled — 

4.  That  God  is  sincere  in  offering  mercy.  That  has  always 
been  more  or  less  doubted  by  the  sinner,  till  at  last  the  question  is 
settled,  that  as  soon  as  he  is  made  willing,  he  becomes  a  new 
creature  in  Christ  Jesus.  Old  things  are  passed  away,  and  all 
things  become  new. 


No.    V. 

EZEKIE.L   XXXIII.    11. 
Why  will  ye  die  1 

The  doctrine  of  this  text  seems  to  be,  that  man  is  bent  on  bis 
own  destruction  ;  that  he  is  determined  on  a  course  of  sin,  which, 
according  to  his  own  conviction,  must  end  in  his  everlasting  ruin. 

We  may  premise  on  this  subject,  that  the  death  here  intended, 
cannot  mean  natural  death;  for  to  this  men  are  averse  by  nature. 
No  man  will  die  till  he  must.  All  that  a  man  has  will  he  give  for 
his  life.  Nor  can  it  mean  spiritual  death  ;  for  all  men  love  to  be 
spiritually  dead.  Nor  would  God  ask  the  question  respecting  this 
death. 

It  must  therefore  mean  eternal  death.  It  is  strange  that  such  a 
sentence  as  this  should  ever  have  dropped  from  the  lips  of  the 
Savior  j  for  the  doctrine  means  to  imply,  that  man  has  entered 
upon  a  course  that  must  end  in  his  everlasting  ruin,  and  this  know- 
ingly and  designedly,  for, 

I.  Men  break  the  law  of  God,  knowing  tnat  the  penalty  of  break- 
ing this  law  is  their  everlasting  ruin.  If  a  man  should  pass  through 
the  streets,  plunging  a  dagger  into  the  heart  of  every  one  he  met 
with,  if  we  had  evidence  that  he  had  his  reason,  we  should  say 
that  he  meant  to  tempt  the  law  to  do  its  best  for  his  destruction. 
Nor  would  men  say  that  we  reasoned  hardly  on  this  subject. 
Death  would  lie  so  immediately  in  the  train  of  his  misdeeds,  that 
it  would  seem  impossible  that  any  mind  should  disassociate  them. 
We  should  all  look  forward  with  horror  to  the  day  of  his  execu- 
tion, and  say  that  he  approaches  that  period  as  certainly  as  any 
one  thing  can  follow  another. 

II.  We  should  say  the  same  truth  is  manifest  from  the  fact  that 
sinners  reject  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  medium  of  their  pardon  and 
their  salvation.  If  one  had  broken  the  law  of  man,  and  should  ^ 
fuse  to  receive  pardon  from  the  hands  of  his  chief  magistrate,  a.- 
though  he  should  rro  daily  to  his  prison,  and  ofTer  that  pardon, 
and  solicit  his  acceptance,  we  should  say  that  he  intends  to  die 
If  the  conditions  were  that  he  should  receive  that  pardon  at  the 


SHORT    SERMONS,    OR    OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  781 

hands  of  the  chief  magistrate,  with  due  acknowledgments,  and 
without  any  necessary  degradation,  we  should  say  that  he  not  only 
intends,  but  deserves  to  die. 

III.  From  other  facts,  it  is  evident  that  sinners  are  determined 
to  die,  inasmuch  as  they  reject  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
the  only  power  that  can  make  them  clean,  and  take  their  feet  out 
of  the  horrible  pit  and  miry  clay,  and  set  them  upon  a  rock.  If 
one  had  fallen  into  a  deep  cavern,  and  there  was  but  one  ear  that 
could  hear,  and  but  one  arm  that  could  save,  and  he  should  refuse 
to  be  aided  by  that  arm,  we  should  say  that  he  certainly  means 
his  own  destruction. 

IV.  The  same  truth  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  men  are  going 
on  to  form  a  character  for  perdition,  when  they  know  that  a  to- 
tally different  character  is  requisite  to  fit  them  for  heaven. 

Now  what  man  is  not  convinced  that  the  wicked  are  forming 
such  a  character,  and  thus  courting  such  a  destiny  1  To  hope 
that  they  may  be  congregated  with  the  blessed  in  heaven,  while 
yet  they  are  making  rapid  strides  towards  perdition,  and  drawing 
sin  with  cords  of  vanity  and  iniquity,  as  it  were  with  a  cart  rope, 
is  to  exhibit  an  absurdity  that  belongs  only  to  the  wayward  and 
the  lost.  Their  whole  character  contains  a  high  promise  of  the 
blackness  of  darkness  for  ever. 

I  proceed  to  the  second  inquiry,  why  will  ye  die  1     There  must 
be  some   secret  reason  why  men  pursue  a  course   like  this.     Per- 
haps the  preacher   may  have   permission  to  look   into   the  matter, 
and  know  what  these  reasons  are  ;  and  to  help  you  to  judge  whe 
t.her  they  will  stand  the  test  at  the  last  day,  I 

REMARK, 

1.  Will  it  prove  you  brave  to  dare  the  Eternal  to  his  face  1 — to 
rush  upon  trie  thick  bosses  of  Jehovah's  buckler,  and  browbeat 
the  sacred  and  terrible  anathemas  of  the  whole  law  and  the  whole 
o-ospel  !  Would  a  man  rush  into  the  mouth  of  a  cannon  or  leap 
into  the  crater  of  Vesuvius,  to  show  himself  brave  1  Would  he 
not  thus  evince  himself  a  natural  fool  1 

2.  Will  it  prove  you  wise  to  place  so  small  a  value  upon  the 
soul,  and  expose  it  to  endless  ruin  1  Would  it  not  place  you  too 
by  the  side  of  him  who  sold  all  the  honors  of  his  birthright  for  a 
mess  of  pottage  1  To  thus  forfeit  your  seat  in  heaven,  and  your 
part  in  the  song  of  redeeming  grace  which  will  be  sung  eternally 
in  heaven,  will  it  prove  you  wise  at  whatever  price  you  do  it  1 


7>S2  SHOUT    SERMONS,    Ott    OUTLINE8    OF    DISCOURSES. 

3.  Let  me  inquire  whether  it  will  prove  you  good  1  0,  can  a 
good  being  place  so  little  value  upon  the  glory  of  the  Eternal,  and 
put  so  low  a  value  upon  the  blood  of  Christ !  Then  let  it  not  be  told 
in  Gath,  nor  published  in  the  streets  of  Askelon  !  How  dreadful 
will  it  prove  that  sinners  have  heard  such  a  gospel  !  Will  not  the 
shade  <»f  every  Sabbath,  and  the  remembered  offer  of  mercy,  prick 
up  your  conscience  to  everlasting  recollection,  and  pain,  and  mi- 
sery, at  the  remembrance  of  all  this  ]  Will  this  not  rush  upon 
the  si  illness  and  darkness  of  the  pit,  like  the  ghosts  of  night,  and 
haunt  your  soul  for  ever  with  painful  and  corroding  recollections  \ 
Other  beings  as  well  as  you  will  have  a  great  interest  in  your  fu- 
ture reputation,  and  the  bliss  that  shall  hang  upon  that  reputation, 
through  everlasting  ages.  You  ought  to  know,  that  when  your 
character  shall  be  developed  in  the  last  day,  it  should  be  such 
as  not  to  shame  your  parentage,  and  oblige  them  to  hide  in  a 
corner,  while  you  pass  in  review  before  assembled  worlds.  I 
remember  to  have  been  very  much  affected,  when  the  British 
Government  began  to  banish  their  convicts  to  the  island  of  New 
Holland,  with  the  fact  that  they  were  ashamed  to  carry  with  them 
the  same  name  in  which  they  had  committed  their  felonies,  and 
done  the  deed,  that  put  them  out  of  the  civilized  world  for  ever 
Hence  they  universally  changed  their  names,  that  they  might,  if 
possible,  not  suffer  under  the  same  name  they  had  borne  before. 
O,  how  dreadful,  that  we  should  thus  oblige  ourselves  and  our 
friends  to  chancre  our  names,  in  which  we  committed  our  crimes, 
and  fell  under  the  condemnation  of  the  law!  Will  it  not  stand 
out  to  view  for  ever,  that  the  very  name  is  tainted  under  which 
we  committed  our  outrages  against  the  law  and  the  gospel,  and 
made  it  a  curse  that  we  would  gladly  be  rid  of  1  Why.  devils 
will  be  ashamed  of  you,  when  they  shall  know  that  you  were 
brought  up  to  all  this  mercy,  and  then  sunk  to  this  marked  degru' 
dation  in  the  caverns  of  despair  ! 


No.  Vl 

b  >R    THE  MONTHLY  CONCEPT 

PSALM  L.  21. 

Thou  thoughtest  that  1  was  altogether  such  an  one  n*  thyself;  but  I  will  reprove  thef,  and 

set  them  in  orcii-r  brl'orp  tliiri"  CJ  es 

In  the  form  that  men  give  their  idols,  they  show  what  should  be 
the  character  of  the  Supreme  God,  if  they  might  shape  him  to  their 
own  likeness.  The  thing  that  God  here  complains  of  is  this,  that  his 
creatures  would  think  him  just  such  an  one  as  themselves.  But  he 
assures  them  that  he  would  set  their  sin  in  this  matter  before  their 
eyes,  and  teach  them  to  judge  more  correctly,  and  value  more 
highly  their  Supreme  Deity.  The  attributes  with  which  they  in 
vest  him,  are  the  attributes  with  which  they  would  invest  the  ob- 
ject of  their  supreme  worship,  if  he  would  shape  himself  to  their 
image.  If  they  have  given  him  angels'  form,  they  would  exalt 
him  to  the  rank  of  angels.  And  if  mere  human  being,  they  would 
invest  him  only  with  human  intelligence.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  have  given  their  idol  the  form  of  a  beast  that  eateth  grass  :  if 
they  have  made  him  an  ox  or  a  calf,  or  if  they  have  made  him  t 
serpent  or  a  reptile,  this  shows  that  they  would  confer  upon  the 
object  of  their  devotion  no  intelligence.  And  to  go  one  sten 
further,  if  they  have  given  him  the  form  of  a  Satan,  we  thus  descry 
that  they  would  have  their  God  sunk  to  a  level  with  this  grade  of 
being.  And  if  they  have  thrown  off  all  reserve,  and  made  him  a 
devil,  how  natural  is  it  to  suppose  that  they  would  shape  the  God 
they  now  worship  "  to  the  Prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  tin'  spi- 
rit that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience,  among  whom 
we  all  had  our  conversation  in  times  past,  fulfilling  the  desires  of 
the  flesh  and  of  the  mind,  and  being  by  nature  children  of  wrath, 
even  as  others."  Thus  men  will  ever  shape  their  god  to  their 
liking;  and  if  we  can  discover  what  errors  the  heathen  have  made 
on  this  subject,  we  can  know  precisely  what  would  be  the  shape  of 
the  deity  they  won  d  place  upon  the  throne.      And 

I.  We  know  that  they  have  excluded  God  from  bis  own  world. 
They  are  uniformly  idolaters,  in  every  kingdom  and  nation  found 
under  the  heavens.     If  one    nation    could    have    been    found    that 


784  SHOUT    SERMONS,    OR 

wore  worshipers  of  the  true  God,  we  should  have  doubted  whether 
they  had  not  escaped  the  fall. 

II.  We  should  gather  from  their  story,  as  far  as  it  has  reached 
our  ear,  that  the  gods  they  Avorship  are  a  set  of  senseless  beings — 
mere  wood  and  stone.  We  have  collected  some  of  their  gods 
from  heathen  territory,  who  are  as  uncouth  and  unsightly  and  dis- 
proportioned  a  set  of  senseless  beings  as  the  human  mind  can  con- 
cieve  of.  We  know  they  have  worshiped  mere  leeks  and  onions, 
and  the  crocodile  of  the  Nile  has  long  been  an  object  of  supreme 
adoration.  "  They  ma»de  a  calf  in  Horeb,  and  worshiped  the 
molten  image." 

III.  When  they  did  give  their  gods  any  moral  intelligence  at  all, 
they  made  them  debauched  and  profligate  to  the  last  degree.  They 
had  their  revels  and  cabals  in  their  factious  heaven.  On  one  oc- 
casion, I  remember,  one  of  their  gods  is  famed  to  have  been  thrown 
to  the  earth,  and  to  have  employed  his  time  afterwards,  in  forging 
thunderbolts  for  Jupiter.  Now  what  could  we  expect  of  a  people 
who  would  thus  degrade  their  supreme  deities,  and  render  them 
altogether  such  beings  as  themselves,  entering  into  folly,  lust,  and 
drunkenness,  and  every  species  of  crime  1 

IV.  They  went  still  further,  and  made  them  devils.  There  are 
a  number  of  the  African  tribes  who  worship  the  very  devil  him- 
self. Thus  the  supreme  object  of  their  worship  is  the  very  spirit 
that  now  "  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience  " 

REMARKS. 

1.  Shall  we  not  pity  a  race  of  beings  so  deluded  and  spoiled 
and  ensnared  by  their  own  philosophy  1 

2.  Shall  wc  esteem  any  sacrifices  too  great  to  be  made,  if  we 
can  buy  them  off  from  such  delusion,  and  cause  them  to  look  up- 
ward, and  lay  hold  on  eternal  life  1 

3.  Should  the  business  of  building  x  world  loom  up  before  us 
with  more  mightiness  of  enterprise  than  the  redemption  of  a  world, 
already  built,  from  the  deadly  plagues  of  sin?  I  would  not  fly  as 
swiftly,  nor  labor  as  industriously  to  extinguish  the  flames  of  a 
burning  world,  as  to  rescue  from  a  calamity  so  much  more  disas- 
trous to  the  heathen  millions  that  are  going  down  in  one  unbroken 
mass  to  the  blackness  of  darkness  forever.  I  would  not  cry  as 
loudly    to  wake  up  a  sleeping    village   to    danger   of  being    swept 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  785 

awaj  by  a  stream  of  lava,  at  the  foot  a  glowing  Etna,  or  a  laboring 
Vesuvius. 

4.  Will  not  the  pious  youth  have  their  farms  sold,  and  pawn 
their  merchandise,  that  promised  them  merely  temporal  blessings, 
that  they  may  enter  upon  a  mightier  enterprise  of  rescuing  from 
the  slavery  of  sin  a  world  that  has  ruined  itself  1 


No.    VII. 

JEREMIAH    VIII.    22. 

Is  there  no  balm  In  Gilead  1  Is  there  no  physician  there  1  Why  then  Is  not  the  health  of  the  (laugh* 

ter  of  my  people  recovered  1 

A  pensive  and  distressed  father,  that  had  just  left  the  sick  bed 
of  a  beloved  daughter,  and  was  wandering  through  the  streets  in 
all  the  dejection  of  grief,  and  all  the  solitude  which  is  not  easily 
thrown  off,  in  the  hour  of  her  agony,  may  easily  be  supposed  to 
have  uttered  himself  in  the  language  of  the  text. 

And  if  we  may  suppose  that  she  had  been  long  subjected  to  the 
want  of  a  physician  and  a  nurse,  while  death  must  now  ensue  as  a 
consequence  of  that  neglect,  while  there  was  a  remedy  at  hand, 
and  a  physician  hard  by;  but  there  was  none  at  hand  to  call  in 
that  physician,  or  to  apply  that  balm,  by  the  application  of  which 
she  might  have  been  restored  to  health,  joy,  and  life. 

One  would  grieve  to  hear  the  solitary  moan  of  such  a  father,  and 
haste  to  know  if  it  is  altogether  too  late  to  call  in  the  kind  and 
timely  physician. 

It  is  probably  true  that  Gilead  abounded  with  a  balm  that,  in  a 
great  many  cases,  proved  a  sovereign  remedy  to  some  diseases 
that  prevailed  in  Jerusalem,  called  here,  and  elsewhere,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Zion.  Here,  it  may  be,  is  asked  a  question  which  has  rela- 
tion to  the  whole  human  family,  and  bearing  upon  the  natural  dis- 
»f  the  soul,  and  is  equivalent  to  asking,  Are  not  the  means  am- 
ple, and  ready  for  the  healing  of  the  plague  of  sin  in  the  human  fa- 
mily I  Why  then  are  they  not  applied,  and  spiritual  health  univer- 
sally recovered  ? 

Of  course,  the  subject  divides  itself  into  two  heads.  I  shall  bo 
led  tc  speak  first  of  the  disease,  and  then  of  the  remedy. 


7S6  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

I.  Iii  the  first  place,  I  would  say  of  the  disease,  that  it  is  one  of 
universal  application. 

There  has  been  no  nation  found  that  is  not  totally  depraved 
They  all  practised  a  gross  and  God-provoking  idolatry.  They 
made  their  idols  as  stupid  and  as  devilish  as  they  could,  practising 
as  gross  a  perversion  of  their  Supreme  Deity  as  possible,  and  then 
ihey  practised  upon  man  all  the  outrages  that  a  perverted  intellect 
could  contrive.  The  false  religion  of  the  world  was  a  bloody,  and 
adulterous,  and  cruel,  and  faithless,  and  imposing  religion,  in  all 
its  acts. 

1  now  intend  the  very  highest  charge  that  can  be  brought  against 
the  human  family,  equivalent  to  that  charge  brought  against  us  by 
Him  who  knows  well  what  is  in  man — "  Thou  hast  spoken  and 
done  evil  things  as  thou  couldest." 

II.  This  disease  is,  of  all  others,  the  most  contagious.  It  has 
been  communicated  through  the  wide  world,  and  gone  into  every 
little  ramification  of  every  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven. 

When  we  find  a  nation  that  we  have  never  known  before,  we 
find  them  universally  infected  with  the  pillage  of  sin.  Hence, 
"  from  the  crown  of  the  head,  even  unto  the  feet,  they  are  full  of 
wounds,  and  bruises,  and  putrefying  sores." 

The  prevailing  plague  has  spread  through  the  human  family  an 
amount  of  misery  that  cannot  be  easily  calculated.  It  poisons  all 
the  human  relations,  and  mars  every  human  compact  ;  and,  first 
of  all,  man's  covenant  with  his  God.  The  result  of  this  is,  that  it 
has  filled  and  loaded  him  with  misery  to  the  full,  and  all  nature 
"  groans  and  travails  to  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corrup- 
tion, and  be  brought  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God." 

Nor  can  it  be  hoped  that  this  result,  devoutly  to  be  wished  for, 
will  ever  be  accomplished,  till  Christ  shall  come  the  second  time 
"without  sin  unto  salvation,"  and  "the  earth -shall  be  filled  with 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea."  Here  Ave 
might  expatiate  largely  upon  the  miseries  of  sin,  but  I  pass  to  the 
question — 

III.  Why  is  not  the  plague  healed  1  "Is  there  no  balm  in  Gile- 
ail  I  is  there  no  physician  there  1  Why  then  is  not  the  health  of 
the  daughter, of  my  people  recovered  '" 

In  answering  this  question,  I  should  choose  to  say, 
1.   Sinners  are  not  sensible  that  they  are  the  subjects  of  this  de- 
plorable disease.     They   say,  We  "  are  whole,  and  have  no  need 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  787 

of  a  physician j "  and  "know  not  that  they  arc  wretched,  and  mi- 
serable, and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked."  The  first  object  of  a 
preached  gospel  is  to  convince  them  of  this  fact.  They  have  no 
experience  that  can  test  this  question  at  all.  They  have  never 
known  what  health  was,  having'  always  been  in  this  same  deplora- 
ble condition;  except  that  the  plague  has  been  gradually  becom- 
ing worse  and  worse,  till,  at  length,  it  has  produced  a  kind  of  de- 
lirium, that  has  blunted  the  sensibility  of  consciousness,  and  ren- 
dered man  blind  to  the  spots  of  the  plague  that  are  upon  him. 

2.  If  to  any  extent  they  are  conscious  of  their  condition,  they 
love  the  very  disease  that  cleaves  to  them.  How  then  can  it  be 
hoped  that  they  will  take  the  least  pains  to  rid  themselves  of  a 
pestilence  that  has  as  yet  given  them  no  pain,  and  they  have  known 
no  disgrace  that  has  accrued  to  them  from  having  the  plague  upon 
them. 

They  are  not  sent  to  live  in  a  house  by  themselves,  as  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  used  to  be  when  they  had  the  leprosy,  or  as  men  are 
now  when  affected  with  the  plague. 

If  men  arc  affected  with  a  disposition  to  do  wickedly,  it  attaches 
no  disgrace  to  them,  not  as  it  will  be  in  the  judgment  day,  not  as 
it  is  when  men  become  "  ashamed  and  confounded,  and  never  open 
their  mouths  any  more,  because  of  their  shame,  when  God  becomes 
pacified  towards  them  for  all  that  they  have  done." 

3.  Another  reason  that  men  are  not  healed  is,  that  they  do  not 
love  the  Physician. 

He  is  to  them  a  "  root  out  of  a  dry  ground,  without  form  or 
comeliness." 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  men  will  apply  to  the  Savior,  how- 
ever afflicted,  till  they  feel  their  need  of  him. 

How  much  pains  will  parents  take  to  have  their  children  know 
and  love  their  family  physician,  lest,  when  attacked  with  disease, 
they  should  be  shy  of  his  approach,  and  suffer,  before  they  will  al- 
low him  to  come  nigh  them  But  when  sinners  see  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  to  be  "chief  among  ten  thousand,  and  altogether  lovely," 
they  rush  to  his  arms,  and  are  rather  glad  to  be  sick,  that  they 
may  employ  such  a  royal  physician. 

4.  They  do  not  love  the  price  at  which  they  can  be  healed.  It 
must  be  with  Christ  a  mere  gratuitous  healing. 

.Men  must  come  to  him  without  money,  and  then  it  will  be  with- 
out price.  The  sinner  must  just  give  himself  into  the  hands  of 
Christ,  to  be  healed  in  his  own  way.     Which  leads  me  to  say, 


788  SHORT    SERMONS,    OK 

5.  Sinners  do  not  relish  the  manner  of  the  application.  They 
are  ready,  say  they,  as  one  who  came  in  old  times  to  the  prophet 
of  Israel.  "Are  not  Abana  and  Pharpar,  rivers  of  Damascus,  bet- 
ter than  all  the  waters  of  Israel  ?  Why  may  I  not  wash  in  them 
and  be  clean1.  "     Thus  sinners  complain  of  the  application. 

This  deep  repentance,  and  this  being  healed  by  faith,  destroy? 
all  human  agency  and  contrivance,  and  gives  God  all  the  glory 


No.  VIII. 

ISAIAH   II.   22. 

Cease  ye  from  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils;  for  wherein  is  he  to  be  accounted  of? 

Max  can  give  no  good  account  of  himself,  nor  can  his  fellows 
give  a  good  account  of  him,  nor  has  his  Maker  any  better  account 
to  give  of  him — "  The  whole  head  is  sick,  and  the  whole  heart 
faint."  We  do  not  wonder  at  God's  account  of  him — "  Thou  hast 
spoken  and  done  evil  things  as  thou  couldest." 

Man  is  the  most  unaccountable  creature  in  all  the  creation  of 
God— absurd  in  all  his  movements 

I.  He  is  entirely  limited  in  his  powers,  "is  of  yesterday,  and 
knows  nothing,"  and  yet  is  a  proud  and  self-sufficient  being,  who 
will  not  yield  to  be  instructed,  of  even  the  Lord  of  hosts 

II.  He  is  a  being  of  so  little  might,  that  he  is  said  to  be  "  crush- 
ed before  the  moth,"  and  yet  "helifteth  his  mouth  against  the 
heavens,  and  his  tongue  walketh  through  the  earth."  "He  rushes 
upon  the  thick  bosses  of  Jehovah's  buckler,"  and  impudently  in- 
quires, "  Who  is  the  Lord,  that  I  should  serve  him  1" 

III.  He  is  the  only  accountable  creature,  and  the  only  careless  one. 
He  knows  that  he  must  stand  before  the  bar  of  God,  and  be  judg- 
ed for  all  the  deeds  done  here  in  the  body,  and  yet  is  heard  to 
say,  "Let  us  cat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die." 

IV.  He  is  the  only  reasoning;  creature,  and  the  yet  only  one  that 
acts  unreasonably.  He  can  look  at  the  face  of  the  sky  and  know 
the  si'_rns  of  the  times,  and  yet  permits  the  dread  concerns  of  eter- 
nity to  close  in  upon  him,  unheeded,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
He  is  crying,  Peace,  peace,  till  the  moment  when  sudden  destruc 
lion  comes  upon  him,  as  travail  upon  a  woman  with  child 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  789 

V.  He  is  the  only  probationer  for  eternity,  and  yet  the  only  l.e- 
ing  prodigal  of  time.  He  only  needs,  and  has  invented  pastimes 
— things  to  kill  time.  And  yet  when  he  is  considered  in  connec- 
tion with  the  things  he  is  constrained  to  contemplate,  time  is  to 
him  eternity. 

VI.  He  only  is  capable  of  looking  at  the  heavens,  and  has  re- 
ceived from  them  mercies  innumerable,  " new  every  morning,  and 
fresh  every  evening,"  and  yet  he  is  the  only  being  of  all  the  crea- 
tures of  God  who  is  unthankful.  He  only  is  proud  of  what  en- 
slaves and  degrades  him.  He  only  is  vain  of  what  is  loaned  him, 
covetous  of  what  is  not  his  own,  and  what  he  must  quit  so  soon. 


1.  How  evidently  is  man  in  a  state  of  pain  ;  had  his  soul  retain- 
ed moral  health,  he  would  not  have  been  liable  to  all  this  absurdity 
of  moral  movement. 

2.  How  lamentably  slow  is  the  work  of  renovation  seen  to  be 
going  on  in  the  believer !  When  will  he  ever  be  what  God  would 
have  him  to  be  \ 

3.  How  mad  are  men  to  suppose  that  any  thing,  less  than  rege- 
neration, can  make  man  a  correct  being. 

4.  How  mad  is  man  who  trusteth  in  his  own  heart.  The  scrip- 
tures pronounce  him  a  fool. 

If  men  may  put  no  confidence  in  one  another,  they  put  none  »n 
themselves.  Man  may  be  deceived  and  ruined  while  he  thinks  he 
has  a  sure  guide. 


No.  IX. 

HEBREWS    X.    31. 
It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God. 

Why  will  it  be  so  fearful  a  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
living  God  1 

Not  because  he  is  not  the  kindest  being  in  the  universe,  and  too 
just  to  do  wrong  to  any  being.  "He  is  merciful  and  gracious, 
slow  to  anger,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth." 

But  the  text  does  not  mean  to  say,  that  sinners  are  not  now  in 
the  hands  of  the  living  God,  but  has  allusion  to  the  time  when  he 
will  make  them  the  subjects  of  his  vindictive  wrath  ;  when  he  will 
display  his  hatred  of  their  character  in  their  everlasting  destruc- 
tion. 

Why  will  it  be  so  fearful  a  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
living  God  ? 

I.  Because  he  suffers  his  wrath  to  accumulate. 

.Men  inflict  vengeance  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  be  angry.  They 
punish  when  their  "  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little,"  perhaps  when 
but  one  act  of  aggression  has  been  committed. 

God  waits  long.  The  iniquity  of  the  Canaanites  was  not  yet 
full.  He  waited  in  the  old  world,  after  the  decree  to  destroy  it.  had 
gone  out,  one  hundred  and  twenty  years. 

II.  Because  delays  to  punish  do  not  at  all  neutralize  his  anger. 
.Men.  sometimes  forget  the  deed  that  enraged  them,  and  become 

quite  pacified  after  having  been  angry,  although  they  have  not  ta- 
ken vengeance. 

"  Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not  executed  speedi- 
ly, therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully  set  in  them  to  do 
evil." 

III.  Because,  while  he  delays  to  punish,  he  continues  the  means 
of  grace,  and  thus  shows  himself  willing  not  to  inflict  the  deserved 
wrath. 

"  O  that  thou  hadst  hearkened  unto  my  commandments,  then 
had  thy  peace  been  as  a  river,  and  thy  righteousness  as  the  waves 
of  the  sea." 


SHORT    SERMONS.  791 

IV.  While  he  waits  on  the  sinner,  he  continues  to  him  the  wont' 
ed  indulgences  of  his  providence.  He  feeds  his  enemies  while  he 
is  waiting  the  hour  of  their  execution,  and  he  often  waits  very  long. 

V.  While  he  waits,  he  gives  no  intimation  that  he  continues 
angry. 

The  sinner  would  not  know  by  any  mere  token  of  divine  wrath, 
that  God  had  marked  him  out  for  destruction. 

VI.  Because  he  fixes  no  set  bounds  to  his  indulgences. 

One  he  bears  with  a  longer  time,  another  a  shorter — condemns 
one  at  the  age  of  twenty,  another  at  the  age  of  forty,  and  another 
at  the  age  of  sixty. 

VII.  The  longer  he  waits,  the  less  hope  there  is  of  forgiveness. 
It  is  otherwise  with  men  ;  if  they  delay  vengeance,  we  hope  they 

have  forgotten  their  wrath — not  so  with  God. 

VIII.  Because  he  always  produces  conviction  of  desert  when  he 
punishes. 

It  is  often  otherwise  with  men.  They  are  sometimes  convicted 
and  condemned  while  innocent. 

IX.  When  he  punishes,  it  is  always  a  final  and  complete  destruc 
tion.     Wrath  shall  come  upon  them  to  the  uttermost. 

X.  It  will  be  jealousy  when  he  punishes,  and  no  wrath  is  so 
dreadful.     It  is  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb.     Jealousy  is  love  sowed. 

XL  He  is  the  living  God! 

No  idea  can  be  more  dreadful.  He  lives  to  finish  the  wrath  he 
began  to  inflict.     He  will  eternally  be  alive  to  punish. 

REMARKS. 

1.  How  amazing  is  the  supineness  of  the  sinner,  who  must  so 
soon  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God! 

2.  How  yet  more  amazing  their  mirth  and  jollity — dancing  in 
their  chains  1 

3.  How  astonishing  the  indifference  of  believers!  They  would 
feel  serious  at  the  prison  grates  of  some  convict  that  must  die  a 
natural  death  as  soon  as  many  around  them  must  die  eternally. 

4.  If  this  subject  is  so  solemn  and  dreadful  in  its  application  to 
sinners  in  general,  how  much  more  dreadful  must  it  be  in  applica- 
tion to  those  who  have  set  out  for  heaven,  and  then  drawn  back  to 
perdition!  Such  will  be  convicted  of  having  "trodden  under  foot 
the  Son  of  God,"  in  a  peculiar  and  terrible  sense,  "and  put  him  to 
an  open  shame." 


No.  X. 

GALATIANS    IV.    15. 

Where  is  then  the  blessedness  ye  spake  of? 

Paul  had  preached  the  gospel  to  the  GaUtians,  had  heen  the 
means  of  turning  many  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  drawn  toward 
himself  their  strong  attachment. 

If  it  had  been  possible,  he  says,  they  would  have  plucked  out 
their  own  eyes  and  given  to  him.  But  he  had  now  become  their 
enemy  because  he  told  them  the  truth. 

But  the  great  calamity  was,  that  while  they  had  become  cold  in 
their  affections  towards  their  spiritual  father,  they  had  also  de- 
clined in  their  affections  towards  Jesus  Christ,  and  there  was  need 
that  he  be  formed  again  in  them  the  hope  of  glory. 

But  as  no  scripture  is  of  private  interpretation,  the  subject  will 
lead  me  to  inquire  of  believers,  "  Where  is  then  the  blessedness 
ye  spake  of  1"  What  cause  has  there  been,  and  what  excuse  can 
be  offered,  for  a  decline  of  Christian  affection,  since  the  time  of 
your  espousals  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  1 

That  there  has  been  a  decline  in  the  warmth  of  feeling  and 
and  promptness  of  action,  since  the  day  of  your  covenant  with 
God,  it  is  presumed  no  one  will  require  us  to  prove. 

The  only  inquiry  that  must  be  made,  is  into  the  cause  or  ground 
of  this  decline. 

I.  Is  not  Jehovah  the  same  great  and  good  being  he  was  when 
you  gave  him  your  whole  heart,  and  covenanted  to  be  his  for  ever  X 
And  does  he  not  govern  the  world  on  the  same  principles  of 
grace  and  mercy  by  Jesus  Christ  1  And  does  he  not  foster  the 
church  with  the  same  care  and  kindness  he  did  when  you  first  took 
sanctuary  in  her  bowers  1  Has  there  been  any  correspondent 
cooling  of  affection  in  the  bosom  of  the  angels,  and  the  "  spirits 
of  just  men  made  perfect,"  towards  Jehovah  1  Is  he  not  as  nigh 
to  you,  and  as  necessary,  as  when  you  first  diccovered  that  the 
world  was  full  of  Godl  "Should  you  ascend  up  to  heaven,  is  be 
not  there?  Should  you  make  your  bed  in  hell,  is  he  not  there'? 
Is  not  his  favor  life,  nd  his  loving  kindness  better  than  life  V 
If  plunged  into  trials,  are  you  not  still  obliged  to  say,  "  The  Lord 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  793 

liveth,  and  the  Lord  rcigneth,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord"  1 
Will  you  not  say,  "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee,  and  who  is 
there  on  earth  I  desire  beside  thee  V  Would  you  not  say  in  the 
hour  of  onset,  "  If  it  hud  not  been  for  the  Lord  who  was  on  our 
side  when  men  rose  up  against  us,  then  they  had  swallowed  us  up 
quickly,  when  their  wrath  was  kindled  against  us."  Why,  then, 
any  change  in  your  affection  towards  the  great  God  ?  "  Where 
is  then  the  blessedness  ye  spake  of  I" 

II.  And  what  grand  change  has  there  been  in  your  views  or  af- 
fections towards  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  1  It  is  as  true  now,  as  then, 
that  he  died  for  you,  and  still  intercedes  for  you.  His  blood  is 
still  the  basis  of  your  pardon  and  the  ground  of  your  acceptance  ; 
and  j  our  hope  and  communion  with  him  is  as  sweet  as  ever.  The 
redeemed  in  heaven  have  none  of  them  lost  their  confidence  in 
him.  You  did  not,  in  the  time  of  your  espousals,  overrate  his 
merits,  or  value  too  highly  his  love,  or  confide  too  firmly  in  the 
sureties  of  the  everlasting  covenant.  Why,  then,  any  change  in 
your  affections  towards  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  I  "  Where  then  is 
the  blessedness  ye  spake  of." 

III.  And  the  children  of  God,  to  whom  you  seemed  so  much 
attached,  have  the  same  claim  to  your  regard  as  they  had  then. 
True,  you  might  not  then  have  seen  all  the  faults  in  them  you  no.v 
see.  But  have  you  seen  so  many  that  you  cannot  love  them  ?  If 
so,  then  we  ask  if  Christ  has  seen  so  many  that  he  cannot  love 
them  1  And  cannot  you  love  when  he  can  !  Have  you  not  as 
much  in  you  to  cool  their  affection  as  they  to  cool  yours]  And, 
with  all  their  faults,  are  they  not  in  covenant  with  God  I  Will 
they  not  fina.ly  escape  to  heaven  \  You  once  loved  them  because 
they  loved  Christ,  and  they  love  him  still,  and  he  them.  Where, 
then,  has  fled  that  warm  Christian  affection  which  led  you  to  say, 
with  the  Moabites,  "  Where  thou  goest,  I  will  go,  and  where 
thou  stayest  I  will  stay  !" 

IV.  Tlie  souls  of  ungodly  men,  that  claimed  your  pity,  and  draw 
forth  your  prayers  and  exhortations  and  entreaties,  are  worth  no  less 
now,  than  at  the  time  of  your  espousals  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Those  same  beings  are  some  of  them  here  yet,  in  all  their  unbelief 
and  impenitence,  and  their  condition,  it  will  be  acknowledged,  is 
far  more  deplorable.  If  many  are  gone  and  lost  who  affected  your 
hearts  in  the  day  when  you  believed,  others  are  here,  in  the  same 
ruined  condition  of  guilt  and  wretchedness.  Hence,  why  any  less 
concern  for  their  souls  \ 

V.  And  this  poor  world  is   the    same   vanity  as  when   you   first 


794:  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

trampled  it  under  your  feet.  In  what  new  attitude  can  it  possibly 
have  presented  itself  so  as  to  win  again  a  supreme  attachment '! 
li  is  a  perishing  good  that  can  be  stolen  or  moth-eaten,  or  can 
take  wings  and  fly  away.  The  cry  in  your  ear  still  is,  "Arise  ye, 
and  depart,  for  this  is  not  your  rest.  Or  has  this  cry  all  died 
away  !  Well,  it  is  as  true  as  when  you  first  listened  to  it.  This 
is  a  poor  world,  a  temptation,  a  mere  vanity. 

VI.  And  the  heavenly  treasure — how  can  it  have  lost  its  value 
to  a  dying  man  1  However  highly  it  maybe  right  to  value  this 
world,  we  must  quit  it  so  soon,  that  wisdom  would  dictate  that  we 
have  treasures  elsewhere.  If  heaven  implies  a  freedom  from  sin, 
how  can  the  believer  not  long  for  it '!  If  in  heaven  there  are  more 
distinct  views  of  Christ  than  in  this  life,  how  can  the  believer  not 
wish  to  be  in  heaven  1 

VIII.  Some  of  the  blessedness  of  your  earliest  religious  hours 
consists  in  the  happy  seasons  of  prayer  enjoyed  ;  and  why  has 
this  duty  lost  any  of  its  sweetness  1  God  is  as  ready  to  hear  you 
pray,  and  as  prompt  to  answer  and  save,  as  he  then  was  ;  and  have 
you  not  the  same  occasion  to  pray  1  Do  not  a  thousand  cares 
ever  press  you  into  a  cold,  backslidden  state?  And  could  you  get 
back  to  the  views  and  affections  you  once  had,  the  duty  would 
give  you  all  the  pleasure  it  then  did.  "  Where  is  then  the  blessed- 
ness ye  spake  of?" 

VIII.  And  so  far  as  your  early  joys  were  derived  from  the  Bible, 
why  need  there  have  been  any  change  1  It  is  the  same  book  of 
God,  filled  with  the  same  precious  promises,  the  same  sanctifying 
doctrines,  and  the  same  delightful  exhibition  of  God  and  heaven. 
"  Where  is  then  the  blessedness  ye  spake  ofl" 

REMARKS. 

It  may  be  important  to  inquire,  since  there  would  seem  to  be  no 
cause  of  the  change,  of  the  loss  of  blessedness  to  believers  from 
their  departure  from  the  spirit  of  their  espousals,  what  the  effect 
will  be  1 

1.  That  the  believer  is  greatly  injuring  his  own  soul  by  his  de- 
parture, there  can  be  no  doubt.     He  backens  his  heavenly  growth. 

2.  It  is  equally  sure  that  he  injures  his  brethren.  lie  holds 
them  back  with  all  the  influence  he  has  over  them,  by  all  the  affec- 
tion they  have  for  him,  and  all  the    forms  of  his  example. 

3.  And  in  the  mean  time  he  is  destroying  the  world  of  the  un- 
godly.    They  will  not  believe,  while  they  see  you  live  as  though 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  795 

you  were  sorry  you  had  made  a  profession  of  religion,  that  there 
can  be  any  great  sweetness  or  richness  in  that  religion. 

4.  He  is  preparing  himself,  probably,  for  a  wretched  dying  bed. 

5.  He  will  have  a  lower  seat  in  heaven. 


No.    XI. 

PSALM  XLV.   10,   11. 
Hearken,  O  daughter,  and  consider,  and  incline  thine  ear;  forget  also  thine  own  people  and  thy 
father's  house  :  so  shall  the  King  greatly  desire  thy  beauty,  for  he  is  thy  Lord,  and  worship  thou 
him. 

To  render  the  text  applicable  to  the  present  occasion,  it  needs 
only  to  be  said,  that  it  constitutes  a  fragment  of  a  beautiful  alle- 
gory, in  which  the  union  of  Christ  with  his  people  is  represented, 
under  the  allusion  of  a  marriage.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  spend 
a  moment  in  tracing  the  features  of  the  allegory.  The  intended 
bride  is  expected  to  listen  to  the  terms  of  the  compact  and  well 
consider  it,  and  then  to  forget  her  people  and  her  father's  house. 
Her  beloved  then  promises  to  take  delight  in  her  spiritual  beauty, 
and  as  her  Lord,  receive  her  subjection  and  homage. 

The  different  features  of  the  allegory  will  furnish  the  plan  of 
my  remarks. 

I.  The  Lord  Jesus  has  made  to  you  kind  and  gracious  overtures. 
He  offers  to  unite  you  to  himself  in  an  everlasting  covenant,  well 
ordered  in  all  things,  and  sure.  Thus  in  a  parallel  passage,  he 
uses  the  same  figure" :  "  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  me  for  ever.  Yea, 
I  will  betroth  thee  unto  me  in  righteousness  and  in  judgment,  and 
in  loving-kindness,  and  in  mercies — I  will  betroth  thee  unto  me 
in  faithfulness,  and  thou  shalt  know  the  Lord."  For  a  consumma- 
tion of  this  marriage  union  between  Christ  and  believers,  see  Rev. 
xix.  7,  8.  "Christ  will  furnish  you  with  your  marriage  apparel 
and  ornaments,  so  that  when  adorned  for  the  wedding,  you  will 
wear  his  own  beauties."  See  Is.  lxi.  10.  We  see  this  circumstance 
noticed  in  the  history  of  his  ancient  Church — "  Thy  renown  went 
forth  among  the  heathen,  for  thy  beauty,  for  it  was  perfect,  through 
my  comeliness  which  I  had  put  upon  thee." 

Under  the  gospel  dispensation — sobriety,  gravity,  and  temper 
tince,  a  meek  and  a  quiet  spirit,  are  the  ornaments  the  soul  is  ex- 
pected to  wear,  which  becomes  wedded  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


79G  SHORT    SERMONS,  OR 

When  lie  has  thus  made  you  beautiful,  be  will  love  bis  own 
image,  which  he  has  put  upon  you,  and  he  will  employ  you  in  his 
service,  and  will  bold  you  near  him,  blessing'  you  with  bis  smiles 
for  ever. 

II.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  expects  that  you  will  hearken  and 
incline  your  ear.  He  deals  with  sinners  as  rational,  intelligent 
beings,  and  makes  overtures,  in  language  which  they  understand 
The  Bible  is  the  plainest  book  in  tbe  world,  and  the  gospel  system 
so  plain,  that  "  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  need  not  err 
therein."  You  must  not,  however,  suppose  that  in  securing  your 
assent  to  the  terms  of  the  covenant,  the  Holy  Spirit  deals  with 
you  as  if  you  were  machines — mere  passive  recipients  of  his  mer- 
cy. No  :  he  does  not  thus  bold  out  a  premium  for  stupidity  and 
inaction.  If  you  would  be  saved,  you  must  hearken  and  incline 
your  ear,  and  consider  when  Christ  speaks.  You  must  do  as  Da- 
vid did.  "I  thought  upon  my  ways;  I  turned  my  feet  unto  thy 
testimonies ;  I  made  haste  and  delayed  not  to  keep  thy  command- 
ments." Ps.  cxix.  59,  60.  Mere  hearing,  without  consideration, 
will  not  profit  you  :  as  says  James,  "  But  be  ye  doers  of  the  word, 
and  not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own  selves.  For  if  any  be 
a  hearer  of  the  word,  and  not  a  doer,  he  is  like  unto  a  man  be- 
holding his  natural  face  in  a  glass:  for  he  beboldeth  himself,  and 
goetb  bis  way,  and  straightway  forgetteth  what  manner  of  man  he 
was.  But  whoso  looketb  into  tbe  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  con- 
tinueth  therein,  he  being  not  a  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the 
word,  this  man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  deed." 

III.  You  are  required  to  forget  your  own  people  and  your  fa- 
ther's house.  As  in  marriage,  the  bride  separates  herself  from  her 
home,  so  the  sinner  must  disengage  himself  from  every  friend, 
however  dear,  who  would  hold  him  back  in  the  service  of  Christ. 
It  often  happens,  that  under  these  circumstances,  "  a  man's  foes 
are  they  of  his  own  household."  Yet,  says  the  Savior,  "  He  that 
loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me;  and 
he  that  loveth  son  or  daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me; 
and  lie  that  taketh  not  bis  cross  and  followeth  after  me  is  not 
worthy  of  me."  You  must  consequently  divorce  yourself  from 
all  your  gay,  idle,  fashionable,  and  irreligious  companions.  Tliere 
is  no  alternative  but  abandonment.  The  word  of  God  is  explicit  : 
"  And  when  he  had  called  the  people  unto  him,  with   his  disciples 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  797 

a  so,  he  said  unto  them,  whosoever  will  come  after  me,  let  him 
deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me.  For  whoso- 
ever will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  but  whosoever  shall  lose  his 
life  for  my  sake  and  the  gospel's,  the  same  shall  save  it.  For 
what  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and 
lose  his  own  soul  .'  Or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his 
soul!  Whosoever  therefore  shall  be  ashamed  of  me,  and  of  my 
words,  in  this  adulterous  and  sinful  generation,  of  him  also  shall 
the  Son  of  man  be  ashamed  when  he  cometh  in  the  glory  of  his 
Father  with  the  holy  angels." 

IV.  When  you  have  equipped  yourself  for  a  spiritual  union  with 
Christ,  he  will  see  in  you  those  beauties  that  will  render  you  his 
delight  and  his  glory.  They  will  be  his  own  beauties  put  upon 
you,  but  put  upon  you  so  as  to  be  your  own. 

1.  They  will  adhere  to  you  for  ever. 

2.  They  will  shine  by  contrast  with  your  former  character. 
You  know  how  pleasing  a  thing  it  is  to  see  what  was  once  de- 
formed made  beautiful. 

3.  They  will  never  tarnish.  They  do  not  consist  in  tinsel,  or 
in  jewels  which  grow  old  and  fade.  They  do  not  depend,  like  the 
cheek  and  the  sprightlmess  of  youth,  on  the  rapid  flow  of  the 
life's  blood.  They  do  not  depend  upon  the  caprices  of  fashion  or 
custom. 

4.  They  will  be  beauties  which  will  grow  brighter,  and  shine 
with  more  and  more  brilliancy  and  glory  through  all  the  years  of 
heaven.  A  full  view  of  the  glories  of  the  Lamb  will  make  every 
face  in  heaven  glow  with  increasing  loveliness  for  ever. 

V.  It  remains  that  I  speak  of  your  employment  in  the  spiritual 
house  of  your  Lord.     He  is  thy  Lord,  and  worship  thou  him. 

You  are  to  be  employed  everlastingly  jn  doinq;  him  service — in 
vindicating  his  honor  and  law  and  government — in  contriving  new 
anthems  to  express  your  pleasure  and  confidence  and  devotion — 
in  urging  on  the  angels  to  louder  and  sweeter  hosannas — in  hold- 
in-  on  upon  the  everlasting  covenant.  Come,  my  fellow-sinners, 
aviII  you  he  wedded  to  the  Lord  Jesus  1  What  do  you  reply  ?  Do 
you  ask  me,  shall  we  not  tire  in  the  work  !  No.  Jesus  will  ap- 
pear more  and  more  lovely  for  ever. 

But  will  not  the  world  lannrh  at  me  ?  Let  them  lauGfh.  Can  it 
interrupt  your  bliss  in  heaven  !  But  should  you,  for  fear  of  the 
world's  ridicule   refuse!     Can   their  laughter   relieve    the  agonies 


798  snoRT  SERMONS,   OR 

of  your  dying  bed,  or  extinguish  the  flames  of  hell,  when  yrm  v'c 
sinking  amidst  them'? 

Do  you  say,  I  am  too  young,  and  religion  will  make  me  unlovely  '? 
Oli,  no.     The  rose  on  the  cheek  of  beauty  was  never  half  so  beau 
tiful   or  fragrant  as   when   bathed   in   the   tears  of  repentance,  or 
blushing  with  the  first  tints  of  hope. 

"And  now  if  you  will  deal  kindly  and  truly  with  my  Master, 
tell  me,  and  if  not  tell  me,  that  I  may  turn  to  the  right  hand  or  the 
left."     Gen.  xxiv.  49 


No.   XII. 

JEREMIAH    III.    15. 
1  wit!  give  you  pastors  according  to  mine  heart,  which  shall  feed  you  with  knowledge  and  undei 

standing. 

The  prophet  is  addressing  the  ten  tribes,  and  promises,  in  the 
name  of  God,  that  if  they  will  return  to  him  by  repentance,  he  will 
give  them  pastors  after  his  own  heart,  through  whose  agency  he 
will  edify  and  save  them. 

But  the  church  is  in  all  ages  the  same,  and  what  was  the  richest 
promise  to  Israel  is  the  richest  that  God  can  now  make  to  his 
people. 

It  can  then  need  no  apology,  if  I  make  it  my  object  on  this  occa- 
sion to  magnify  the  pastoral  office. 

I  would  premise,  that  the  pastoral  office  seems  the  only  minis- 
terial office  intended  to  be  permanent. 

I.  What,  then,  are  the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office  X 

1.  To  edify  the  body  of  Christ;  to  mature  the  Christians  for 
their  heavenly  s-tate. 

The  idea  is  a  mistaken  one,  that  the  conversion  of  sinners  is  a 
more  pressing  object  than  the  edification  of  the  Church.  God 
has  promised  them  that  he  will  guide  them  with  his  counsel,  and 
afterward  receive  them  to  glory. 

He  lias  promised  his  Son,  I  know,  that  he  shall  see  of  the  travail 
of  his  soul  and  he  satisfied  ;  and  this  promise  the  Father  will  ful- 
fil. But  the  pastoral  office  has  primary  reference  to  the  flock  that 
is  to  be  \'<'i\.     This  flock,  I  know,  must  be   constantly  replenished 


OUTLINES  OF    DISCOURSES.  799 

from  the  world  "  Other  sheep  have  I,  which  are  not  of  this  fold  ; 
them  also  I  must  bring  in,  that  there  may  be  one  fold  and  one 
shepherd."  Hence,  while  these  other  sheep  are  to  be  gathered  in, 
and  gathered  through  a  preached  gospel— for  by  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  God  will  save  them  that  believe — it  is  still  true  that  God 
has  associated  \vi  ii  the  permanency  of  the  Church,  a  permanent 
j  astoral  office.  We  might  divide  the  duties  of  the  office  into  more 
or  less.  I  should  choose  to  say  that  the  pastor  must  had,  nndfeed, 
and  guard,  and  heal. 

1.  He  must  lead.  A  pastor  may  not  be  ignorant  of  the  leading 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  must  make  plain  to  the  Church  the 
truths  she  may  believe,  and  the  precepts  she  must  practice,  to 
please  her  Lord. 

2.  He  must  feed  them.  The  business  of  feeding  the  flock  of 
God,  over  which  a  bishop  is  made  the  overseer,  consists  very  much 
in  so  presenting  divine  truth  to  the  Church  as  to  draw  out  the  holy 
affections  of  the  heart,  and  lead  on,  to  a  perfect  conformity  to  the 
will  of  God,  and  to  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  sacramental 
multitude.  They  must  promptly  hear  the  shepherd's  voice,  when 
there  is  any  danger  that  they  may  stray. 

3.  He  must  guard.  To  guard  the  flock,  implies  on  the  part  of 
the  pastor  a  constant  vigilance,  that  shall  espy  every  approaching 
danger,  and  every  foe  that  may  lurk  in  ambush  to  destroy  or  in- 
jure any  interest  of  the  Church. 

4.  To  heal,  embraces  those  arduous  and  difficult  duties  that  grow 
out  of  the  errors  and  the  general  depravity  of  the  people  of  God. 

All  these  are  implied  in  edifying  the  Church  of  the  living  God  ; 
and  the  whole  is  to  be  done,  as  far  as  human  agency  is  concerned, 
through  (he  skilful  use  of  God's  truth.  God's  people  are  spoken 
of  as  built  up  in  the  most  holy  faith.  They  are  said  to  be  rooted 
and  grounded  in  the  truth.  And  the  promise  is,  "Ye  shall  know 
the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free." 

No  other  means  than  truth  will   effectually  move  the  Christians 
on  any  point,  when  we  wish  them  to  put   forth  their  energies.     A 
song  will  not  do  it,  nor  a  prayer.     A  healthful   and  continued  ac 
tion  requires  solid  food. 

We  can  easily  see  how  truth,  in  the  hands  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
must  do  the  whole  work.  If  he  becomes  idolatrous — truth  shows 
him  God,  sliming  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  proud — truth 
shows  him  the  rock  whence  he  was  hewn,  and  the  hole  of  the  pit 
whence  lie  was  digged.  If  he  cease  to  care  for  sinners — truth 
shows  him  the  terrors  of  the  Lord  :   he  learns  the  Burner's  end   in 


800  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

the  sanctuary  of  the  Most  High.  If  he  becomes  worldly,  or  lust- 
ful, or  envious,  or  ambitious,  or  sluggish — on  each  and  evpry  of 
these  points  he  must  be  assailed  and  put  right  by  the  law  of  the 
Lord,  which  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul. 

And  the  power  that  brings  the  wanderer  back,  must  hold  him. 
"  Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation,  and  uphold  with  thy 
free  spirit ;  then  will  I  teach  transgressors  thy  ways,  and  sinners 
shall  be  converted  unto  thee."  Not  only  now,  but  in  heaven,  the 
truth,  and  the  Spirit  through  the  truth,  must  keep  him  holding  on 
for  ever. 

But  not  cold,  speculative  or  philosophical  truth  will  do  this. 
We  have  no  such  in  the  Bible.  It  is  spiritual,  and  practical,  and 
experimental  truth,  that  renovates  the  heart.  When  David,  in  the 
dark  hour,  encouraged  himself  in  the  Lord  his  God,  it  was  not  by 
a  cold,  philosophical  speculation  on  the  attributes  of  God  ;  but 
some  practical  review  of  the  Divine  operations — how  God  inter- 
posed for  Abraham,  and  Jacob,  and  Moses,  and  Jo'shua. 

II.  Having  thus  inquired  respecting  the  duties  of  the  pastoral 
office,  and  shown  that  its  office  is  to  guide  the  Church  to  heaven, 
let  us  noio  inquire  whether  the  Church  can  safely  dispense  with  this 
office  1  Why  may  not  evangelists,  the  only  proposed  substitute, 
serve  all  her  interests,  and  protect  her  honor,  and  guide  her  to  the 
marriage  supper  1  I  take  the  negative  of  this  question,  for  the 
following  reasons  : 

1.  Evangelists  cannot  feel  the  pastoral  affections.  Their  home 
is  the  Church  at  large  ;  and  their  regards  to  the  Church  can  have 
no  more  locality  than  their  persons. 

2.  Evangelists  cannot  have  the  leisure  to  study  extensively  the 
word  of  God.     They  cannot   give  themselves   to  reading,  and  be- 
come mighty  in  the  Scriptures.     They  may  gain  a  kind  of  know- 
that  will   render  them   invaluable   ministers  of  the  word  of 

life,  and  take  lessons  extensively  on  human  manners  and  human 
nature. 

3.  They  cannot  become  familiar  with  the  business  of  adminis- 
tering  the  discipline  of  the   Church,  and    know   how  to   meet  the 

of  toil  and  sorrow  which   so  frequently  rend  piecemeal  the 
churches  of  Jesus  Christ. 

i.  They  cannot  feel  the  responsibilities  that  are  indispensable  to 
the  guidance  and  safe  conduct  of  the  churches  throng!)  this  wil- 
derness.    Must  all  matters  in  the  Church  of  Christ  be  done  accord- 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  301 

ing  to  his  own  laws'?   they  must  be  done  by  the  men  who  will    l« 
main  on  the  spot  to  bear  the  blame  if  they  are  done  wrong. 

5.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  churches  will  hold  in  sufficiently 
high  respect  and  affection,  for  their  own  good,  a  changing  and 
fluctuating  ministry.  If  there  is  no  portion  of  the  parental  rela- 
tion, there  can  be  but  little  of  that  filial  respect  that  begets  confi- 
dence, and  tractableness,  and  the  desirable  trust  and  submission. 

OBJECTIONS. 

1.  But  it  has  been  said,  that  the  pastoral  relation  has  cradled 
the  Church  to  sleep  ;  and  some  wise  men  have  believed  that,  to 
unsettle  the  ministry,  and  supply  the  place  of  the  pastors  with 
evangelists,  is  the  remedy. 

This,  it  would  seem,  is  being  wise  above  what  is  written.  God 
has  appointed  the  office,  and  could  not  but  know  perfectly  whether 
his  churches  would  be  safe  under  his  own  regulations.  As  well 
might  we  say  that  none  are  so  unfit  to  bring  up  children  as  their 
parents,  and  discard  at  once  all  the  domestic  relations. 

2.  But  a  perpetual  change  in  the  ministry  will  furnish  the 
churches  a  perpetual  novelty  in  the  mode  of  exhibiting  the  word 
of  life.  This  is  by  no  means  certain — and  if  certain,  not  certainly 
a  good. 

3.  But  if  we  thus  hold  the  lash  over  ministers,  we  shall  press 
them  up  to  duty,  and  make  them  more  faithful.  Perhaps  not. 
They  may  be  rendered  mercenary;  and  be  driven,  some  of  them, 
to  hypocrisy,  by  the  want  of  a  pice  of  bread ;  but  will  not,  we  ap- 
prehend, be  rendered,  by  this  means,  more  faithful  to  Jesus  Christ 
or  to  his  flock. 

REMARKS. 

1.  Let,  then,  the  churches  love  their  pastors,  and  tenderly  cher- 
ish them,  and  pray  for  them 

2.  Let  the  pastors  care  supremely  for  the  eternal  solvation  of 
their  people,  that  the  high  and  holy  office  may  result  in  the  pre- 
senting to  Christ,  at  last,  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing. 

3.  How  dreadful  this  office,  to  negotiate  between  God  and  man, 
as  God's  ambassador ! 

Too  dreadful  to  be  lightly  entered  upon. 

Too  dreadful  to  be  entered  unprepared. 

Too  dreadful  to  be  coveted. 

And  yet,  too  honorable  to  be  avoided,  when  the  call  is  plain. 


-     J  SHORT    SERMONS,    OB 

"How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  that 
Mingeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace;  that  bringeth  good 
tidings  of  good,  that  publisheth  salvation;  that  saith  unto  Zion, 
Thy  God  reigneth!  Thy  watchmen  shall  lift  up  the  voice;  with 
the  voice  together  shall  they  sing:  for  they  shall  see  eye  to  eye, 
when  the  Lord  shall  brin<r  a<rain  Zion." 


No.  XIII. 

1    PETER    IV.    18. 
11  ili»  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear? 

On  the  truth  of  God  we  found  a  hope  that  his  people  will  all 
reach  heaven,  not  to  shine  with  equal  light,  and  not  to  glow  with 
equal  transport  in  the  throne  of  the  blessed.  Some  of  God's  peo- 
ple will  shine  with  full-orbed  glory,  while  others  will  shine  with  the 
diminished  light  of  a  more  distant  star.  It  is  promised  to  the  peo- 
ple of  God  that  those  who  have  turned  many  to  righteousness,  shall 
shine  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father,  and  as  the  stars,  forever  and 
ever ;  and  yet  the  smallest  amount  of  that  exalted  glory  will  sur- 
pass the  highest  hopes  of  every  humble  believer.  His  expectation 
is,  he  shall  be  "saved,  as  though  by  fire."  He  is  a  brand  plucked 
out  of  the  fire,  and  if  he  may  reach  heaven,  at  any  price,  it  is  the 
height  of  his  ambition.  If  he  may  only  stand  at  the  portals  of 
that  happy  world,  and  gaze  forever  upon  one  of  the  glories  of  that, 
cluster  to  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  study  out  that  one  rich  attribute 
of  the  Savior,  it  will  be  heaven  enough  for  him  ;  and  yet  his  hope 
is  to  reach  that  "  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory," 
when  he  dares  to  entertain  any  hope  at  all.  The  fact  is,  a  great 
deal  must  be  done  yet  for  the  people  of  God  to  bring  them  to 
heaven.  But  this  will  be  done  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  "  who  hath 
taken  their  feet  out  of  the  horrible  pit  and  the  miry  clay,  and  put 
a  new  song  into  their  mouth."  This  first  a:\ft  of  a  Savior  promises 
all  the  rest,  "  He  that  pared  not  his  own  Son,  but  freely  gave  him 
up  for  ns  all,  how  shall  he  not  freely  give  us  all  things  with  him  ln 

But  let  us  look  a  little  at  the  process  of  this  work. 

I.   The  people  of  God  will  be  saved  with  difficulty. 

I.  Owing  to  their  strong  remaining  corruptions.     These  must 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES  803 

all   be  subdued   by  the  power  of  God,   or  they  can   never  live  in 
i.      If  me  work  of  God  is   begun  in  their    hearts,  it  is  only 
the  first  dawning*  of  eternal  light,  which  will  "  shine  brighter  and 
brighter  unto  the  perfect  day."     So  the  promise  is. 

2.  To  their  long  and  inveterate  habits  of  sin.  It  may  be  said 
of  them,  "Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or  the  leopard  his 
spots  !  then  may  ye,  who  are  accustomed  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do  well." 

3.  To  the  strong  and  numerous  foes  that  oppose  his  march. 
The  Christian,  it  seems,  is  destined  to  be  watched  and  waylaid  in 
every  furlong  of  his  route.  If  finally  he  can  sing,  "  The  desert  is 
all  trodden  over  ;  not  another  foe  to  waylay,  not  another  serpent 
to  bite,  or  stony  morass  to  cross,"  with  this  song  he  hopes  to  finish 
his  pilgrimage. 

4.  A  great  amount  of  labor  will  be  requisite  to  push  him  forward 
in  his  heavenly  pilgrimage. 

5.  There  will  await  him  many  other  dangers,  of  which  he  can 
have  yet  no  conception.  He  has  yet  to  "  wrestle  with  principali- 
ties and  powers,  and  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  with 
spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places,"  and  will  need  yet  the  agility 
of  an  angel,  to  ward  off  his  danger  and  consummate  the  victory. 

II.  But  "  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  sinner  appear  1"  All  the 
difficulties,  and  more  yet,  that  obstruct  the  way  of  the  Christian 
heavenward,  are  surely  before  the  man  who  has  not  commenced 
his  route  thither. 

I.  The  man  who  is  not  a  Christian  has  yet  to  enter  upon  the 
way-  He  has  yet  to  combat  the  very  preliminaries  of  the  journey  ; 
and  he  has  yet  to  suppose  they  may  be  even  greater  than  those  in 
the  way  of  the  Christian. 

2.  He  may  have  more  yet  corruptions.  He  may  have  taken  a 
more  wayward  course,  and  may  have  engendered  iniquities.  His 
habits  of  sin  may  have  placed  him  further  from  heaven  than  the 
believer,  and  he  may  have  yet  many  furlongs  to  go  before  lie 
reaches  the  spot  where  the  Christian  heiran  his  route. 

3.  But  his  iniquities  must  all  be  uprooted.  He  has  been  sowing 
the  vary  ground  he  has  trodden  over  with  thorns  and  briars  ;  and 
there,  with  his  own  hand,  he  must  pluck  up  and  plant,  instead  of 
them,  the  rose  of  Sharon. 

!.  lie  has  more  foes,  in  addition  to  those  planted  in  the  way  of 
the  Christian.  With  these  he  must  wrestle  and  strive  more  ;  with 
these  he  must  make  a  gre  it  many  efforts,  before  he  will  reach  the 
spot  from  whence  the  Christian  has  passed  on  towards  heaven. 


60J:  SHOUT    SERMONS,    OR 

5.  He  must  do  more  labor  than  if  he  had  set  out  earlier. 
G.  The  same,  and  more  yet  dangers  await   him  than  await  the 
Christian. 

REMARKS. 

1.  Would  I  have  the  sinner  despair,  lie  down  and  die  1  Will 
not  heaven  be  worth  all  the  efforts  he  has  yet  to  make,  and  to  avoid 
hell  ?  Would  it  not  be  worth  while  that  he  should  go  through 
again  and  again,  if  it  must  be,  all  the  pangs  of  the  new  birth  1 

I  have  heard  of  three  men  that  were  cast  upon  an  island,  having 
no  way  to  live  but  to  wrestle  perpetually  all  night.  It  was  a  ter- 
rible atmosphere,  and  the  bay  was  freezing  over,  and  they  must 
stay  and  wrestle  the  livelong  night,  or  life  must  go  out  by  frost. 
They  continued  to  struggle  the  next  day  for  life,  until  the  ice 
bore  them,  and  they  went  on  shore  and  lived.  Now  was  it  not 
best  that  they  should  do  all  this  and  live,  rather  than  die  1 

2.  0,  then,  how  anxious  should  sinners  be  to  commence  the 
great  work  of  their  salvation  ! 

3.  How  anxious,  too,  should  the  church  be  that  sinners  might 
live  ! 


No.    XTV 

GENESIS   XXVIII.   20 — 22. 

Ami  Jacob  vowed  a  vow,  savins.  It"  Gorl  will  be  with  me,  and  will  keep  me  in  this  way  that  1 
go,  and  wih  give  me  bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on,  so  that  I  come  again  to  my  fatbei  'a  hOQM 
then  shall  the  Lord  be  my  God  :  And  this  stone  which  I  have  set  for  a  pillar,  shall  he 
God's  house ;  and  of  all  that  thou  Bhalt  give  me,  I  will  surely  g  ivc  the  tenth  unto  thee. 

I  have  thought  for  some  time  it  might  be  peculiarly  interesting, 
if  ministers  would  be  in  the  habit  of  drawing  out  the  characters  of 
Old  Testament  saints,  through  the  times  and  scenes  of  their  con- 
version, fixing  on  the  time  if  it  might  be,  when  they  gave  tip  all  for 
Christ,  and  submitted  themselves  to  the  rule  and  direction  of  He° 
vcn.  I  know  there  might  be  much  said  that  would  be  wild  and 
erratic,  as  in  the  case  of  a  late  writer,  who  represented  David  as 
impenitent  up  to  the  time  of  his  illicit  intercourse  with  the  wife 
of  Uriah,  throwing  very  great  confusion  into  the  history  of  "that 
man  after  God's  own  heart."  I  have  supposed  a  careful  examina- 
tion would  enable  them  to  do  so  with  a  great  amount  of  accuracy 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  80?? 

Thus  the  character  of  the  Christian  in  one  generation  might  '">o 
drawn  out  to  the  gaze  and  review  of  another  generation,  and  thus 
as  generation  after  generation  should  come  home  to  heaven,  the 
believers  of  one  dispensation  might  gaze  upon  the  full  orbed  glory 
of  the  Christians  of  another  generation,  until  they  should  all  come 
home  to  "  the  same  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glo- 
ry," and  thus  appear  in  one  united  company  before  the  Lamb, 
where  they  join  to  "ascribe  to  him  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom, 
and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing."  I  know  if  we 
should  attempt  to  fix  with  precision  the  exact  time  when  a  new 
heart,  and  a  right  spirit  were  given  to  them,  we  might  be  liable 
to  many  gross  blunders.  But  still  we  might  elicit  by  this  many 
interesting  thoughts,  and  be  able  better  to  compare  the  genius 
and  the  spirit  of  the  different  ages  and  dispensations,  and  thus  urge 
on  the  whole  Sacramental  host  to  holy  discipline  and  heavenly 
soldiership,  till  we  might  come  where  we  should  see  the  King  in 
his  beauty. 

Here  we  would  plant  the  feet  of  the  Patriarch,  and  inquire  whe- 
ther this  is  or  is  not  the  very  spot  where  he  was  born  again  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  where  commenced  that  wondrous  train  of  dis- 
pensations that  ended  in  his  final  equipment  for  glory. 

For  the  following  reasons  we  are  of  this  opinion  : — 

1.  It  seems  to  have  been  the  time  he  first  met  with  God,  anal 
first  made  a  vow  to  God. 

2.  This  seems  to  have  been  a  time  of  peculiar  affliction  and  of 
peculiar  cause  to  review  his  life. 

3.  In  the  vision  of  the  night  he  had  a  very  clear  demonstration 
of  the  Divine  care  over  him  in  the  angels  that  ascended  and  de- 
scended the  ladder,  and  especially  in  the  exhibition  of  the  Lord 
of  Angels  that  appeared  at  the  top  of  the  ladder. 

4.  The  fact  that  then  for  the  first  time  was  awakened  against 
him  the  inveterate  wrath  of  his  brother  Esau,  which  continued  to 
the  day  that  he  met  him  at  Penuel,  where  he  wrestled  with  God. 
It  seems  to  have  been  the  moment,  for  the  first  time,  that  he  came 
under  the  wing  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  ''  which  is  well  or- 
dered in  all  things  and  sure." 

5.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  first  time  that  he  awoke  up  to 
the  duty  of  paying  his  vows. 

6.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  moment  when  there  was  ap- 
pointed a  guard  of  angels  over  him  to  keep  him  in  the  way  that 
he  went. 

7.  This  seems  to  have   been  the   time  when  there   commenced 


800  SHORT    SERMONS. 

between  him  and  God  a  train  of  Divine  communications,  in  which 

(hkI  "  led  him  by  his  counsel,  and  gave  evidence  that  he  would 
afterward  receive  him  to  glory." 

8.  It  seems  to  have  been  the  time  when  he  was  taken  under 
the  Divine  escort  for  heaven,  to  which  he  seems  to  have  very 
tenderly  referred,  when  he  said  to  Pharaoh,  "  The  days  of  the 
years  >>(  my  pilgrimage  are  a  hundred  and  thirty  years:  few  and 
evil  have  the  days  of  the  years  of  my  life  been,  and  have  not  at- 
tained unto  the  days  of  the  years  of  the  life  of  my  fathers,  in  the 
days  nf  their  pilgrimage." 

From  this  time  forward  he  seems  to  have  acted  as  one  acquainted 
with  God,  and  seems  at  all  times  to  care  supremely  for  his  honor. 
This  seems  to  have  been  the  moment  when  "his  sin  had  found  Mm 
out"  and  when  he  was  driven  from  his  kindred  and  friends,  and 
constrained  to  pass  through  those  trials,  which,  through  the  sanc- 
tifying  influence  of  the   Spirit,  were  calculated  to   ripen  him  for 

glory- 

REMARKS. 

1.  It  was  remarked  by  one  of  the  old  fathers,  that  he  thnt  will 
observe  the  wonderful  events  of  Divine  providence,  shall  have 
wonderful  events  of  Divine  providence  to  observe. 

2.  To  him  who  will  so  converse  about  God  in  his  history,  as  to 
make  God  great,  God  will  so  manage  in  his  providence  as  to  make 
him  great. 

Thus  what  he  gives  us  we  gather.  Thus  "  they  that  honor  God, 
he  will  honor." 

3.  How  rich  and  instructive  is  it  to  be  conversant  with  the  an- 
cient believers,  with  the  kings  and  princes  of  antiquity,  the  patri- 
archs, and  prophets,  and  elders  of  a  former  Church.  It  is  like 
walking  among  the  ruins  of  some  rich  temple,  and  marking  the 
stately  columns  and  ornaments  of  an  ancient  city,  and  observing 
the  splendid  contour  of  wdiat  excited  the  won  ler,  and  drew  forth 
the  admiration  of  past  generations.  Thus  would  the  subject  I 
propose  make  us  ever  familiar,  and  hold  us  conversant  with  ob- 
jects the  most  truly  sublime. 


No.   XV. 

mati"Hew  xxn.  36,  37,  38. 
Master,  which  is  the  fireat  commandment  in  the  law  ?    Jesus  said  unto  him,  Thou  shalt  love  ihe 
Lord  thy  Cud  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  Uiy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  this  is  the  first  and 
great  commandment. 

I.  To  love  the  Lord  our  God  with  all  our  heart  is  the  first  and 
great  commandment,  because  in  him  are  found  those  excellences 
which  deserve  our  highest  esteem.  They  are  moral  beauties. 
They  render  God  lovely  to  himself,  and  all  his  creatures  lovely  to 
one  another.  Thus  there  is  let  down,  as  with  a  golden  chain,  one 
grand  affection,  that  binds,  or  would  bind  together  the  whole  hu- 
man family.  But  depravity  has  sundered  that  chain — has  snapped 
that  ligature. 

II.  Because  in  him  is  found  nothing  to  allay,  or  neutralize  those 
holy  affections. 

III.  Because  our  highest  blessedness  consists  in  putting  forth 
the  affections  required  in  this  commandment. 

IV.  Because,  when  the  heart  returns  supreme  affection  towards 
its  Maker,  then  it  is  restored  from  the  most  direful  aliena- 
tion that  ever  happened  under  the  government  of  God.  The 
alienation  that  occurred  in  heaven  when  there  was  revolt  amono 
the  angels,  did  not  effect  more  broadly  the  sum  of  human  blessed- 
ness, did  not  sunder  a  tie  more  sacred. 

V.  Because  the  example  of  all  holy  beings  in  every  world  that 
God  has  built,  conspires  to  enforce  this  law.  There  would  be  no 
being  but  God  to  complain,  and  he  will  not,  if  we  give  him  our  su- 
preme affection,  if  we  love  him  while  we  live,  if  we  love  him  when 
we  die,  if  we  love  him  when  we  are  dead. 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  subject  shows  us  the  grand  defect  in  the  mora  ity  of  all 
unregenerate  men.  They  have  no  supreme  object  of  affection,  or 
at  least  God  is  not  that  object,  it  is  some  creature,  some  vanity 
of  vanities,  which  cannot  afford  them  any  real  or  permanent  enjoy- 
ment. 

2.  We  see  why  it  is  impossible  for  unregenerate  men  to  live  in 
heaven. 


808  SHORT    SERMONS. 

None  can  live  there  who  do  not  make  God  the  object  of  then 
concentrated  affections. 

Discord  would  prevail  in  heaven  should  men  be  indiscriminately 
received  into  that  world. 

3.  Hence  the  necessity  of  a  separation  in  the  coming  world  ac- 
cording to  character.  The  tares  and  the  wheat,  the  sheep  and  the 
goats,  the  clean  and  the  unclean,  are  terms  expressive  of  the  con- 
trariety of  character  on  which  this  final  division  will  be  founded. 

4.  We  see,  then,  how  radical  is  this  change  required  in  regene- 
ration, as  great  as  if  the  lion  should  become  a  lamb,  or  the  vulture 
should  be  changed  into  a  dove.  It  is  a  change  in  the  object  of  the 
supreme  affections. 

5.  We  see  why  unregenerate  men  are  unhappy  and  must  be  so. 
They  must  dislodge  their  hearts  from  its  hold  upon  the  world  and 
all  that  they  hold  dear;  we  are  required  to  "put  off  concerning 
the  former  conversation,  the  old  man  which  is  corrupt  according 
to  the  deceitful  lusts;  and  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  our  mind  ; 
and  that"  we  "  put  on  the  new  man,  which,  after  God,  is  created 
in  righteousness  and  true  holiness." 

Children  are  commanded  to  love  their  parents,  and  parents  their 
children  ;  husbands  their  wives,  and  wives  their  husbands,  and  in 
fine  we  are  commanded  to  love  all  men  "with  a  pure  heart  fer- 
vently," and  to  let  "  love  be  without  dissimulation."  That  is,  the 
affection  we  are  to  feci  is  to  be  a  sincere,  and  cordial,  and  true  af- 
fection. But  in  all  this  there  is  to  be  no  infringement  at  all,  upon 
the  claims  of  God.  He  claims  a  supreme  affection,  and  all  our 
other  affections  are  to  be  in  subordination  to  this. 

Hence,  whatever  I  set  out  to  love,  I  engage  with  the  principle 
that  God  is  to  be  loved  better. 


No.  XVI. 

PSALM    CII.    1. 

Hear  ray  prayer,  O  Lord,  and  let  my  cry  come  unto  thee. 

One  of  the  most  natural  things  for  a  creature,  is  to  know  how 
he  may'  approach  acceptably  his  Maker.  Hence  that  supplication 
so  often  in  the  mouth  of  God's  people,  "  Wherewithal  shall  I 
come  before  the  Lord  1" 

To  point  out  such  a  prayer,  and  to  show  what  will  be  that  mode 
of  approach  that  will  draw  down  blessings  upon  our  heads,  will  be 
my  object. 

I.  There  must  be  a  holy  respect  for  the  character  and  ways  of 
God.  This  will  prevent  us  from  coming  into  his  presence  "as  the 
horse  rusheth  into  the  battle,"  and  prevent  us  from  being  repulsed 
at  the  first  attempt,  as  offering  him  what  is  a  stench  and  a  nuisance 
in  his  sight,  instead  of  an  acceptable  sacrifice. 

When  we  would  pray  acceptably,  we  must  come  looking  at  all 
his  attributes.  They  must  there  cluster,  as  the  vine-fruits  on  the 
vine.     They  must  fill  all  the  eye,  and  ravish  all  the  heart. 

II.  And  as  we  are  social  beings,  the  mode  of  our  approach  must 
show  that  we  are  not  praying  alone,  that  we  belong  to  a  praying 
family  ;  and  we  should  wish  to  get  near  to  his  presence,  and  not 
pray  at  a  distance — as  one  expressed  it,  "  with  a  rope  about  our 
neck."  The  child  would  choose  to  come  where  the  father  was, 
if  he  could  speak  to  him,  and  not  stand  at  a  distance,  as  if  he  were 
praying  by  proxy  to  an  absent  father. 

And  here  we  shall  feel  it  very  important  to  say, 

III.  That  our  prayers  must  go  up  with  sincerity  before  him,  and 
with  that  open  frankness  that  love  is  accustomed  to  generate.  And 
we  should  really  desire  the  blessing  we  need,  and  not  some  other, 
that  we  are  afraid  to  ask  for,  as  if  we  were  held  in  the  attitude  of 
foreigners,  who  were  supplicating  mercies  which  we  not  only  did 
not  deserve,  but  had  no  reason  to  expect.  God  does  not  love  this 
slavish  attitude  in  those  who  supplicate  favors  at  liis  hands. 

IV.  We  must  have  our  eyes  filled  with  the  precious  Mediator: 
he  must  be  to  us  "the  chief  among  ten  thousands,  and  altogether 
lovely." 

We  must  be  glad  and  happy  that  we  may  approach  him  through  a 


810  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

name  so  precious  and  so  prevalent.     Thus  only  can  we  hope  lha!  out 
prayers  may  come  uphefore  him,  and  our  cry  reach  even  to  his  ear. 

V.  We  must  not  fail  to  approach  him  with  a  spirit  of  submis- 
sion. This,  however,  will  not  imply  indifference.  The  affection 
that  brings  us  nearest  to  him  will  be  the  farthest  possible  from  in- 
difference— not  light  differs  more  from  grossest  darkness. 

There  can  be  no  resignation,  unless  the  heart  desires  earnestly 
the  blessing  it  supplicates. 
It  hardly  need  be  said, 

VI.  We  must  come  with  a  spirit  of  humility  and  penitence. 
The  suppliant,  who  can  for  one  single  moment  forget  that  he  is  a 
suppliant    will  deserve  to  be  repulsed  in  the  very  prayer  he  makes. 

Beggars  do  not  come  to  our  doors  to  make  a  demand  upon  our 
charity,  and  rebel  if  they  are  repulsed. 

VII.  It  would  be  natural  and  indispensable  that  we  remember 
that  we  have  received  blessings  from  the  same  hand  before,  and 
there  is  no  part  of  our  plea  that  is  more  efficacious  than  where  we 
tell  of  the  mercies  received  in  days  gone  by. 

We  smile  propitiously  upon  the  beggar  who  can  call  to  mind 
that  he  had  been  fed  from  our  table  before,  and  clad  from  our 
wardrobe.  Then  he  shows  that  any  favors  we  bestow,  will  not  be 
squandered  upon  him. 

Here  arise  several  questions. 

1.  Ought  impenitent  men  to  pray  1  If  it  can  be  shown  that 
there  is  no  part  of  the  prayer  that  ought  not  to  be  in  the  heart  of 
every  sinner,  then  every  sinner  ought  to  pray. 

If  the  view  we  have  taken  be  correct,  then  they  ought.  There 
is  no  one  of  these  qualifications  that  the  sinner  ought  not  to  possess. 

If  he  ought  to  respect  the  divine  character;  if  he  ought  to  sin- 
cerely desire  divine  blessings  ;  if  he  should  come  in  the  only  way 
given  among  men  whereby  he  can  be  saved  ;  if  he  ought  to  come 
with  a  thankful  heart  ;  if  he  ought  to  have  his  eye  filled  with  a 
precious  Mediator;  if  he  ought  to  pray  for  those  blessings  that 
God  pleases  to  give;  if  he  ought  to  pray  with  a  spirit  of  humility 
and  penitence;  if  he  ought  to  pray  remembering  that  he  has  re- 
ceive,! blessings  from  the  same  hand  before  ;—  if  thus  the  sinner 
should  pray,    then,   surely,  every    sinner  ought  to  pray. 

Thus  we  see  that  duty  requires  a  whole  world  to  be  prostrate 
•  God  in  prayer  for  the  blessings  he  has  seen  fit  to  give  in 
answer  to  prayer. 

If  any  plead  to  dispute  their  acceptance,  and  not  pray,  they  may 
take  the  responsibility  upon    themselves.       Whatever   may    have 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  811 

been  the  opinion  of  other  preachers  on  this  subject,  the  present 
preacher  chooses  to  express  it  as  his  opinion  that  every  sinner 
ought  to  pray. 

But  here  arises  another  question. 

2.  How  will  prayer  be  accepted  without  these  qualifications  1  I 
answer,  it  will  not  ;  and  I  answer  on  the  authority  of  God. 

And  if  sinners  choose  to  pray,  leaving  out  of  view  the  qualifica- 
tions with  which  they  should  pray,  they  must  answer  to  their  own 
consciences. 

MOTIVES    TO    PRAYER. 

1.  It  is  God's  appointed  medium  of  communicating  blessings  to 
them. 

2.  Prayer  fits  us  to  receive  those  blessings. 

How  futile  are  the  hopes  of  sinners,  when,  Avithout  any  prayer, 
they  hope  to  receive  all  those  comforts  that  God  has  promised 
through  his  Son  !  How  important,  then,  that  the  house  of  Israel 
should  be  much  in  prayer  for  those  who  are  perishing  in  their  sins  ! 

How  wonderful  the  condescension  of  God,  that  he  will  hear  a 
sinner  pray ! 


No.   XVII. 

LUKE   XVIII.    13. 
God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner. 

This  parable  was  intended  to  reprove  the  self-righteous.  "  Man 
looketh  on  the  outward  appearance,  but  God  on  the  heart."  Hence 
our  opinions  of  ourselves  differ  often  very  widely  from  God's  opin- 
ion of  us.  Sometimes  the  matter  of  the  action  may  be  right  and 
yet  the  heart  wrong.  The  text  is  the  prayer  of  one  who  sees  all 
to  be  wrong.  The  publican  was  reviewing  his  heart  and  glancing 
a  thought  across  his  miserably  dissolute  life.  The  review  filled 
him  with  pain,  and  he  gave  vent  to  his  feelings  in  the  best  of  pray- 
ers. It  speaks  the  language  of  every  true  penitent.  My  plan 
will  be  to  bring  into  view  the  feelings  that  dictate  such  a  prayer. 

I    It  implies  great  self-abasement  and  deep  humiliation 


812  SHORT    SliRMONS. 

1  I  have  dishonored  the  eternal  God.  I  have  been  saying  to 
Cod  all  my  life  time,  "Depart  from  me,  I  desire  not  a  knowledge 
of  thy  ways." 

2.  I  have  helped  crucify  the  Lord  of  glory.  I  had  in  his  death 
us  direct  an  agency  as  if  I  had  been  there  and  drove  the  .nails. 

'A.  I  have  grieved  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  have  despised  his  merciful 
interposition.  Have  "  grieved  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  whereby  I 
might  havo  been  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption." 

4.  T.  have  grieved  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  most  high  God. 
I  have  expelled  them  from  my  society  and  have  been  willing  to  be 
expelled  from  theirs  for  ever. 

5.  I  have  helped  to  pollute  sinners.  As  if  1  had  not  found  the 
world  sufficiently  defiled,  I  have  employed  my  time  and  talents  to 
make  it  more  vile  still.  "  Thus  have  I  spoken  and  done  evil  things 
as  I  could." 

6.  1  have  polluted  my  own  soul  and  have  provoked  God  to  pre- 
pare me  a  hell,  where  I  shall  be  shut  up  in  darkness  for  ever. 

II.  The  prayer  implies  a  deep  conviction  that  none  but  God  can 
help! 

1.  Christians  cannot  help  me. 

2.  Ministers  cannot. 

3.  Means  cannot.  * 

4.  Angels  cannot. 

5.  I  cannot  help  myself. 

It  requires  an  almighty  arm  to  raise  me  from  the  pit  into  which 
I  have  fallen. 

III.  The  prayer  may  imply  a  conviction  that  we  can  be  relieved 
on  no  principle  but  that  of  grace  or  mercy.  Even  goodness,  in 
its  simple  state,  cannot  favor  a  rebel. 

"  A  pardoning  God  is  zealous  still. 
For  his  own  holiness.'* 


No.  XVI11 
«  LOOK  AND  LIVE." 

JOHN    III.    14. 

\s  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up. 

Sln  has  produced  the  misery  sinners  endure,  and  the  approach- 
ing everlasting  death  that  they  fear.  As  murmuring  at  the  light 
food  upon  which  God  fed  them  in  the  desert  brought  down  the 
judgment,  so  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  must  provide  the 
remedy.  The  brazen  serpent  was  of  Divine  contrivance,  and  illus- 
trated "  him  who  was  to  be  lifted  up  upon  the  cross"  and  draw  all 
nations  unto  him. 

1.  The  remedy  God  provides  is  the  only  one.  The  Israelites 
who  were  bitten  of  the  fiery  flying  serpent,  perished,  every  soul  ot 
them,  unless  they  looked  to  him  that  was  lifted  up. 

2.  The  remedy  bore  resemblance  to  the  instrument  of  the  plague 
So  Christ  had  on  the  same  nature  with  the  race  that  fell. 

3.  There  must  be  confidence  in  the  prescription.  The  serpent 
healed  none  but  such  as  expected  help  from  that  source.  So  there 
must  be  saving  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or  men  will  not  be 
healed  from  the  deadly  plagues  of  sin. 

4.  There  was  something  to  be  done  in  proof  of  that  confidence. 
They  must  look  to  the  brazen  serpent  that  was  put  upon  the  pole, 
or  else  the  wound  rankled,  and  death  ensued. 

5.  In  both  cases  the  remedy  was  simple  :   "  Look  and  live." 

6.  There  seemed  no  connection  between  the  wondrous  look 
and  the  restoration  procured. 

REMARKS. 

1  The  ease  with  which  sinners  may  have  life  is  no  security 
that  they  shall  live.  We  are  not  told  of  any  that  looked  to  the 
brazen  serpent  and  lived,  but  are  only  told  that  when  "they  look- 
ed they  lived." 

2.  How  wanton  must  have  been  the  death  of  any  that  died. 
Either  they  would  not  look  until  they  were  blind,  or  had  not  faith 
enough  to  look  and  procure  the  salvation  desired,  and  must  have 
gone  down  to  the  grave  the  most  wanton  horde  of  suicides  thai 
perished  in  the  desert. 


Sli  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

3.  The  agency  that  we  should  exert  to  induce  sinners  to  look 
to  Christ,  is  beautifully  illustrated  in  the  ease  with  which  they 
could  save  their  dying  friends.  There  seemed  no  need  that  any 
should  die.  The  serpent  was  set  up  for  the  whole  camp  and  in 
the  sight  of  all. 


No.    XIX. 

MATTHEW  XXV.  41. 

Depart  from  roe,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels. 

There  will  yet  come  a  day  of  righteous  retribution.  Men  may 
try  not  to  believe  it,  but  still  the  day  rolls  on.  Every  beating 
pulse  brings  it  nearer.  On  that  dreadful  day  the  Lord  Jesus  will 
sit  in  judgment  on  the  conduct  of  men. 

'['hen  sinners  will  receive  their  sentence  from  his  lips.  There 
will  be  gathered  together  before  him  all  nations. 

I.  Let  us  anticipate  and  review  this  sentence — Depart  from  me, 
ye  cursed. 

That  the  sinner  will  see  what  must  be  his  sentence  in  the  very 
first  line  of  that  destiny. 

He  must  depart  from  Christ,  and  from  the  very  presence  of  his 
holiness  ;  it  need  not  be  said  that  this  will  be  away  from  heaven, 
and  from  glory. 

There  will  not  be  merely  the  idea  of  banishment,  but  of  banish- 
ment from  all  that  is  good  and  holy. 

There  will  also  be  the  idea  of  a  wo  following,  for  they  are  to 
depart  accursed.  Hence  the  finger  of  scorn  will  be  pointed  at  them 
in  whatever  world  they  retire.  And  this  will  be  the  most  dreadful 
ingredient  in  their  everlasting  destruction;  for  if  there  is  any  one 
part  of  the  creation  that  is  more  accursed  than  another,  it  will  be 
the  world  of  death. 

If  any  kingdom  should  have  occasion  to  export  any  considerable 
portion  of  its  population,  there  would  follow  such  convicts  to  the 
world  of  their  exile,  the  hard  thoughts,  and  corroding  reflections, 
and  the  imprecal  ions  of  all  the  civil,  and  decent,  and  sober  porl  ion 
of  that  community,    to  light  upon  them,  and   rest  upon   them,  and 


OUTLINES    OF    D75COURSES.  815 

be  the  eternal  associates  of  their  exile.  And  it  would  wiite  the 
history  of  their  character  and  destiny  in  darker  and  blacker  lines 
than  any  other  picture  of  their  waywardness. 

O !  if  the  sinner  could  but  look  back  and  beckon  heaven  into 
sympathy  and  into  tears,  it  would  mitigate  the  most  appalling  fea- 
ture of  his  exile. 

Rut  he  must  go,  accursed  of  angels  and  of  men  ;  and  if  even 
devils  do  not  join  in  the  curse,  and  the  execration,  it  will  be  well 
for  his  poor  soul. 

II.  They  are  to  go  accursed  into  everlasting;  fire,  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels. 

Here  the  ruined  of  the  human  family  must  go  into  a  world  that 
was  not  prepared  for  them;  not  for  a  wo  that  they  did  not  deserve, 
for  this  can  never  happen  under  the  government  of  God,  bat  pre- 
pared for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  As  if  man  could  not  have  been 
expected,  after  a  Savior  was  offered,  to  have  so  sinned  as  to  de- 
serve this  destiny,  and  come  to  this  ruined  and  wretched  world 

And  if  angels  will  have  their  theme  of  everlasting  sympathy  over 
the  wayward  and  the  lost,  much  of  that  sympathy  will  be  spent  on 
that  very  c 

Now  if  men  can  have  the  presumption  to  say,  that  there  will  be 
no  fire  connected  with  their  everlasting  destruction,  they  can  have 
their  own  opinion,  as  to  the  means  by  which  a  punishment  thus 
expressed  shall  be  inflicted. 

IH.  This  sentence  will  be  pronounced  with  the  authority  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  himself,  the  very  Savior  that  used  to  weep  over  sin- 
ners, and  say,  "  O  that  thou  hadst  hearkened  unto  my  command- 
ments, then  had  thy  peace  been  as  a  river,  and  thy  righteousness 
as  the  waves  of  the  sea."  And  this,  it  seems  to  me,  will  be  one 
of  the  most  aggravated  circumstances  of  the  lost  sinner's  wo,  that 
his  sentence  was  pronounced  by  the  very  lips  of  the  pardoning 
Redeemer.     But  I  remark, 

IV.  This  sentence  will  be  publicly  issued,  in  the  presence  of  as- 
sembled worlds.  It  will  not  he  done  in  the  corner.  It  will  not  be 
like  those  private  executions  that  take  place  within  the  walls 
of  a  prison.  The  report  will  go  out  and  he  advertised  through 
the  lowest  caverns  of  hell.  And  it  will  also  be  reported  amid 
the  throngs  of  the  blessed  in  heaven,  and  they  will  all  know 
how  miserable  this  section  of  the  human -family  have  made  them- 
selves. 


S16  SHORT    SERMON'S. 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  great  wo  of  their  condemnation  will  be,  that  sinners  will 
go,  convinced  that  their  condemnation  is  just.  "  Out  of  thine  own 
mouth  will  [judge  thee,  thou  wicked  servant." 

2.  It  is  not  the  worst  of  sinners  only  that  will  be  thus  condemn- 
ed, but  the  very  best  of  sinners  ;  men  who  cannot  remember  that 
they  have  ever  treated  unkindly  the  Son  of  God. 

While  he  will  say  to  them,  "I  was  a  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me 
no  meat :  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink  :  I  was  a  stranger, 
and  ye  took  me  not  in  :  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  not  :  sick  and 
in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me  not."  "  And  yet  this  same  Jesus 
made  all  the  worlds,  and  is  the  proprietor  of  the  cattle  upon  a  thou- 
sand hills." 

And  when  this  truth  shall  glare  upon  the  worlds,  and  shall  be 
written  upon  the  disc  of  every  star;  and  there  is  opportunity  to 
compare  this  with  the  conduct  of  the  sinner,  how,  in  bold  relief, 
will  his  iniquities  stand  out  to  view! 

In  the  mean  time,  they  will  not  be  able  to  recollect  that  they 
ever,  in  any  case,  turned  a  hungry  beggar  from  their  door. 

Probably  many,  who  will  be  the  subjects  of  this  condemnation 
were  the  professed  oilowers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  many 
served  at  his  altar.  There  will  be  heard,  at  least,  this  murmur, 
"  We  have  eaten  and  drunken  in  thy  presence,  and  thou  hast  taught 
in  our  streets ;"  but  he  will  add,  "I  know  you  not."  "Depart 
from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity." 

3.  It  hardly  need  be  said,  that  when  this  sentence  is  issued,  the 
culprit  will  go  despairing.  » 

They  will  feel  as  if  they  had  turned  their  backs  upon  the  who  e 
civilized  world,  and  that  the  whole  civilized  world  have  turned 
their  backs  upon  them. 

0,  who  that  has  human  feelings  can  but  stop  and  wail  over  this 
wide-spread  desolation  and  ruin  !  "  They  were  flesh  of  our  flesh, 
and  bone  of  our  bone."  Many  of  them,  perhaps,  went  from  our 
families  and  our  firesides  down  to  that  unspeakable  wo. 

Truly  the  world  of  death  will   be  a  dark  spot  in  the  moral  crea 
ation  of  God  ! ! 


No.    XX. 

MATTHEW  VIII.  34, 

Am    b'-ltonl.  tin-  whole  city  came  out  to  meet  Jesus  ;  and  when  they  saw  him,  they  Iwwiiffht 
hitn  thai  lit-  would  depart  out  of  their  coast. 

The  Lord  Jesus  sometimes  retired  from  the  multitude,  that  he 
might  rest  from  the  fatigue  of  constant  labor.  On  one  occasion, 
he  directed  the  disciples  to  cnrry  him  over  the  lake,  where  on  his 
arrival,  he  had  opportunity  to  cast  out  the  devils  who  possessed 
two  men.  The  devils,  having  besought  him  to  let  them  enter  a 
herd  of  swine,  he  did  so,  and  they  all  ran  down  into  the  sea  and 
perished.  The  people,  afflicted  with  their  loss,  prayed  him  to  de- 
part out  of  their  coast. 

The  subject  will  furnish  me  an  occasion  to  show  why  a  people 
sometimes  suffer  the  Lord  Jesus  to  depart  from  them,  after  he 
has  been  present  to  revive  and  save  them. 

Let  the  question  be,  why  do  revivals  of  religion  subside  1 

I.  Because  even  the  people  of  God  have  not  fully  appreciated 
their  value  to  themselves,  or  to  the  world  around  them,  dying  in  a 
mass  in  their  iniquities. 

Revivals  are   their  watering,  their  growing   seasons.      But  for 
them,  our  Christians  would   die  before   they  had    made  much  ad- 
iment  in  holiness,  and  half  had  failed  of  heavenly  happin 

II.  They  are  not  as  much  revived  as  the  occasion  demands,  or 
as  they  seem  to  be,  and  are  held  up  to  unnatural  exertions,  which 
are  required  beyond  their  feelings.  The  bow  is  bent  to  unnatural 
intensity.  They  are  tired  of  the  work  of  gathering  in  such  an 
abundant  harvest. 

III.  There  are  sacrifices  demanded  of  them  that  they  are  not 
willing  longer  to  endure  ;  they  would  fold  their  hands  and  lie  down 
and  rest;  they  are  tired  of  the  call  any  longer  to  perpetual  exer 
tion,  and  would  say,  "A  little  more  sleep,  a  little  more  slumber, 
a  little  more  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep,"  forgetting  that  God 
has  added,  "  so  shall  thy  poverty  come" 

IV '.  They  imagine  that  the  work  must  subside  of  course.  Show 
ers  cannot  last  through  the  year.    Past  revivals  have  all  gone  over 

V.  They  persuade  themselves  that  they  have  done  pretty  well 
already.     They  have  worked  hard  several  months. 


818  SHORT    SERMONS,   OR 

VI  Because  many  professed  Christians  never  came  up  to  the 
work  at  all,  and  they  will  now  step  out  of  the  harness,  to  let  others 
labor  in  their  turn.     They  felt  reproached  till  the  work  subsided. 

VII.  Because  the  Christians  each  supposed  that  he  would  throw 
off  the  responsibility  of  letting  the  work  subside.  Ah,  how  mis- 
taken !  The  ship's  crew  are  perishing,  and  a  few  hundred  souls 
are  saved,  but  scores  and  thousands  are  crying  out  for  help.  0. 
send  ns  the  life  boat ! 

If  any  one  man  in  the  Church  must  feel  the  whole  responsibility, 
lie  would  die. 

VIII.  Because  they  often  think  that  more  has  been  accomplished 
than  has  been.  Some  have  seemed  to  yield  who  are  going  back. 
Some  have  been  brought  to  the  house  of  God,  who  will  turn  away. 
Some  have  seemed  reformed,  but  are  returning  again,  "  like  the 
dog  to  his  vomit,  and  the  sow  that  was  washed,  to  her  wallowing 
in  the  mire." 

IX.  Some  let  go,  because  their  worldly  business  pressed  them. 
They  had  not  time  to  keep  on.  Their  spirit  of  worldliness  com- 
plained,  they  again  wanted  to  take  hold  of  the  things  of  this  life. 

X.  Some  let  go  because  they  thought  they  could  easily  take 
hold  again.  But  they  now  find  that  they  have  lost  a  precious  ad- 
vantage, for  the  god  of  this  world  will  not  be  so  easily  divorced  as 
they  imagine. 

XI.  The  people  sometimes  throw  the  responsibility  on  the  min- 
ister, and  he  sometimes  on  them.  Whichever  way  this  happens, 
it  is  wrong;  for  the  minister  must  feel  that  he  is  at  the  head  of  a 
party  which  is  to  save  the  perishing  and  lost  in  the  congregation, 
and  his  Church  are  to  feel  that  they  are  to  be  workers  together 
with  God,  in  saving  the  hundreds  ready  to  perish. 

XII.  .Sinners  quit  the  means  of  grace  because  the  Church  begin 
to  let  their  consciences  alone. 

REMARKS. 

1.  Revivals  should  never  subside,  it  ths  causes  of  the  decline 
are  always  wicked,  then  they  should  never  exist. 

If  exertions  are  made  that  are  inconsistent  with  health  and  order, 
they  should  never  have  been  made,  but  if  correct  exertions  they 
should  never  subside. 

If  tlie  feelings  of  God's  people  have  not  risen  above  what  was 
proper,  they  should  never  be  permitted  to  ebb.  And  we  have  ne- 
ver known  a  revival  where  correct  feeling  exceeded  the  bounds 
of  propriety. 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  819 

2.  If  a  people  have  let  a  season  of  revival  go  bv,  it  becomes 
them  to  be  humble  and  inquire  how  they  can  ever  be  forgiven. 

3.  They  should  immediately  rise  to  all  that  feeling  and  exertion 
which  a  state  of  revival  demands. 

4.  When  God's  Churches  will  act  right,  then  will  commence  a 
train  of  revivals  that  will  never  subside.  They  will  not  only  go 
round  the  year,  but  will  go  round  the  circle  of  many  years. 

We  shall  have  an  Egyptian  harvest  where  one  crop  will  come  in 
after  another,  and  we  shall  have  the  joy  of  shouting  the  harvest 
home  at  the  return  of  every  moon.  Every  spring-tide  will  hear 
shouted  reports  of  a  correspondent  spring-tide  in  the  moral  world. 
The  showers  of  grace  will  fall  so  uniformly  and  abundantly  that 
we  shall  have  only  to  gather  in  the  fruits  of  one,  and  another  har- 
vest begins  while  yet  there  are  abundant  fruits  of  the  .former  har- 
vest safely  lodged  in  the  granary  to  feed  and  replenish  the  whole 
land. 

0  then,  with  how  much  joy  will  the  Churches  join  to  shout  the 
millennial  harvest  home !  !  till  with  a  glad  response,  the  heavenly 
arches  will  gladly  and  cheerfully  respond  a  long  and  loud 
Amen  ! 


No.  XXI. 

proverbs  rv.  18. 
But  the  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light  that  shlneth    more  and  more  unto  the  perfect 

day. 

This  is  one  of  those  texts  that  I  have  always  been  afraid  to  use 
in  publishing  the  word  of  the  Lord.  I  have  had  my  fears  about 
my  use  of  it.  It  seems  to  exhibit  the  Christian  as  in  happy  cir- 
cumstances. He  seems  to  set  out  with  the  morning  sun  ami  to 
travel  with  its  beams  meridian,  and  his  path  to  shine  more  and 
more  luminous  until  he  comes  to  the  perfect  clay.  But  I  have 
been  afraid  that  this  view  of  the  Christian  character  would  not 
comport  with  matters  of  fact  or  with  my  own  experience.  1  have 
been  afraid  to  exhibit  the  Christian  ns  a  timid  and  fearful  man, 
and  to  be  in  doubt  all  the  way  whether  he  should  reach    heaven  at 


$20  SHORT    SERMONS,    OB 

last.  And  still  the  contrary  view  I  dare  not  exhibit,  ]  dare  not 
exhibit  the  Christian  feeling  his  way  along  toward  heaven  like  a 
blind  man,  lost  this  gloomy  view  should  not  comport  with  the 
Scriptures.  For  "  the  path  of  the  just,  "  we  are  told,  "  is  as  the 
shining  light  that  shines  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 
Still  one  is  troubled  to  explain  a  passage  like  this,  "  Whoso  walk- 
eth  iu  darkness  and  hath  no  light,  let  him  trust  in  the  Lord  and 
stay  himself  upon  his  God."  But  unless  this  text  corresponds 
with  that  other  text,  "  Clouds  and  darkness  are  around  about 
him,  judgment  and  righteousness,  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne," 
referring  the  whole  to  the  events  of  Divine  Providence  that  may 
for  a  moment  obscure  the  path  of  life  while  yet  it  is  destined  to 
shine  out  at  length  in  all  its  brightness  and  glory,  then  it  will  be 
on  the  whole  difficult  to  exhibit  the  Christian  course  consistently 
with  the  plodding^  hesitating  experience  of  many  believers.  But 
we  must  "  let  God  be  true,  though  every  man  a  liar."  This  is  a 
maxim  in  my  exhibition  of  Divine  truth,  which  I  have  always  en- 
deavored to  pursue,  hoping  so  to  shape  my  course  that  I  may 
come  out  at  last  the  friend  of  God. 

The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  guiding  his  people  to  heaven  where  he 
will  at  last  see  the  King  in  his  beauty,  and  rejoice  and  be  glad  in 
him  for  ever.  All  the  light  therefore  that  comes  from  heaven,  and 
shines  upon  the  Christian's  path,  is  calculated  to  guide  him  there. 
The  church  is  represented  as  conducted  on  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
that  happy  world  where  the  Redeemer  is.  The  Light  by  which 
they  pass  on  to  that  world  which  shines  from  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  Lamb.     We  are   thus   prepared  to  say,  in  the 

I.  Place  where  heaven  is.  The  place  where  there  is  a  concen- 
tration  of  all  that  light  that  shines  upon  the  Christian  course. 

II.  We  see  how  we  are  to  Know  that  our  course  is  toward 
heaven.  If  we  suppose  holy  actions  to  shine  more  luminously 
than  any  other  course  in  this  world,  and  that  every  exercise  of  holy 
affections,  was  a  star  thrown  out  in  that  place  where  he  puts  forth 
lb  it  exercise  by  those    who  are  treading  the  path  toward  heaven  ; 

'•e  how  at  length  that  must    become  a  very  luminous  path. 

III.  We  see  how  others  may  know  as  well  as  ourselves  that  our 
path  is  directly  toward  heaven. 

[V.  Thus  we  see  bow  we   can  have    evidence   that  we  are  or  art 
rowing   in  grace.     If  we  are  thus  growing,  our  path  will  be- 
brighter  and  brighter,  and  we  shall  have  increased  more  and 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOUHSES.  821 

more,  the  evidence  that  we  are  risen  with  Christ,  and  seeking  those 
things  that  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of 
God. 

V.  The  evidence  is  rather  against  us,  if  we  find  our  joy  dimin- 
ished, and  our  lamp  go  out,  for  we  have  abundant  Divine  assurance 
to  prove  that  God  would  make  our  path  more  luminous,  instead 
of  more  dark. 


No.    XXII 

genesis  xxvir.  22. 
The  voice  is  Jacob's  voice,  but  the  hands  are  the  hands  of  Esau. 

When  Jacob  was  old  and  had  become  blind,  he  one  day  sent  his 
son  Esau  into  the  field  to  procure  venison  and  prepare  him  savory 
meat,  that  while  he  ate  it  and  was  happy,  he  might  deliver  to  him 
the  prediction  which  in  those  days  fathers  were  accustomed  to 
deliver  to  their  children  before  their  death.  This  prediction  was 
often  a  prophecy,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  Patriarchs,  in  the 
land  of  Israel.  In  the  case  of  the  pious  patriarchs,  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob  especially,  the  prediction  delivered  over  their  children 
told  the  whole  story  down  to  the  end  of  the  patriarchal  system. 
But  in  an  evil  hour  Esau  had  sold  his  birthright  to  Jacob  for  a 
mess  of  pottage.  Hut  the  father,  either  not  knowing  of  the  trans- 
action, or  not  remembering  it,  was  about  to  counteract  the  design, 
and  still  give  the  birthright  to  Esau,  and  had  sent  him  into  the 
field  to  procure  savory  meat  with  that  intent.  But  Jacob  was  in- 
duced by  Rebekah  his  mother  to  procure  some  meat  while  Esau 
was  in  the  field,  and  thus  obtain  the  blessing  clandestinely.  She 
so  directed  him  as  to  carry  the  deception  through,  and  make  his 
father  think  he  was  blessing  Esau,  while  in  fact  he  was  blessing 
Jacob.  He  was  to  cover  his  hands  that  lie  might  appear  hairy  as 
Esau  was.  But,  as  nature  will  be  true  to  herself,  he  could  not  as- 
sume the  voice  of  Esau,  although  he  deceptively  covered  his  hands  ; 
and  when  at  length  Esau  came  from  the  field  weary  and  hungry, 
and  the  moment  of  the  transaction  had  arrived,  he  stated  to  his 
father  that  he  had  come  to  present  to  him  the  venison  he  had  gon=i 
to  procure  in  the  field. 


822  SHORT   SERMONS,    OR 

The  transaction  was  very  solemn,  and  very  momentous  to  the 
whole  patriarchal  family,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel. 

And  now  to  make  use  of  the  text,  we  shall  draw  from  it  this 
doctrine.  It  illustrates  the  dissonance  between  the  profession  of  the. 
lips  and  the  action  of  the  hands.  The  lips,  you  are  aware,  are  used 
as  the  organ  of  profession,  and  the  hands  the  instrument  of  action. 

This  want  of  agreement  or  dissonance,  I  shall  attempt  to  illus- 
trate. 

1.  We  hear  many  a  man  pray  for  a  revival,  and  in  long  protract- 
ed quotations  from  the  Old  Testament.  He  will  plead  that  "  the 
mountain  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  shall  be  established  in  the  top 
of  the  mountains,  and  it  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills ;  and  peo- 
ple shall  flow  unto  it."  And  we  hear  him  plead  again  "  that  right- 
eousness may  run  down  our  streets  like  a  mighty*shower." 

2.  We  hear  him  pour  forth  in  sweet  and  delightful  strains  for 
the  Jews,  the  ancient  people  of  God,  that  they  may  be  brought  in 
with  the  fulness  of  the  Gentile  nations." 

3.  We  hear  him  pray  for  the  slaves,  the  sable  sons  of  Africa — 
that  "Ethiopia  may  stretch  out  her  hands  to  God." 

4.  We  hear  him  pray  for  the  suffering  poor,  that  "  God  would 
feed  them,  and  comfort  them,  and  guide  them  by  his  counsel,  and 
afterward  bring  them  to  glory." 

5.  We  hear  him  pray  for  the  heathen,  "that  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  may  be  enlarged  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth- 
that  the  heathen  may  come  to  his  light,  and  kings  to  the  bright- 
ness of  his  rising."  But  when  we  have  looked  the  prayer  over 
and  repeated  all  the  quotations  which  would  take  an  hour,  we  are 
anxious  to  know  whether  those  who  thus  devoutly  pray,  do  as  well 
as  pray — whether  they  have  poured  in  for  the  conversion  of  the 
Jews,  their  silver  and  gold  ;  whether  they  have  opened  their  hearts 
wide  for  the  poor  heathen  ;  whether  they  have  treated  the  slave 
more  kindly  than  other  men  ;  and  whether  they  are  willing  to  make 
a  sacrifice  for  them. 

REMARKS. 

1,  We  see  the  sure  and  only  way  to  happiness  and  glory.  We 
are  to  see  at  all  times  that  the  language  of  our  lips  corresponds 
with  our  actions. 

'2.  We  see  how  evidently  those  are  mistaken  who  appeal  happy, 
hut  do  not  live  uprightly,  and  do  not  let  their  life  correspond  with 
their  profession. 

3.  "  Honesty  is  the  best  policy."     If  Jacob  had  acted  with  per- 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES. 


523 


feet  uprightness,  we  should  never  have  heen  interested  or  troubled 
with  the  history  of  his  wrongs,  and  the  outrageous  attack  of  the 
inhabitants  upon  his  family,  and  we  should  never  have  heard,  in 
his  dying  benediction,  "  Cursed  be  thy  wrath,  for  it  was  cruel." 
And  Jacob  would  never  had  to  sleep  on  the  stones  at  Jordan,  and 
have  felt  the  loneliness  and  the  desertion  of  that  hour. 

4.  But  good  often  conies  out  of  evil.  We  never  should  have 
had  the  history  of  Penuel  and  the  name  of  Israel,  nor  have  read  of 
that  brook  where  he  passed  with  his  staff  and  had  now  returned 
with  two  bands.  Nor  have  read  of  the  ladder  that  reached  to 
heaven  on  which  the  angels  of  God  ascended  and  descended,  or  of 
the  Lord  of  angels  with  whom  he  conversed,  who  declared  him- 
self to  be  his  God,  and  promised  "  that  in  him  and  in  his  seed  all 
the  nations  of  thje  earth  should  be  blessed." 

5.  Parents  would  do  well  to  beware  how  they  lead  their  child- 
ren into  sin.  If  his  mother  Rebekah  had  not  instigated  him  to  sin, 
and  to  do  that  deed  that  ruined  his  brother's  prospects  for  ever, 
she  would  not  have  had  to  lay  in  sleepless  agony,  while  he  slept 
upon  that  journey  by  the  side  of  that  stream,  and  where  he  after- 
ward wrestled  with  God  and  prevailed,  and  where  he  built  an  altar 
to  the  Lord  who  was  with  him  in  the  way  that  he  went. 


No.  XXIII. 

ECCLESIASTES  VIII.  11. 
Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not  executed  speedily,  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons 
of  tn  n  is  fully  s  l  in  them  to  do  evil. 

In  what  emphatic  lines  does  the  text  express  the  long  suffering 
patience  of  God  I  It  is  here  drawn  from  that  very  mercy  provided, 
that  lets  the  sinner  live  ;  that  feeds  and  clothes  him  ;  and  comforts 
him,  and  heals  all  his  sickness.  And  all  this  is  from  the  slowness 
of  the  wrath  of  God  to  punish  iniquity. 

Here  let  it  be  my  object  to  show, 

I.  That  God  is  very  slow  in   punishing  iniquity. 
A  cursory  view  of  some  scripture  facts  on  this  subject,  will  pour 
upon  it  an  overwhelming  light. 

lie  bore  with  the  old  world,  we  know,  after  he  had  resolved  en 


S"2i  SHOUT    SERMONS,    OR 

its  destruction,   one  hundred  and  twenty  years.     He  let  the  right- 
eous  soul  of  Lo    sutler  all  this  time  with  their  prevailing  iniquities 

He  bore  with  the  Canaanites,  four  hundred  years  after  the  cry  of 
their  crimes  had  reached  his  holy  ear. 

And  he  bore  with  Sodom  after  the  cry  of  its  iniquities  had  gone 
up  to  heaven,  and  been  reported  through  that  happy  world  for  sev 
era!  generations. 

1  le  bore  with  Ahab,  after  he  had  provoked  the  Lord  God  to  anger, 
and  after  he  had  sinned  more  than  all  the  kings  that  were  before 
him. 

And  he  bore  with  Jezebel  after  she  had  spilled  the  blood  of  the 
prophets,  and  after  she  had  filled  her  whole  kingdom  with  false 
•prophets,  and  with  lies  and  blood ;  and  after  she  had  committed 
iniquities,  that  ought  to  have  hanged  her  long  before. 

And  he  bore  with  Voltaire  after  he  had  been  an  infidel  beyond 
the  ordinary  age  of  man,  and  had  filled  his  own  land  and  all  other 
lands  within  his  reach,  with  his  "  wrath  against  the  Nazarenes," 
and  his  exterminating  quarrel  with  the  whole  Church  of  the  Living 
God. 

And  he  has  born  with  drunkards,  and  the  profane,  and  the  de- 
bauched, till  they  have  wearied  out  his  patience  and  filled  the  whole- 
world  with  crimes.  He  bore  with  Nero,  and  Alexander,  and  Bona- 
parte, till  their  crimes  had  gone  up  to  heaven.  And  we  could 
name  others,  who  were  systematic  in  their  crimes,  and  spilt  the 
best  blood  in  their  kingdoms  ;  destined  at  length  to  come  down 
blasted  and  disgraced  like  old  oaks  of  the  wood,  that  had  been 
withered  by  the  lightnings  of  heaven,  and  stood  the  curse  of  the 
forest  for  a  century. 

It  will  be  my  object  to  show, 

II.  That  for  this  very  reason,  because  God  endures,  men  have 
grown  presumptuous  in  their  sins. 

In  many  of  the  cases  referred  to,  this  is  too  evidently  a  fact  to  be 
denied.  How  long  was  God  provoked  with  the  iniquities  of  Pha- 
raoh !  until  the  punishments  that  God  poured  upon  that  land  had 
reached  every  house,  and  scattered  desolation  and  death  through 
every  family. 

But  a  more  important  inquiry  is, 

III.  How  is  it  that  this  long  suffering  patience  of  God  emboldens 
men  in  their  iniquities  ! 

1.  In  the  fust  place,  it  gives  them  leisure  to  sophisticate  the 
truth.      It  leads  them   on    in  the    boldest  perversions  of    infidelity  ) 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  825 

hence  sprang  up  that  proverb,  "  Since  the  fathers  fell  asleep  all 
things  continue  as  they  were  from  the  beginning." 

'2.  It  gives  them  time  to  mature  their  vicious  habits.  Doubtless 
the  old  world  was  much  the  more  wicked  because  they  lived  so 
long. 

3.  Men  become  committed  against  the  truth,  and  do  many  deeds 
of  darkness  in  consequence  of  those  commitments.  Jezebel  had 
her  false  prophets,  and  her  "prophets  of  the  grove,"  who  fed  at 
her  table,  and  lived  on  her  bounty,  until  the  moment  came  when 
God  would  have  her  thrown  from  her  own  window,  and  her  body 
collected  as  mere  food  for  dogs. 

How  amazing  is  the  long  suffering  patience  of  God,  that  he  will 
so  permit   his  rich  mercies  to  be  abused! 

If  there  is  any  one  thought  that  adds  to  the  climax  of  total  de- 
pravity, and  renders  men  more  desperate  still  than  they  would 
seem  to  be,  it  is  this  very  one,  that  men  have  abused  the  goodness 
of  the  Lord  so  as  to  infer  from  it  liberty  to  sin. 


No.  XXIV. 

I  JOHN  III.  3. 
And  every  one  that  hatli  this  hope  in  him,  purifielh  himself,  even  as  he  is  pure. 

Every  one  who  would  evince  his  right  to  hope  that  he  shall  ap- 
pear before  the  Lamb  in  the  great  last  day,  should  be  seeing  to  it 
that  this  hope  purines  him,  as  he  is  pure. 

How  does  it  appear  that  this  hope  will  so  operate  1  God  thus 
asserts,  "  And  every  one  that  hath  this  hope  in  him,  puriiieth  him- 
self, even  as  he  is  pure." 

I.  It  sets  up  the  noblest  object  of  ambition.  To  see  Christ  as 
he  is,  and  be  like  him,  is  an  object  that  fires  the  soul  witli  heavenly 
ambition.  If  one  might  hope  to  be  an  angel,  how  impressing  the 
thought  ; — but  to  hope  to  be  like  Christ,  how  much  rather. 

II.  It  offers  us  the  pleasantest  work.  What  is  so  sweet  as  to  be 
putting  on  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  put  off  the  body 
of  sin  and  death — the  old  Adam  ! 

HI.   It  will  very  soon  be  done.     It  is  a  short  enterprise  ;  a  few 


S26  SHORT    SERMONS,    on 

years  of  toil,  and  the  hill  is  ascended,  and  the  height  gained  ;  and 
then,  0  how  sweet  to  look  back  upon  the  wilderness  all  trodden 
over! 

IV.  The  work  associates  us  with  the  best  beings  that  have  ever 
lived.  The  patriarchs  and  prophets,  and  apostles  and  martyrs, 
with  all  the  holy  men  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  and 
who  had  all  this  same  work  to  do  ;  and  they  did  it,  and  are  now  in 
heaven,  reaping  the  rewards  of  piety.  "Though  dead,  they  yet 
speak;"  as  remembered  holy  example  ever  will. 

V.  We  are  blessed  as  fast  as  the  work  is  done.  To  put  off  sin, 
how  sweet ;  to  be  pardoned,  how  sweet ;  but  how  much  sweeter  to 
be  holy  !  You  saw  that  family  going  to  the  West  :  how  happy, 
every  hill  they  ascended  ;  but  when  at  last  they  reached  the  heights 
of  the  Alleghany,  and  looked  down  upon  the  broad  valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, how  sweetly  they  sat  down  to  rest ;  and  they  pitied  those 
who  had  yet  the  hills  to  climb. 

VI.  Hope  looks  forward  and  sees  the  whole  journey  to  the  end  all 
through.  It  is  not  a  journey  at  a  venture  ;  it  is  not  a  leap  in  the 
dark  ;  it  is  not  a  conflict  at  hazard.  It  is  the  very  nature  of  hope 
to  keep  the  courage  up,  and  bring  the  final  issue  into  clear  view. 

VII.  The  spectators  of  the  conflict  inspirit  us.  "Seeing  that  we 
are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay 
aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  easily  beset  us,  looking 
unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith." 

VIII.  And  then,  finally,  the  crown  of  glory — the  palms  of  victory ! 

REMARKS. 

1.  How,  then,  are  we  to  keep  alive  this  hope  1  By  urging  or. 
the  work.     And  is  there  no  other  way  1     No,  not  any. 

2.  This  hope,  of  course,  then  falters  when  the  work  stops , 
when  we  cease  to  add  grace  to  grace,  and  cease  the  work  of  press- 
ing on  towards  the  kingdom  of  God.  I  can  tell  every  man  how 
much  hope  of  heaven  he  has,  by  his  earnestness  to  be  holy,  by  his 
effort  to  be  clean. 

3.  But  may  not  frequent  pardons  keep  our  hope  alive,  while  yet 
we  are  not  becoming  more  holy  1  No  ;  not  if  our  hope  is  this 
Christian  hope.  If  it  does  not  purify  us,  it  is  the  hope  of  the  hypo- 
crite, that  shall  perish  when  God  taketh  away  the  soul.  In  the 
Holy  Scriptures  we  have  this  blessed  assurance,  thai  we  are  saved 
by  hope. 

4.  But  do  not  seasons  of  reviving  prove  our  hope  a  good  one  \ 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  827 

No  ;  we    may  compass  ourselves   about    with  sparks    of  our  own 
kindling,  and  walk  by  the  light  of  our  own  fire. 

5.  How,  thou,  may  we  be  sure,  if  our  hope  revives,  that  it  is  a 
good  hope,  through  grace,  and  "  shall  prove  an  anchor  to  the  soul, 
both  sure  and  steadfast"  !  There  will  revive  with  it  an  effort  to 
be  more  holy.  The  man  who  put  a  twenty  dollar  note  into  a  letter, 
the  other  day,  to  pay  one  from  whom  seven  years  ago  he  had  taken 
five  dollars,  gave  evidence  that  his  well-grounded  heavenly  hopes 
were  reviving.  That  minister  who  seemed  so  much  waked  up  to 
the  interests  of  the  soul  that  he  preached  two  hours,  would  have 
been  believed  to  have  revived  his  heavenly  hopes,  had  he  not 
broken  his  covenant  with  his  eyes  that  evening;  that  Christian 
that  prayed  until  he  swooned,  had  he  not  been  proud  of  that  prayer, 
and  angry  to  have  its  piety  brought  into  question.  If  we  have 
this  hope  in  us,  it  must  purify  us,  even  as  Christ  is  pure. 

6.  But  must  it  make  us  perfect,  "even  as  he  is  perfect 7."  A 
revival  hope  should  keep  running  as  long  as  life  endures. 


No.  XXV. 

NUMBERS  XXIII.    10. 
Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his. 

In  this  chapter  we  have  a  fine  exhibition  of  a  conflict  between  a 
conscience  that  God  holds  under  close  restraint,  while  that  con- 
science is  connected  with  a  heart  totally  depraved. 

Balaam  was  sent  to  curse  Israel  previously  to  a  conflict  between 
them  and  the  Canaanitcs.  Balak  the  king  of  Moab  was  to  take  the 
lead  in  that  war  and  hired  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor  to  come  and 
curse  Israel.  He  evidently  wished  to  succeed  that  he  might  have 
the  wages  of  unrighteousness.  But  his  conscience  forbid  and  the 
dumb  ass  was  tnade  to  speak  and  to  rebuke  the  madness  of  the  pro- 
phet. Again  and  again  he  tried,  but  God  every  time  he  tried  for- 
bid him  and  turned  the  curse  into  blessings.  He  at  length  blessed 
them  all  together  and  inverted  the  whole  into  a  curse  upon  their 
enemies.  Death  is  not  to  the  good  man  a  surprising  event.  He 
has  thought  on  it  and  prepared  for  it.  It  is  an  event  he  has  prayed 
over  more  than  any  other  since  the  period  of  his  new  birth.     "And 


fi'28  SIIOKT    SEEMONS,    OR 

he  took  up  his  parable  and  said,  Iialak  t tie  King  of  3Ioab  natr 
brought  me  from  Aram,  out  of  the  mountains  of  the  east,  saying 
come,  curse  me  Jacob,  and  come  defy  me  Israel.  How  shall  I 
curse  whom  God  hath  not  cursed  1  or  how  shall  I  defy  whom  the 
Lord  hath  not  defied  1  For  from  the  tops  of  the  rocks  I  see  him, 
and  from  the  hills  I  behold  him;  Lo,  the  people  shall  dwell  alone, 
and  shall  not  be  reckoned  among  the  nations.  Who  can  count  the 
dust  of  Jacob,  and  the  number  of  the  fourth  part  of  Israel  !  Let  me 
die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his." 
Thus  have  we  in  the  closing  words  of  the  mercenary  prophet,  the 
very  language  that  will  burst  from  the  lips  of  every  dying  sinner 
It  is  easy  to  show  that  the  good  man  dies  with  a  very  different  set 
of  affections. 

I.  He  can  have  the  happiest  reflections.  He  can  look  back  upon 
a  life  of  Godliness  and  forward  to  heaven  as  a  scene  of  intermina- 
ble blessedness. 

II.  He  can  take  the  happiest  circumspective  view.  He  has  kept 
his  family  and  circumstances  shaped  for  the  grave,  and  now  comes 
home,  unless  his  hope  deceives  him,  like  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe. 

III.  He  can  look  forward  with  pleasure.  Heaven  lies  in  his  pros- 
pect and  looms  up  before  him  like  a  ship  returning  from  sea.  He 
often  thinks  of  that  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory. 

IV.  He  has  made  preparation  for  his  departure.  His  peace  is 
made  with  God,  and  he  sometimes,  when  hope  prevails,  takes  hold 
of  the  things  within  the  veil. 

V.  He  dies  happy.  God  gives  him  dying  comforts.  It  is  the 
happiest  hour  of  his  life,  the  hour  that  introduces  him  to  his  King 
"the  Lord  of  hosts."  It  is  the  hour  David  spoke  of  when  he  said 
"I  shall  be  satisfied  when  1  awake  with  thy  likeness." 

VI.  Christ  is  with  him  as  he  promised,  "I  will  be  with  thee  in 
six  troubles  and  in  seven  I  will  not  forsake  thee."  Flesh  and  heart 
have  failed  him,  but  God  has  become  the  strength  of  his  heart  and 
port  ion  for  ever. 

VII.  Death  finishes  his  trials.  He  shall  hunger  no  more  neither 
thirst  any  more.  He  is  passing  through  the  waters,  and  the  prom- 
ise is,  "  they  shall  not  overflow  thee."  He  is  walking  through  the 
fire,  and  the  promise  is,  "it  shall  not  kindle  upon  him." 

\  111.  Death  consummates  his  hopes.  It  introduces  him  to  better 
society  and  better  comforts  than  he  leaves  behind.  "He  traver- 
ses the  river  of  the  water  of  life  and  plucks  the  fruit  fresh  from 
the  tree  of  life." 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  82'J 

IX.  He  applies  to  his  soul  the  leaves  of  that  tree  which  it  wa? 
promised  should  be  "  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.''1 

REMARKS. 

1.  We  are  not  surprised  that  a  wicked  man  should  choose  such 
a  death. 

2.  How  astonishing  that  the  hope  of  such  a  death  should  not 
stimulate  to  a  holy  life.  "But  he  loves  the  wagesof  unrighteous- 
ness," and  rather  risks  dying  wretched  than  living  holy. 

3.  Ungodly  men  do  not  act  according  to  their  conviction.  And 
this  is  their  shame  and  will  be  their  disgrace  for  ever. 

4.  They  are  then  unreasonable  beings  and  God  will  convict  them 
out  of  their  own  mouths. 

"5.  If  then  Sinners  will  treat  their  own  souls  so  unreasonably  it 
is  not  wonderful  they  will  treat  unreasonably  the  Son  of  God,  and 
pierce  themselves  through  with  many  sorrows. 


No.    XXVI. 

acts  xvrr.  30. 
And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at ;  but  now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to 

repent. 

Paul  was  in  Athens,  and  preached  there,  to  a  congregation  of 
idolators  the  doctrine  of  the  text.  By  the  times  of  this  ignorance 
it.  is  supposed  *  rod  meant,  "  the  times  in  which  he  permitted  all 
nations  to  walk  in  their  own  ways." 

Nevertheless,  he  left  no.t  himself  without  witness,  in  that  he  did 
good,  and  gave  us  rain  from  heaven,  and  fruitful  seasons,  filling 
our  hearts  with  food  and  gladness. 

When  it.  is  said,  "the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at," 
we  are  taught,  that  when  (Jod  has  given  up  a  nation,  or  an  indi- 
vidual, 10  walk  in  his  own  ways,  he  may  leave  them  without  those 
rebukes  which  he  will  send  after  those  he  has  not  so  given  up. 
Not  that  he,  by  winking,  may  be  said  to  approve  of  their  sins. 
This  In'  cannot  dd.  He  long  suffered  the  Assyrians  and  Babylo- 
nians,  anil  the  other  nations  bordering  upon  Israel,  to  be  unmo- 
lested, but  he  afterward  punished  them. 


S30  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

Rut  men  that  have  his  word  ho  commands  everywhere  to  repent 
now.  It  will  be  my  ohject  to  shore  the  obligations  resting  vpon  all 
■■■'.<  a  to  repent  immediately. 

1.  The  duty  is  a  reasonable  one.  To  know,  and  confess,  and 
hate,  and  quit  sin,  and  undo  the  mischief  it  has  done.  Every  part 
of  it  is  most  reasonable. 

2.  The  being  sinned  against  is  doing  sinners  good.  "  He  does 
them  good,  and  gives  them  rain  from  heaven  and  fruitful  seasons 
filling  their  hearts  with  food  and  gladness." 

3.  It  has  required  great  forbearance  in  him  to  keep  them  out 
of  hell  so  long. 

4.  They  cannot  tell  when  this  forbearance  may  cease. 

5.  This  forbearance  may  cease  suddenly.  "At  midnight  there 
was  a  cry  made,  Behold  the  bridegroom  cometh,  go  ye  out'  to 
meet  him."     He  hath  set  them  in  slippery  places. 

6.  They  are  daily  increasing  the  work,  and  making  it  more  dif- 
ficult if  they  ever  should  repent. 

7.  They  have  now  more  time  to  undo  the  mischief.  This  is  a 
part  of  repentance. 

8.  If  sinners  would  treat  God  as  they  feel  themselves  obliged  to 
treat  men,  consistency  of  character  would  require  them  to  repent. 

9.  If  they  would  be  happy,  to  repent  would  set  the  conscience 
at  rest. 

10.  If  they  would  have  the  favor  of  God,  which  is  eternal  life. 

11.  If  they  would  have  the  confidence  of  men  ;  who  can  trust 
the  man  who  will  not  restore  what  he  has  robhed  from  his  Maker  1 

12.  It  is  what  we  all  mean  to  do  ;  and  while  we  delay  the  work 
is  becoming  harder.  As  the  sinner  goes  away  from  God,  his  path 
becomes  overgrown  with  thorns  and  briars;  compelling  him,  if 
ever  he  returned,  to  hew  a  passage  hack  to  God  and  heaven,  and 
the  way  of  life,  by  dint  of  excessive  labor. 

13.  It  is  the  command  of  God.  And  if  God  did  not  command 
us  to  do  what  would  do  ourselves  infinite  good,  we  should  still  be 
under  unalterable  obligations  to  obey.  But  when  he  commands 
us  to  do  that  which  will  thus  make  us  happy  in  all  the  processes, 
and  eternally  blessed  at  the  end,  our  obligations  to  obedience  are 
amazingly  multiplied. 

REMARKS. 

1.  Then  sinners  cannot  be  convicted  too  soon. 

1.  Then  ministers  cannot  preach  too  plain. 

3.   Then  convicted  sinners  cannot  be  too  much  distressed. 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  831 

4.  Then  we  should  let  no  stupid  sinner  alone. 

5.  We  should  consider  our  children  ruined  till  they  repent. 

6.  Thus  there  is  no  security  for  character  till  men  repent. 

7.  Thus  godliness   has  promise  of  the  "  life  that   now  is,  as  of 
(hat  which  is  to  come." 


No.  XXVII. 

JEREMIAH  XVII.  5. 
Thus  snitli  the  Lord ;  cursed  be  the  man  thai  trusteth  in  man,  and  maketh  flrsh  his  arm.  anj 
whose  heart depatteth  from  the  Lord;  for  he  shall  ho  like    the  heath  in   the  desert,  and  shall 
not  see  when  good  Cometh  ;  but  shall  inhabit  the  parched  places   in  the  wilderness,  in  a  salt  land 
and  not  inhabited." 

To  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  make  flesh  our  arm,  and  have  our 
heart  depart  from  the  Lord,  are  three  phrases  meaning  the  same 
thing;  and  is  characteristic  of  the  whole  human  family  hy  nature. 
It  describes  a  heart  that  leans  toward  the  creature  in  all  its  opera- 
tions, and  in  all  its  hopes,  and  in  the  whole  volume  of  its  desires 
and  wishes.  Tims  have  we  an  inspired  description  of  the  nature 
of  man  as  he  came  out  from  the  hand  of  his  Creator,  and  as  he 
goes  on  to  operate  in  this  dying  world  to  form  a  character  in  pre- 
paration for  his  eternal  state.  This  condition  of  man  I  shall  at- 
tempt to  describe. 

I.  He  relies  on  his  own  resources  to  supply  his  wants  in  this 
world.  He  trusts  in  riches,  forgetting  that  they  "  take  themselves 
wings  and  fly  away,  as  an  eagle  toward  heaven."  No  man  can 
tell,  whatever  his  resources  are  to-day,  that  he  shall  not  be  a  beg- 
gar to-morrow. 

1.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  man  who  depends  upon  human 
esteem  to  establish  his  character.  No  one  but  he  who  has  the  whole 
character  in  his  hand,  and  has  under  his  entire  control  all  the 
future  circumstances  that  go  to  make  up  that  character,  can  tell 
what  may  be  the  changes  that  may  go  to  alter  his  character  and 
form  him  for  an  entirely  different  future  destiny  than  that  to  which 
ha  seems  subjected  to-day. 

2.  Ami  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  man  that  founds  his  hopes 
of  heaven  on   the  opinion   that  others,  in   an  incautious  hour,  mav 


832  SHORT    SERMONS. 

have  expressed  of  his  character.  On  this  ground,  Judas  had  a 
jrood  character,  who  afterward  sold  and  betrayed  his  master  for 
thirty  pieces  of  silver.  He  knew  not  "what  manner  of  man  he 
was;1 

3.  The  man  who  thus  founds  his  hopes  of  heaven  on  the  opin- 
ion of  others,  does  not  much  differ  from  him  who  depends  upon 
human  means  to  bring  him  to  that  eternal  life  he  hopes  for.  His 
hope  of  heaven  will  not  be  very  likely  to  prove  that  "anchor  of 
the  soul  both  sure  and  steadfast,  entering  into  that  which  is  within 
the  veil."  He  will  be  liable  to  be  driven  about  by  every  wind  of 
doctrine,  and  exhibit  a  piety  too  vascillating  to  take  a  firm  hold  of 
those  realities  revealed  as  the  objects  of  faith. 

1  The  same  is  the  case  with  the  man  who  intends  to  meet  God 
without  a  Savior,  and  lays  the  foundation  of  his  immortal  hopes  on 
any  good  deeds  he  has  done  or  may  do.  He  will  find,  at  length, 
that  God  is  a  consuming  fire,  and  after  he  has  walked  awhile  by 
the  light  of  his  own  fire,  he  will  have  to  lie  down  in  everlasting 
sorrow 

II.  I  shall  attempt  to  decipher  the  illustration  given  us  in  the 
text. 

1.  "  He  shall  be  like  the  heath  in  the  desert,  and  shall  not  see 
when  good  cometh." 

We  have  here  a  description  of  one  of  those  vast  tracts  of  the 
eastern  desert  covered  with  moveable  sand,  on  which  nothing  will 
grow,  but  the  meanest  stinted  heath  (so  called)  or  shrub,  rising 
bul  a  few  feet  from  the  ground,  and  where  it  stands  the  everlast- 
ing curse  of  the  soil  that  grows  it.  "He  shall  not  see  when  good 
cometh."  That  is,  when  another  part  of  the  desert  may  be  water- 
ed by  some  fortuitous  shower  or  dew,  none  will  come  nigh  to  it. 
The  condition  of  the  plant,  described  is  farther  illustrated,  when  it 
is  said  to  inhabit  the  "  parched  places  in  the  wilderness,  in  a  salt 
land  not  inhabited."  Thus  is  added  to  sterility  the  idea  of  salt- 
ness,  which  proves  the  source  of  barrenness  through  the  whole 
vegetable  world  ;  which  shows  the  lonely  and  desolate  condition 
as  well  as  barrenness  of  the  plant  that  attempts  to  grow  and  bear 
fruit,  and  come  to  any  thino-  like  maturity  in  this  woful  spot. 


No.   XXVIII. 

2  CORINTHIANS  VI.  2. 
Behold  now  is  the  accepted  time  ;  behold  now  is  the  day  of  salvation. 

It  is  a  gross  and  fatal  error  in  the  public  creed  and  conscience, 
that  effects  are  not  looked  for  at  the  moment,  or  are  to  be  expected 
when  the  gospel  is  preached.  Ministers  have  not  calculated  that. 
God  will  give  his  word  success  ickile  yet  they  are  speaking.  And 
Christians  have  unkindly  prayed  and  calculated  that  the  truth  may 
lodo-e  and  do  good  at  some  future  hour.  And  sinners  have  laid 
up  the  truth  for  future  use.  Thus  the  gospel  receives  a  go-by  for 
the  present  moment.     And  yet, 

I.  The  claims  of  the  gospel  forbid  all  this. 

1.  It  proffers  sinners  every  blessing  they  need  ;  pardon,  justifi- 
cation, adoption,  sanctification,  peace  of  conscience,  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  eternal  life. 

2.  Its  injunctions  are  from  the  highest  authority  ;  from  God, 
from  Jesus  Christ,  from  the  Holy  Ghost ;  from  him  who  holds  in 
his  hands  the  Leys  of  hell  and  of  death. 

3.  It  proffers  blessings  that  sinners  cannot  do  without.  They 
are  undone  now  without  them,  and  without  them  are  lost  for  ever. 

4.  It  sets  the  present  time  as  the  only  one  for  the  acceptance  of 
its  blessing.  They  are  withdrawn  if  not  now  accepted,  to  be 
offered  again  perhaps  never  ! 

5.  The  offer  is  taken  back  unless  accepted  now. 

6.  The  present  acceptance  of  the  gospel  is  more  probable  now, 
than  at  any  future  time,  and  the  recording  angel  waits  to  minute 
the  sinner's  refusal.  As  the  sinner  glides  down  the  broad  smooth 
way  to  death,  a  wilderness  of  thorns  and  briars  grow  up  behind 
him,  high  as  heaven,  through  which  he  must  hew  his  way  back,  if 
he  ever  reaches  heaven  ;  hence  every  furlong  he  proceeds,  in- 
creases the  Improbability  of  his  safe  and  timely  retreat. 

II.   Why  then  does  the  gospel  produce  no  immediate  effect  1 

1.  Because  the  gospel  offers  the  sinner  a  salvation  he  disap- 
proves;  a  holy  salvation,  tLgracious  salvation. 

2.  It  requires  him  to  put  on  a  character  that  he  disapproves  and 
hates ! 


834  SHORT    SERMO.NS,    OR 

3.  It  proffers  the  formation  of  relationships  that  are  unwelcome  j 
to  all  the  regenerate  ;  a  brotherhood  and  heirship  with  Jesus 
Christ  ;  a  kind  and  eternal  fraternity  with  the  house-hold  of 
faith. 

4.  There  are  pleasures  and  friendships  to  be  given  up,  that  are 
greatly  beloved.  The  heart  has  taken  a  dying  hold  of  objects  that 
prolong  its  death. 

5.  The  sinner  is  too  stupid  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  offer 
made.  The  mind  is  a  vacuum  that  has  been  <  mpty  till  it  hates 
truth,  and  will  not  think.     It  instinctively  repels  the  truth. 

6.  The  offer  of  the  gospel  mercy  is  considered  a  mere  intellec- 
tual proposition,  that  the  sinner  is  to  survey,  and  contemplate,  and 
reason  about.  But  God  directs  his  gospel  to  the  heart,  for  it  to 
feel  and  act  upon.  It  is  a  blaze  sent  to  melt  the  heart,  (the  blow 
pipe).  It  is  a  hammer  lifted  by  the  hand  of  God  to  break  the 
heart.  It  is  a  charge  meant  to  be  lodged  deep  in  the  heart,  to 
blow  it  up,  and  send  it  broken  and  shivered  to  the  skies.  It  has 
to  do  with  the  understanding  and  conscience  only,  as  they  consti- 
tute the  pass  way  to  the  heart.  If  the  truth  lodges  in  either,  and 
does  not  travel  on  to  the  heart,  nothing  is  done.  If  when  it  comes 
there  it  meets  a  rock,  it  rebounds  back  to  heaven.  If  the  mind 
and  conscience,  truth's  avenue,  be  cased  over,  and  thus  its  passage 
to  the  heart  be  blocked  up,  the  heart  remains  whole  till  the  world 
is  burned. 


No.   XXIX. 

FSALMS    CXXXVII.    5,    6. 

If  I  forget  thee-  O  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning'.    If  I  <fo  not  rememher  th.-c. 
let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  if  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief  joy. 

Jerusalem  was  the  centre  of  worship  in  Israel,  and  was  the  type 
of  the  church  of  God  in  after  ages.  The  kingdom  of  Christ  is 
that  absorbing  interest  that  should  occupy  supremely  the  hearts  of 
God's  people. 

I.  What  is  the  extent  of  that  interest  which  we  may  not  forget  1 
W  hat  does  it  imply  or  involve'? 

1.  The  divine  glory.  In  no  part  of  the  operations  of  Jehovah 
has  lie  so   fully  displayed   himself  as   in  the  work    of  redemption 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  835 

His  mighty  power  and  godhead  are  displayed  in  the  tilings  that 
are  seen.  His  wisdom  can  easily  be  discerned,  and  his  goodness 
inferred  from  the  visible  creation.  Still,  what  the  poet  says,  is 
true,  that — 

"  God,  in  the  person  of  his  Son, 
Has  all  his  mightiest  works  outdone." 

Here  the  whole  of  the  divine  character  is  drawn  out  to  view,  as 
well  as  liis  grace,  and  mercy,  and  long-suffering,  and  patience,  and 
endurance,  as  his  more  awful  and  terrifying  attributes. 

May  we,  then,  forget  an  interest  that  involves  all  these  ;  that 
lets  down,  as  it  were,  the  mighty  God  to  the  composed  and  delibe- 
rate contemplation  of  his  creatures,  or  rather,  lifts  them  into  the 
rank  of  angels,  and  to  a  close  and  intimate  companionship  with 
himself,  and  with  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ  1  Now,  where  is  an  interest 
so  grand  as  this,  or  that  may  a  moment  come  in  for  so  lar 
share  of  our  affections,  and  command  away  our  thoughts  and  our 
contemplations  1 

2.  The  interest  of  Zion  involves  the  salvation  of  sinners.  The 
church  is  composed  of  redeemed  sinners.  If  it  becomes  enlarged, 
sinners  are  saved  ;  and  when  stationary,  none  are  added  to  the 
number  of  the  saved.  A  long  suspension  of  the  divine  influence 
may  harden  many,  till  they  shall  become  incorrigible,  and  the  truth 
never  take  hold  again  of  their  affections  and  their  hearts.  While 
our  children  shall  see  us  caring  supremely  for  Zion,  they  will  not 
forget  that  they  are  the  children  of  the  covenant  and  the  hope  of 
the  Church,  and  will  view  themselves  as  not  at  liberty  to  go  on  in 
the  way  of  transgressors.  Could  we  properly  estimate  the  worth 
of  the  soul,  we  should  never  suffer  any  other  interest  to  come  in 
competition  with  it.  What  may  I  remember — what  may  I  not  for- 
get, if  Jerusalem  has  lost  its  power  to  interest  me,  and  the  eternal 
salvation  of  my  neighbors  and  my  children  has  not  invaluable  im- 
portance in  my  estimation  1 

3.  The  interest  of  Zion  must  prosper,  in  order  to  the  present  joy 
and  comfort  of  his  people.  This  can  be  said  of  no  other  concerns. 
We  may  be  poor  and  disgraced  and  diseased,  and  may  see  taking 
their  flight  from  us  all  the  dear  objects  of  time  and  sense,  and  yet 
may  be  happy  ;  hut  not  happy  is  the  people  of  God  while  Zion 
languishes.  The  captive  Jews  could  not  sing  the  Lord's  song  in 
a  strange  land  ;  their  harps  were  hung  upon  the  willows,  till  (iod 
should  turn  again  their  captivity. 

•1.   Zion's  prosperity  involves  the  growth  and  maturity  of  religior 


836  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

111  the  hearts  of  God's  people.     It  is  an  interest  as  dear  to  them  as 
is  their  own  final  redemption   from  sin,  and   their  complete  equip- 
ment  for    the    paradise    of  God.     When   Zion  is  in  the  dust,  be 
irs  sulier  in  their  own  individual  spiritual  interest. 

While  I  have  thus  shown  what  is  involved  in  the  prosperity  of 
Jerusalem,  I  have,  I  know,  offered  some  reasons  why  we  may  not 
forget  her.  But  let  us,  in  the  second  place,  look  at  another  class 
of  reasons  which  cannot  so  properly  be  considered  as  descriptive 
of  the  interest  involved. 

1.  Because  God  will  not  forget  Jerusalem,  we  may  not.  "  He 
raven  her  upon  the  palms  of  his  hands."  Her  walls  are  con- 
tinually before  him.  He  governs  the  world  for  her  sake,  and  will 
never  for  a  moment  turn  his  eye  from  her  interest.  While  some 
other  interest  may  attract  us,  and  we  may  not  forget  the  Church, 
and  pour  out  but  few  prayers  for  her  redemption  into  the  heart  of 
God,  she  will  continue  as  dear  and  important  as  ever.  "He  will 
guard  her  as  the  apple  of  his  eye." 

2.  The  Lord  Jesus  will  not  forget  the  interest  for  which  he  died, 
because  wre  forget.  It  is  said  of  him,  you  know,  that  "  he  ever  liv- 
cth  to  make  intercessions  for  his  people."  A  perpetual  interces- 
sor!  what  a  delightful  thought!  He  will  not  then  forget  the 
church  for  which  he  is  interceding.  His  blood  will  remain  the 
price  of  her  redemption  ;  his  righteousness,  her  covering  ;  his 
merits,  her  plea.  In  the  darkest  hour,  when  almost  all  have  fled, 
Jesus  is  there ;  hard  by  the  interest  he  watches,  awake  to  protect 
the  Church  he  purchased  with  his  own  blood. 

3.  Zion  may  not  be  forgotten  by  her  sons,  because  her  foes  will 
not  forget  her.  The  Church  has  ever  been  in  this  world  like  the 
bush  that  Moses  saw  burning,  but  not  consumed.  The  world  has 
viewed  her  existence  as  its  living  reproach;  her  prosperity  the 
object  of  its  envy,  and  her  honors  as  detracting  from  its  beauty 
and  glory.  The  report  of  all  her  revivals  has  gone  down  to  hell, 
and  circulated  through  all  its  precincts,  to  the  glory  of  her  God 
and  k'iuo-  ;  and  whenever  there  shall  be  another  revival,  it  will  be 
quickly  reported  in  that  territory  of  darkness.  Hence,  a  perpetual 
warfare  with  her  interests.  The  men  of  the  world  suppose  them- 
selves to  have  a  high  interest  in  the  disgrace  and  the  tears  and  the 
backslidings  of  the  Church.  They  are  mistaken  :  but  this  alters 
not  the  fact  ;  and  Jerusalem  should  not  be  forgotten  by  her 
friends  while  lur  for.  will  not  forget  her.  If  men  will  watch  to  dc 
her  hurt,  believers  should  watch  to  do  her  good. 


OU  TUXES   OF    DISCOURSES.  837 

Finally — we  may  not  forget  Zion,  as  the  church  below  is  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  Church  above,  and  cannot  suffer  with- 
out exciting  the  interest  of  all  heaven,  or  prosper,  but  it  gives  all 
heaven  joy. 

REMARKS. 

1.  There  can  be  no  dissentions  among  believers,  as  the  Church 
is  to  each  a  paramount  interest. 

2.  How  mistaken  are  believers,  if  they  imagine  they  can  suffer 
or  prosper  alone  ! 

3.  How  this  subject  enhances  the  worth  of  a  revival  ! 

4.  How  strikingly  will  the  world  be  one  in  her  interest,  when 
the  Lord  Jesus  shall  spread  the  glory  of  Zion  over  all  her  friends, 
and  the  whole  world  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as 
the  waters  cover  the  sea.  Ride  on,  blessed  Lord  Jesus,  conquer- 
ing and  to  conquer,  until  thy  kingdom  shall  conquer  all  the 
nations,  and  cover  the  wide  world,  and  until  the  time  has  come 
for  thee  to  reign  over  all  lands ;  and  then  thy  friends  will  sing, 
"  Lo,  this  is  our  God  ;  we  have  waited  for  him,  and  he  will  save 
us  :  this  is  the  Lord  ;  we  have  waited  for  him,  we  will  be  glad 
and  rejoice  in  his  salvation  ;"  and  will  add,  "  Blessed  be  the 
Lord  God,  the  God  of  Israel,  and  blessed  be  his  glorious  name 
for  ever,  and  lot  the  whole  world  be  filled  with  his  glory  :  amen, 
and  amen !" 


No.  XXX. 

JOHN    XVII.    4. 
I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do. 

The  character  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  the  work  that  he  would 
do,  and  the  spirit  with  which  he  would  enter  upon  that  work,  have 
been  pointed  out  to  the  world  so  distinctly  that  "the  way  faring 
though  a  fool  need  not  err  therein."  This  work  he  had  to  finish 
when  he  made  this  prayer  and  was  finishing  it  in  the  very  prayer 
itself.    Hence, 

I.  He  had  to  finish  the  work  of  a  holy  apostleship  which  he  had 
been  doing  all  his  life,  but  never  finished  until  he  closed  this 
prayer,  at  the  close  of  which  he  might  have  said  "  1  am  ready  to  be 
offered." 


838  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

II.  He  had  to  finish  the  work  of  a  faithful  evangelist;  that  is  had  to 
show  the  apostles  what  he  required  of  them  in  the  faithful  distribu- 
tion of  his  message  to  a  ruined  world.  We  have  a  beautiful  exam- 
ple of  the  manner  in  which  this  work  was  to  be  done  in  the  history 
of  the  adulteress  ofSichar,  where  he  spent  several  days  to  promote 
u  blessed  work  of  God,  and  thus  blew  the  trumpet  of  the  gospel. 

III.  He  had  to  finish  the  character  of  faithfulness  as  a  professor  oj 
Godliness,  thus  evincing  himself  a  true  disciple  of  his  own  school. 

IV.  He  had  to  exhibit  to  the  full  his  character  as  an  amiable,  be- 
nt volent  and  good  man.  Thus  he  would  prepare  his  family  of  dis- 
ciples to  so  exhibit  the  character  of  their  master,  as  to  prepare 
them  to  say  in  their  prayers  "  for  me  to  live  is  Christ." 

V.  He  had  to  finish  the  doing  of  the  will  of  God,  had  yet  to  die 
on  the  Cross  for  the  sins  of  a  miserable  world,  and  exhibit  in  his 
character  a  faithful  high-priest.  For  this  death,  he  was  about  to 
prepare.  The  associates  of  his  sufferings  were  making  themselves 
ready.  And  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  would  be  careful  not  to  show 
any  reluctance  to  enter  upon  this  work.  Hence  there  would  re- 
main nothing  in  his  case,  but  to  give  up  the  ghost  and  resign  life 
and  say  "  it  is  finished."  And  he  went  to  his  death  in  the  vigor  of 
manhood  and  sprightliness  of  youth,  and  bore  his  own  cross  up  the 
hill  on  which  he  was  crucified.  This  was  in  fulfillment  of  the  very 
track  that  the  prophets  had  pointed  out  for  him,  so  that  he  might 
be  said  to  die  in  the  very  centre  of  the  world  he  came  to  redeem. 
And  another  thing,  he  died  in  that  spot  where  it  could  the  most 
easily  be  communicated  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  not  only  the  his- 
tory of  his  suffering,  but  the  grand  design  of  his  death.  Thus,  by 
merely  uttering  the  story  of  his  exit,  they  would  the  most  effectually 
convince  the  world  of  the  truth  of  this  story,  and  use  the  most  effect- 
ual means  to  bring  them  to  exercise  faith  in  his  merits,  and  in  his 
blood,  and  in  his  redemption. 

Thus  as  from  a  central  point,  there  goes  forth  the  redemption  of 
a  world  and  the  history  of  that  redemption,  and  the  only  means 
that  God  will  use  in  redeeming  to  his  Son  that  miserable  world  for 
which  the  Savior  laid  down  his  life,  and  thus  when  he  said  "  look 
unto  me  and  be  ye  saved  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth,  for  I  am  God 
and  there  is  none  else,"  the  world  would  not  have  far  to  look,  it 
would  only  have  to  glance  an  eye  through  a  few  generations. 

REMARKS. 

1.  We  learn  from  this  subject  the  grand  secret  of  being  ready  to 
die.     This  consists  in  having  our  work  all  done  ready  for  that  hour 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  839 

2.  The  subject  leads  us  to  reflect  that  many  men  of  the  world, 
that  have  adopted  a  similar  sentiment,  would  seem  to  have  been 
inspired  in  their  adoption  of  this  sentiment.  It  was  said  of  Lord 
Nelson,  in  all  his  appointments  in  the  navy  in  the  British  govern- 
ment, that  his  concluding  remark,  was  fifteen  minutes  before  the 
time,  that  thus  they  might  save  to  each  other  and  to  him  that  pre- 
cious time  on  which  a  nation's  prosperity  might  depend.  And  this 
by  the  by,  forms  one  of  the  best  traits  of  Christian  character  and 
is  as  important  in  the  Church  of  God,  as  it  was  in  the  British  navy. 


No.    XXXI. 

ROMANS   XII.    12. 

Continuing  instant  in  prayer. 

The  appropriateness  and  obligation  of  the  duty  of  prayer,  and 
the  reasons  why  it  should  be  instant,  or  earnest  and  incessant. 

I.  The  appropriateness  will  appear  when  we  consider  that  reli 
gion  qualifies  the  Christian  to  pray. 

1.  By  giving  him  a  deep  knowledge  of  his  heart. 

2.  By  giving  him  correct  views  of  God. 

3.  By  impressing  him  with  the  endured  and  impending  miseries 
of  ungodly  men.  This  pre-eminently  enables  him  to  spread  their 
whole  case  before  God,  and  to  plead  with  him  in  their  behalf. 

4.  By  correcting  his  motives  of  action,  and  thus  preparing  him 
to  pray  acceptably. 

5.  By  rendering  him  familiar  with  the  promises.  He  has  pre- 
pared him  to  lay  his  own  case  and  the  case  of  others  before  a 
prayer-hearing  God. 

fi.  By  habituating  him  to  the  duty,  and  rendering  it  pleasant. 
7.  By  filling  his  soul  with  the  love  of  benevolence. 

II    The  obligation  arises  from 

1.  The  command  of  God. 

2.  The  interest  that  the  Christian  has  in  the  Divine  glory. 

3.  He  grows  faster  when  he  prays,  and  that  in  proportion  to  ihe 
fervidness  of  his  prayers. 


840  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

4.  He  has  the  best  evidence  of  his  own  piety. 

0.  He  gives  the  best  evidence  to  others. 

III.  Reasons  why  the  Christian  should  be  instant,  or  earnest  and 
incessant. 

1.  It  is  only  instant  prayer  that  can  be  evidence  of  strong  Chris- 
tian affections. 

2.  Each  of  the  three  cases  that  invite  him  to  prayer  are  urgent 
cases.  His  own  sanctification.  It  is  of  more  importance  to  the 
bfliever  that  himself  be  saved  than  any  body  else.  And  he  sees 
the  importance  to  his  brethren  in  Christ  of  their  salvation,  as  no- 
body else  can  see  it.  He  also  sees  the  importance  of  the  salvation 
of  sinners.  "  Hence  knowing  the  terrors  of  the  law,  he  persuades 
men." 

3.  God  has  given  special  promise  to  incessant,  urgent,  instant 
prayer.     Hence  the  cases  spoken  of  in  the  Scripture. 

4.  The  little  time  he  has  to  pray  and  labor  for  God  and  his 
kingdom,  and  therefore  "he  must  do  whatsoever  his  hands  find  to 
do  with  his  might,  knowing  that  there  is  no  wisdom  nor  device  in 
the  grave  whither  we  haste." 

5.  The  rest  and  reward  in  heaven. 

6.  Instant  prayer  is  the  best  means  of  his  own  growth  in  grace, 
and  comfort,  and  hope  of  blessedness,  here  and  hereafter. 


No.  X  X  X 1 1. 

MATTHEW,    V.    5. 
Blessed  are  the  meek,  lor  they  Bhall  inherit  the  earth. 

It  has  been  often  said  all  the  promises  are  appropriated.  To 
the  poor  in  spirit  God  has  promised  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

What,  meekness  and  not  war  gain  territory  1  Meekness  is  a  quiet- 
ness, mildness  and  gentleness.  It  is  that  spirit  of  non-resistance 
enjoined  on  his  disciples  by  our  Lord,  when  he  said,  "  If  any  man 
smite  thee  on  the  one  cheek  turn  to  him  the  other  also."  Some 
things  may  seem  like  it  but  are  not  it.  That  indecision  which 
lias  no  opinion  when  those  are  present  who  will  oppose  it,  is  not 
meekness  but  cowardice. 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  841 

We  are  directed  to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  deliver- 
ed to  the  Saints.  We  are  to  be  rooted  and  grounded  in  the  truth. 
That  cowardice  which  does  not  defend  the  truth  is  not  meekness. 
It  is  yielding  the  honor  of  God  because  we  fear  man  more  than 
God,  because  their  frown  effects  more  than  the  threatenings  of 
God. 

That  tameness  which  arises  from  want  of  talent  is  not  meekness 
This  differs  nothing  from  what  may  be  found  in  animals,  but  meek- 
ness is  a  gospel  grace.  It  implies  that  the  natural  temper  has  been 
subdued  by  the  power  of  God  so  that  the  Christian  spirit  operates 
in  the  midst  of  coarse  and  unhandsome  treatment.  Paul  was  not 
meek  by  nature  but  became  so  by  grace.  Still  his  natural  temper 
sometimes  broke  out — as  when  the  high  priest  commanded  him  to 
be  smitten.  Meekness  implies  a  sanctified  heart.  Hence  the  pro- 
mise is  made  to  believers  that  they  shall  inherit  the  earth.  God 
will  give  these  good  tilings  to  those  who  exhibit  the  temper  that 
he  justifies. 

By  the  earth  we  are  to  understand  not  merely  his  terrestial  ter- 
ritory but  all  the  good  things  of  the  life  that  now  is.  Hence  the 
the  text  implies  that  this  world  was  made  for  the  church  of  Christ 
and  belongs  in  the  divine  estimation  to  the  people  of  the  Saints  of 
the  most  high  God. 

I.  It  was  built  for  the  Church.  It  is  said  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  that  "  by  him  were  all  things  created  that  are  in  heaven  and 
earth,  visible  or  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones  or  dominions  or 
principalities  or  powers,  all  things  are  created  by  him  and  for  him." 
And  it  is  said  of  the  people  of  God,  "  All  things  are  yours,  whether 
Paul  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas  or  the  world,  or  life  or  death,  or  things 
present  or  things  to  come  ;  all  are  yours,  and  ye  are  Christ's,  and 
Christ  is  God's."  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  freely  de- 
livered him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give 
us  all  things. 

II.  The  government  is  committed  to  a  mediator  in  behalf  of  the 
Church.  God  purposes  to  make  all  men  see  what  is  the  fellowship 
of  the  mystery,  which  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  hath  been 
hid  in  God  who  created  all  things  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  intent 
that  now  unto  the  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places 
might  be  known  by  the  Church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God.  It 
was  predicted  of  the  child  that  he  should  be  born,  "  That  the  gov- 
ernment should  be  upon  his  shoulders,  his  name  should  be  called 
Wonderful,  Counselor,  the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Father,  the 
Prince  of  Peace."     We  read  of  a  moment  when  Christ  shall  deliv 


842  SHOUT   BERMON8,    OR 

er  up  the  mediatorial  kingdom  to  the  Fathei  :  that  is,  lie  shall  no 
longer  govern  the  world  as  mediator,  having  gathered  out  of  it  his 
people  and  taken  them  all  to  heaven  with  him.  Under  his  govern- 
ment it  will  be  true  that  though  the  wicked  heap  up  silver  as  the 
dust  and  prepare  raiment  as  the  clay,  he  may  prepare  it  but  the 
just  shall  put  it  on  and  the  innocent  shall  divide  the  silver. 

3.  The  people  of  God  alone  truly  enjoy  the  good  things  of  this 
life,  and  they  only  have  the  permission  of  God  to  use  them  :  they 
only  are  blessed  of  God  in  their  basket  and  in  their  store. 

They  ask  and  receive  the  Divine  blessing  with  their  meat  and 
drink.  They  only  receive  thankfully  the  Divine  bounties,  and  sub- 
mit willingly  when  God  afflicts  them.  To  them  only  is  the  pro- 
mise, "  all  things  shall  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God."  Hence  they  only  can  be  cheerful  and  happy  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  things  of  time  and  sense.  God  requires  that  the  tal- 
ents he  puts  into  our  hands  we  occupy  until  he  come.  He  de- 
mands the  fruit  of  the  vineyard.  Every  blessing  is  handed  us  on 
the  implied  condition  that  we  are  truly  thankful,  and  use  the  bless- 
ing well.  And  none  do  this  but  the  people  of  God.  Hence  none 
have  God's  leave  to  use,  because  none  can  have  his  leave  to  abuse 
the  bounties  of  his  providence.  If  men  come  not  with  a  grateful 
heart  to  the  table  which  the  Lord,  in  his  providence,  spreads  for 
them,  I  know  not  in  what  text  they  have  leave  to  partake. 

4.  The  promise  of  the  text  will  be  specially  fulfilled  when  the 
Church  shall  be  spread  over  the  world,  and  the  knowledge  of  the 
Lord  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  That  day, 
we  know,  is  coming.  Then  the  text  will  receive  its  literal  accom- 
plishment, and  the  whole  soil  be  held  by  those  who  fear  and  know 
the  Lord.  It  is  promised  the  Savior,  that  "  the  Father  will  give 
him  the  heathen  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  a  possession.  A  promise,  perhaps,  of  no  good  to  them  ; 
for  it  is  added,  "Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and 
shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel."  Still  a  promise 
exactly  to  the  point  I  would  illustrate,  that  the  whole  of  this 
word's  territory  will  one  day  belong  to  the  Church  of  Christ. 

REMARKS. 

1.  The  subject  illustrates  that  Divine  maxim,  "He  that  will  save 
his  life  shall  lose  it."  Meekness  gives  up  its  right,  and  God  gives 
it  hack'.  In  the  case  reported  in  the  history  of  Solomon,  the  true 
mother  gives  up  her  part  of  the  child,   rather  than  have  it  divided. 

2.  How  anti-evangelical    is   a    spirit   of  war   and    of  contention 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  843 

Not  to  this  spirit,  but  its  opposite,  God  has  promised  a  boundless 
territory. 

3.  How  alarmed  should  men  be  if  they  are  blesied  abundantly 
with  the  good  things  of  this  life,  and  are  not  the  children  of  God, 
and  are  not  using  his  bounties  to  the  Divine  honor. 

4.  Would  we  be,  in  the  truest  sense,  rich,  we  see  where  we  must, 
begin  our  efforts  ;  by  subduing  our  native  ferocious  warlike  spirit, 
and  putting  on  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


No.    XXXIII. 

CORINTHIANS  XVL   22. 

If  any  man  love  not  ilie  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  anathema  maranatha. 

The  man  is  anathemized,  and  ought  to  be,  who  loveth  not  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

I.  There  are  some  who  do  not  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

1.  This  we  know  from  observation. 

They  have  their  place,  and  keep  their  standing  out  of  the  pale 
of  his  Church. 

2.  From  the  testimony  of  all  who  are  regenerate. 

They  choose  to  be  disassociated  with  the  praying  multitude  who 
plead  at  the  Savior's  feet.  The  testimony  of  all  the  sacramental 
host,  is,  that  previously  to  their  enlistment  on  the  side  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  they  were  his  enemies.  They  preferred  a 
bubble  or  a  straw,  to  that  glorious  being  who  built  all  worlds. 
Their  language    now  is: 

"  Give  what  thou  canst,  without  thee  we  are  poor, 
And  with  thee  rich  take  what  thou  wilt  away." 

Nothing  less  will  satisfy  an  immortal  soul  but  God. 

3.  From  the  testimony  of  Scripture. 

They  say  to  God,  "  Depart  from  us,  we  desire  not  the  know 
ledge  of  thy  ways." 


84-4  SHORT    SERMONS,    OR 

II.  They  are  accursed  from  the  nature  of  the  case. 

1.  They  do  not  love  the  highest  moral  excellence,  but  love  no- 
thing 

2.  They  cannot  love  a  lower  moral  excellence,  when  they  do 
not  love  a  higher. 

3.  They  can  find  nothing  else  to  love  that  can  make  them  happy. 

4.  Christ  cannot  love  them,  nor  can  any  holy  beings  love  them 
but  must  hate  them. 

III.  They  ought  to  be  accursed. 

1.  They  curse  themselves. 

2.  They  are  cursed  by  their  own  consciences. 

3.  God  has  threatened  to  curse  them.  "Cursed  is  every  one 
that  continueth  not  in  all  the  things  written  in  the  book  of  the  law 
to  do  them.  And  it  will  be  recollected  the  law  says,  "  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,"  and  it  will  be  recol- 
lected that  all  heaven  will  add  to  this  delightful  injunction  their 
long  and  loud  Jlmen. 

4.  Their  character  is  such  that  they  are  fitted  for  nothing  but 
the  Divine  wrath. 


No.  XXXIV 


PSALM    LI.    14. 


Deliver  (ne  fiom  blond-guiltiness,  O  God,  thou  God  of  my  salvation  :  and  my  tongue  shall  sing 
aloud  of  thy  righteousness. 

There  is  a  very  mportant  sense  u  w  nch  men  may  be  charged 
with  blood-guiltiness,  and  not  be  guilty  of  murder  in  the  immedi- 
ate act. 

Parents  have  so  abused  their  children  that  they  may  be  charged 
with  their  death,  without  imbruing  their  hands  in  their  blood,  by 
neglecting  their  eternal  interests.  Men  are  guilty  of  the  blood  of 
their  fellow-men,  in  a  spiritual  point  of  light,  who  contribute  in 
any  way  to  their  everlasting  undoing. 


OUTLINES    OF    DISCOURSES.  845 

T.  Men  are  chargeable  with  blood-guiltiness,  who  neglect  the 
atonement  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  continue  obstinately  to 
persevere  in  sin  until  they  lose  their  own  souls.  There  remaineth 
in  their  case  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins,  "  but  a  fearful  looking  for 
of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation,  which  shall  devour  the  adver- 
sary." 

II.  By  teacning  principles  that  lead  others  to  trample  upon  the 
blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Thus  men  imbrue  their  hands  in 
the  blood  of  their  fellow-men,  and  what  was  said  of  one  of  old, 
will  be  true  in  their  case:  "that  man  perished  not  alone  in  his 
iniquity." 

III.  By  setting  an  example  that  leads  others  to  disregard  religion 
and  die  in  their  sins.  If  men  follow  us,  and  our  path  leads  them 
down  to  perdition,  we  are  guilty  of  their  blood. 

IV.  By  neglecting  to  do  for  others  what  might  promote  their  sal- 
vation, we  may  become  guilty  of  their  blood.  "  We  see  the  sword 
coming,  and  blow  not  the  trumpet."  Hence  their  blood  will  be 
in  our  skirts. 

V.  By  approving  of  the  character  of  men  when  they  have  not  on 
the  character  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  approve  at  his  com- 
ing, we  bring  upon  ourselves  the  blood  of  our  fellow-men.  "  We 
daub,  in  that  case,  with  untempered  mortar,  and  sew  pillows  to  all 
arm-holes." 

VI.  By  neglecting  to  pray  for  our  fellow-men  while  such  are  the 
promises,  that  would  we  pray  aright,  God  would  save  them  in  an- 
swer to  those  prayers,  we  bring  the  blood  of  our  fellow-men  upon 
us.  "  If  my  people,  which  are  called  by  my  name,  shall  humble 
themselves,  and  pray,  and  seek  my  face,  and  turn  from  their  wick- 
ed ways;  then  will  I  hear  from  heaven,  and  will  forgive  their  sins, 
and  will  heal  their  land." 

VII.  When  we  see  prevailing  any  iniquities  that  are  destroying 
the  souls  of  men,  and  we  hold  our  peace,  and  do  not  disapprove  of 
those  iniquities,  we  incur  blood-guiltiness. 

REMARKS. 

1.  There  are  several  things  respecting  this  blood-guiltiness  I 
wish  to  name  here.  It  stains  deep.  The  vulgar  idea  that  has  been 
current  for  so  many  years,  that  the  blood  of  murder  could  not  be 
washed  out,  lias  arisen  from  the  impressions  of  guilt  such  a  deed 
inflicts  upon  the  conscience;  otherwise  it  never  had  been  the  im- 
pression that  the  blood  of  murder  could  not  be  washed  out  as 
readily  as  other  blood.     Blood-guiltiness   will   adhere   lono-.     \\rL, 


846  SnOKT   SERMONS. 

have  hoard  of  many  a   murderer  who  could  never  efface  the  guilt 
from  his  conscience,  and  died  finally  through  iniquity. 

2.  It  corrodes  fearfully.  It  is  not  a  slight  paroxysm  that  removes 
it,  when  the  conscience  is  corroded  with  remembered  guilt.  It  is 
a  guilt  that  wakes  up  the  soul  to  a  deep  and  dreadful  horror.  It 
led  one  to  say,  "Deliver  me  from  blood-guiltiness,  0  God,  thou 
God  of  my  salvation." 

3.  Christians  that  have  had  frequently  to  do  with  the  destruc- 
tion of  souls  ever  since  they  were  regenerated,  must  experience 
frequently  renewed  pardons,  in  order  to  have  permanent  peace  of 
conscience,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

4.  How  certain,  then,  that  the  punishment  of  the  finally  impeni- 
tent will  be  endless,  in  order  to  have  any  relation  at  all  to  the  deeds 
they  have  done.  All  sinners  have  been  guilty  of  this  deed  of  blood- 
guiltiness,  and  in  order  to  bear  in  the  punishment  any  relation  to 
the  deeds  they  have  done,  it  can  have  no  limit.  Hence  said  the 
Psalmist,  "Pangs  have  taken  hold  of  me." 

5.  How  endlessly  involved  must  be  the  last  account  of  ungodly 
men  !  One  has  been  the  means  of  damning  another,  and  he  an- 
other, and  he  a  third,  and  thus  the  deed  extends  to  infinity. 

(i.  The  distress  that  sinners  feel,  when  they  first  discover  their 
guilt,  is  not  to  be  wonder ed  (ft. 

7.  0,  what  a  view  this  subject  gives  us  of  this  world's  g-niltj- 
population  !  We  walk  the  streets  of  our  city  with  a  multitude  of 
murderers,  who  will  have  all  this  train  of  blood-guiltiness  upon 
them  in  the  last  day. 

S.  Why,  then,  are  we  so  surprised  that  so  few  are  saved,  and  so 
funny  destroyed?  Who  ever  expected,  that  among  a  gang  ct' 
murderers,  the     reat  mass  would  be  pardoned  ! 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


THE  SYRIAN  CAPTIVE,  OR  TRY  THE  REMEDY. 

In  one  of  the  invasions  of  Syria  upon  Israel,  there  was  among 
the  captives  a  little  maid  whose  brief  story  has  always  deeply  af- 
fected my  heart.  Of  her  parentage  nothing  is  said,  except  that 
she  was  a  daughter  of  Abraham,  and  of  course  a  child  of  the  cove- 
nant. Her  name  is  found  I  hope  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life,  but  is 
recorded  on  no  escutcheon  hung  out  from  the  battlement  of  the 
skies:  but  her  deeds  were  worthy  to  be  written  on  an  angel's 
wing.  In  her  hand  she  bore  the  first  torch  that  lighted  up  hope 
in  the  palace  of  an  idolatrous  monarch. 

In  the  dark  hour  of  her  captivity  I  can  well  imagine  the  mid- 
night scene,  when  the  ruffian  soldiery  perhaps  broke  in  upon  the 
slumbers  of  the  dormitory,  and  disturbed  the  repose  of  the  cradle, 
and  pierced  the  spear  deep  into  the  father's  heart,  and  waked  to  a 
lit  of  frenzy  the  doting  mother,  whose  moan  filled  every  breeze, 
and  was  wafted  back  in  echoes  from  every  mountain  top.  Perhaps 
she  clasped  her  infant  to  her  breast,  and  fled  in  consternation  and 
affright,  by  the  light  of  her  blazing  habitation  ;  leaving  the  residue 
of  her  family  to  make  the  best  provision  possible  for  their  escape. 
Perhaps  this  little  daughter  cried,  "0  stay,  my  mother!  why  ><> 
fast  !  I  cannot  keep  pace  with  thy  footsteps,"  when  swooning,  it 
may  be,  she  broke  at  length  from  her  mother's  hand,  and  waked 
up  to  misery  in  the  arms  of  her  captor. 

I  low  cruel  these  wars  which  have  every  where  marched  in  the 
van  of  the  gospel,  and  made  desolate  the  abodes  of  man,  and  feasted 
savage  ears  upon  the  wails  of  the  dying,  and  the  shrieks  of  infancy  ! 
She  had  perchance  that  evening  come  from  the  paschal  sacrifice, 
where  she  learnt  the  prophetic',  story  of  the  Lamb,  that  was  to  be 
offered  for  l  he  sin  of  the  world  on  the  altar  of  God;  and  witli 
sweeter  con  idence    than    ever    in  the    protection  of   Israel's  King, 


848 


THE    SYKIAN    CAPTIVE. 


had  closed  her  eyes  in  peaceful  slumbers.  But  now  how 'sad  the 
change,  as  she  is  borne  on  the  way,  a  helpless  captive,  to  a  distant 
and  darkened  land.     And  as  she  cast  a  heart-rending  look  behind, 

She  wept  her  father  slain ;  her  mother  fled ; 

All  the  endearments  of  the  parental  roof 

Gone,  now  gone  for  ever.     And  most  of  all 

The  hallowed  rites  she  wept,  sweet  medium 

Of  intercourse  'twixt  heaven  and  earth — rites 

Foreshadowing  the  coming  on  of  Zion's 

Glorious  triumph. 

'  And  must  I  never  see  my  mother  more, 

Nor  thee,  thou  sweet  smiling  babe ;  nor  yet  thee 

Dearest  brother ;  nor  you,  ye  hills,  and  vales, 

And  fields,  and  floods,  scenes  of  my  joyous  childhood — 

Nor  yet  thee,  thou  consecrated  altar, 

Where  my  infant  vows  to  Abraham's  God 

Were  paid  ?     I  yield  submission  to  thy  will, 

Dark  though  it  be ;  and  when  far  off  my  lot 

From  the  deep  centre  where  dwells  this  heart 

Of  mine,  still  to  thy  throne  O  God,  will  I 

Direct  my  prayer.'     Tn  lone  soliloquy 

Thus  she  prayed,  while  on  her  soul  distilled 

From  heaven  the  dews  of  mercy. 

In  the  division  of  the  spoil  this  captive  maid  fell  to  the  share  of 
Naaman,  captain  of  the  hosts  of  Syria ;  and  while  she  waited  on 
his  wife,  she  told  the  wondrous  story  of  the  prophet  that  was  in  Is- 
rael. There  dwelt  the  law  of  kindness  upon  her  lips,  and  in  her  every 
action  there  was  a  charm  that  bound  those  she  served  in  confi- 
dence and  love.  Her  master  held  high  rank  in  royal  favor  ;  and 
in  the  house  of  Rimmon,  an  idol  god,  had  sworn,  and  kept  his  vow 
of  fealty  to  1) is  king;  and  was  the  more  honored  because  "God 
by  him  had  given  deliverance  to  .Syria." 

How  grievous  that  the  God  of  Israel  should  be  unknown  to  him 
who  ascribes  the  victories  which  he  has  achieved,  and  which  had 
placed  his  name  high  on  the  tablet  of  fame,  to  his  special  favor 
And  how  yet  more  grievous  that  he  should  wage  war  with  Israel's 
prosperity,  that  he  might  please  an  enemy  of  his  holy  empire. 

But  the  darkness  of  pagan  idolatry  shrouded  his  mind,  while  the 
poor  casket  that  contained  it  was  the  prey  of  a  loathsome  and 
consuming  disease.  "He  was  a  leper."  This  ancient  scourge  of 
sin  had  broken  in  upon  his  camp,  and  had  carried  despair  to  his 
nigh  hope?;  and  his  towering  ambition,  and  perhaps  his  profligacy 
From  this  captive  maid  he  had  been  told  something  of  Israel's 
God;  had  received  just  enough  of  light  to  make  darkness  visible 


THE    SYRIAN    CAPTIVE.  819 

and  had  gathered  some  indistinct  impression  that  relief  could  be 
obtained  from  the  prophet  of  Samaria.  Oh  how  could  a  heathen 
die  that  had  intimations  of  the  Lamb  to  be  slain,  while  he  had  not 
taken  sanctuary  in  his  blood  ?.  "  Is  there,  then,  a  prophet  in  Is- 
rael that  can  heal  the  leprosy  1  Can  he  have  compassion  on  a 
stranger,  an  enemy,  the  worshiper  of  another  than  Israel's  God  \  or  is 
there  not  a  1  imitation  of  his  power  to  the  descendants  of  Abraham  1" 
"He  can,"  she  replied,  "  recover  thee.  He  would,  west  thou  with 
him.  Oh  that  my  lord  were  now  in  Samaria  with  this  prophet  who 
has  already  had  compassion  upon  a  Sidonian  widow — a  stranger 
to  the  covenant  of  promise  ;  and  he  surely  will  not  pass  unheeded 
the  application  of  my  lord."  Her  deep  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of 
her  master  led  her,  perhaps,  very  often  to  press  the  necessity  of 
immediate  i  esort  to  the  remedy  provided.  Her  compassion  had 
been  awakened  by  the  view  of  his  wretchedness  :  for  "  lo,  he  was 
a  leper,"  an  exile  from  his  family,  a  burden  to  himself  ;  and 
though  high  in  office  and  in  honor,  a  loathing  to  all  who  beheld 
him.  All  fled  him,  as  he  walked  abroad,  lest  this  frightful  curse 
should  be  transferred  to  themselves.  All  excluded  him  from  their 
habitations,  lest  his  entering  them  should  bring  pollution  that 
could  not  be  cleansed.  His  nearest  relatives,  and  most  intimate 
associates  abandoned  him  to  his  own  solitary  dwelling.  They  who 
followed  him,  as  he  led  the  armies  of  Syria,  followed  him  afar  off 
to  prevent  contagion.  And  then  he  was  no  less  an  object  of 
loathing  to  himself  than  to  others.  He  abhorred  his  own  flesh. 
It  was  rottenness  upon  his  bones.  It  was  a  putrid  carcass,  upon 
which  the  vultures  longed  to  prey,  bound  by  ligatures  to  a  living 
soul.  And  what  seems  despair  complete,  it  is  a  disease  without  a 
remedy.  Death  alone — a  lingering,  solitary  death — unpitied,  un- 
wept, nay,  most  earnestly  desired  both  by  the  victim  and  his  near- 
est friends — was  all  that  could  promise  the  poor  leper  a  dismal 
shadow  of  relief.  What  an  emblem  this  of  moral  pollution  !  How 
shunned  the  sinner  by  all  holy  beings  '  Excluded  from  the  abode 
of  righteousness  ;  shut  out  from  hope  and  happiness,  and  heaven  ; 
odious  to  himself,  forlorn  and  miserable,  his  is  but  a  living  death, 
and  while  he  lingers  upon  the  borders  of  eternity  there  is  nothing 
before  him  but  "  the  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery 
indignation .': 

The  story  of  the  captive  maid  was  simple  because  it  was  true. 
It  touched  the  heart  of  her  master,  and  inclined  him  to  seek  an  in- 
terview with  the  prophet  of  Israel.  The  news  flew  through  all  the 
departments  of  the  royal   palace.     Wonder  was  excited  there,  and 


850  THE    SYRIAN    CAPTIVE. 

hope,  anil  perhaps  a  council  of  state  was  held  to  deliberate  upon 
this  strange  intelligence.  The  king  of  Syria  despatches  a  letter 
in  Israel's  king,  and  sends  Naaman  with  a  retinue  and  gifts  of 
princely  aspect  inquest  of  the  promised  boon.  There  was  enough 
of  lifht  to  inspire  confidence  ;  but  confidence  in  dark  and  blind 
confusion.  The  royal  favorite  hastens  with  his  credentials  to  the 
court  of  Israel's  king,  who  on  interpreting  the  import  of  the  com- 
munication— and  well  he  might,  it  was  so  strange  a  suit — attributes 
it  to  a  wily  design  on  the  part  of  his  rival  monarch,  to  involve 
him  in  a  conflict — a  conflict  which  he  dreaded,  and  which  lie  would 
gladly  slum.  He  rends  his  robes  in  consternation,  and  the  alarm 
spreads  through  all  his  court.  And  now  the  prophet's  counsel  is 
earnestly  implored,  as  men,  in  terror  for  their  sins,  or  in  dread  of 
death,  apply  to  some  till  then  unnoticed  friend  of  God,  and  ask  his 
intercesssion  at  the  throne  .of  grace  on  their  behalf.  The  prophet 
quiets  their  fears  by  demanding  the  Syrian  captain  to  be  sent  to 
him  ;  and  he  would  teach  him  that  there  was  indeed  a  God  in 
Israel  mighty  to  save.  Naaman  with  his  retinue  presents  himself 
at  the  door  of  the  prophet,  but  chagrined  at  receiving  no  personal 
notice,  and  vexed  with  the  simple  message,  "  Go  wash  seven 
times  in  Jordan  and  be  clean,"  turned  and  went  away  in  a  rage. 
Here  like  the  sinner  at  the  footstool  of  mercy,  all  leprous,  all 
defiled  ;  and  yet  elated  with  false  views  of  his  own  consequence 
in  the  sio-ht  of  God,  and  contemning  the  simple  offer  of  salvation 
through  the  blood  of  atonement,  flies  in  anger  from  the  only  source 
of  relief.  But  his  servants  entreated  him  to  try  the  remedy  of 
the  prophet.  Perhaps  Israel's  waters  may  avail.  Haply  Abana 
and  Pharpar  have  no  such  healing  virtues.  If  he  had  sent  them 
on  a  long  pilgrimage  to  some  desert  land  to  build  a  heathen  tem- 
ple and  a  heathen  altar  where  human  foot  has  never  trodden  since 
creation  rose,  or  had  he  imposed  self-inflicted  tortures  till  thou 
couldest  scarcely  have  borne  them,  thou  couldest  have  done  it  all 
to  save  thy  life.  Why  not  then  wash  in  Jordan  1  If  it  do  not 
help,  it  cannot  injure,  no  harm  will  follow.  He  yielded  to  their 
wise  advice,  and  went  and  washed,  when  lo  to  his  surprise  and  joy 
his  putrid,  loathsome  flesh,  gave  place  to  that  of  infant  tenderness 
and  purity.  In  grateful  amazemen*  he  gazed  upon  himself  and 
felt  life's  current  careening  through  his  veins  as  in  playful  child- 
hood, lie  had  washed  the  leper  off,  and  swift  presents  an  offering 
at  the  prophet's  feet.  Oh  take  the  price  of  life  and  health  of  thy 
poor  servant,  now  relieved  and  happy. 

No,  thy  leprousy  cleave    forever  to   thy   enemies.     Take  with 


THE    SYRIAN    CAPTIVE.  831 

thee  thy  gifts.  It  will  buy  a  lamb  to  offer  on  the  altar  of  the  liv- 
ing God,  who  healed  thee  by  a  power  unseen  and  made  thy  flesh 
all  young  again.  So  Abraham's  God  can  operate.  Oh  there  is 
no  God  1  ke  him  in  all  the  earth. 

Why,  prophet,  thou  hast  made  me  whole  ;  and  wilt  thou  not  re 
ceive  the  price  of  "a  Syrian  ready  to  perish"  who  came  in  blind- 
r.ess,  led  by  the  direction  of  a  little  servant  maid,  or  captive 
from  the  land  of  Israel,  and  found  all,  and  more  than  all  that  he  had 
hoped.  Take  then  the  boon  I  offer,  else  tell  me  more  of  Israel's 
God,  whom  1  would  for  ever  serve. 

But  wonkiest  thou  know  more  of  Israel's  God  1  'Twas  he  who 
built  the  heavens,  and  spread  abroad  the  sea,  when  all  the  sons  of 
God  shouted  for  joy.  He  throws  out  his  gifts  in  such  profusion, 
and  takes  no  bribe — receives  no  offering  but  an  humble  and  a 
broken  heart,  through  the  atoning  sacrifice. 

Oh  sfive  me  then  some  of  Israel's  soil  to  build  an  altar  in  Syria's 
empire,  that  1  may  worship  only  him  that  built  the  heavens,  and 
bless  the  God  of  Abraham  that  healed  the  leper,  till  I  come  where 
Abraham  is.  And  one  thing  more  I  ask,  when  1  go  into  the  house 
of  Riimnon  because  T  must,  and  then  bow,  my  master  hanging  on 
my  arm,  Oh  !   hold  thy  servant  guiltless  in  this  one  thin?. 

"  I  lo  in  peace,"  and  as  thou  rearest  an  altar  to  the  living  God, 
inquire  there,  what  he  would  have  thee  do.  There  lay  thy  ease  in 
humble  supplication  before  his  throne,  and  he  will  guide  thee 
right. 

With  gladsome  heart  Naaman  bade  the  holy  prophet  a  kind  fare- 
well, and  hasted  on  his  way  to  spread  the  wonders  wrought  in 
Israel  amid  the  camp  and  court  of  Syria. 

So  it  seems  a  captive  maid,  was  the  first  missionary  to  a  land  of 
gross  idolatry.  She  bore  the  first  torch  of  light  to  the  camp  of 
Syria,  a  light  which  broke  in  upon  the  gloom  which  overshadowed 
in  dense  darkness  all  its  habitations,  from  the  palace  of  the  monarch 
to  the  tents  of  his  meanest  subject.  And  what  may  not  a  little  sab- 
bath school  child  perform  in  the  moral  renovation  of  the  world  ! 
How  many  a  child  trained  up  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  has  been 
instrumental  i  i  widely  extending  the  praises  of  the  Redeemer,  by 
touching  the  chord  that  vibrated  from  heart  to  heart,  till  multitudes 
upon  multitudes  were  affected  by  it,  and  brought  to  bow  at  the 
foot  of  the  cro 

This  little  maid  was  hut  a  servant  that  waited  upon  her  mistress, 
and  yet  behold  her  sympathy  for  the  affliction  of  her  master.  Hear 
her  prayer  in  his  behalf.    Witness  the  urgencv  with  which  sin.  press- 


852  THE    SYRIAN    CAPTIVE. 

es  the  necessity  of  his  immediate  and  personal  application  to  tin 
prophet  that  was  in  Samaria.  And  so  Christian  servants  are  ever 
blessings  in  the  families  where  they  dwell,  and  their  pious  example 
may  he  the  means  of  saving  their  employers. 

What  an  example  of  rigid  adherence  to  the  principles  of  early 
education.  All  the  idolatry  of  the  Syrian  camp  and  court  did  not 
move  her  or  cause  her  to  forget  the  God  of  Israel.  The  principles 
which  she  had  imbibed  in  her  childhood  clung  to  her  in  her  captiv- 
ity, and  no  temptation  could  prevail  upon  her  to  swerve  from  the 
way  of  righteousness  in  which  she  had  been  instructed.  "  If  I  for- 
get thee,  Oh!  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget  its  cunning,"  was 
the  motto  which  she  had  inscribed  upon  her  heart.  Let  the  chil- 
dren of  pious  parents,  when  far  away  from  parental  instruction,  re- 
member the  story  of  this  captive  maid,  and  inculcate  it  in  the  avoid- 
ance of  all  that  is  evil  and  in  the  practice  of  all  that  is  good. 

Let  parents  train  their  children  so,  that  should  they  be  called  to 
leave  them  to  the  bufferings  of  this  world,  they  may  have  a  surer, 
firmer  stay  than  a  mere  parent's  arm,  a  wiser  counsellor,  and  a  far 
dearer  friend. 

Ye  who  have  tried  the  remedy,  tell  me,  did  you  not  find  it  all, 
and  more  than  all  you  hoped  for  1  Was  it  not  a  timely  and  pre- 
cious remedy!  For  what  price  would  you  have  failed  in  that  tre- 
mendous hour!  Oh,  tell,  then,  and  teach  your  child  to  tell,  in  the 
lodgment  where  he  dwells,  or  amid  the  servitude  he  serves,  of  that 
Fountain  opened,  in  the  house  of  David,  for  sin  and  all  unclean- 
ness.  Make  the  tale  familiar  to  the  infant  mind,  of  Him  that  bled 
on  Calvary,  and  healeth  every  wound  with  his  own  vital  stream. 
The  theme  is  sweet.  We  shall  talk  of  it  in  heaven,  and  sing  of  it 
in  the  eternal  choir  which  shall  be  assembled  around  the  throne 
of  God  and  the  Lamb. 

But  ah,  how  many  hold  the  plague  imbedded  deep  till  life  goes 
out,  and  will  not  reach  that  place,  nor  sing  that  song,  nor  feel  that 
joy  in  heaven.  And  when  they  knew  that  the  remedy  was  cheap 
and  easy,  and  the  price  a  grateful  heart, was  all  that  was  required, 
oh,  the  disappointment,  and  chagrin,  and  wretchedness,  that  will 
prey  upon  the  damned  multitude  in  everlasting  fire.  Recollection 
of  the  remedy  untried  will  eat  their  flesh  as  doth  a  canker. 


WORLDS   SENT  OUT  TO    ILLUSTRATE  THE    PATH  THAT   MINDS 
SHOULD  TAKE. 

In  imagination  I  am  sometimes  thrown  back  to  the  period  of 
creation  when  God  spoke  and  it  was  done — when  he  commanded 
and  it  stood  fast.  And  as  I  am  stationed  near  the  throne,  and  as  I 
hear  the  order  issued,  Let  there  be  light — let  worlds  be  formed, 
and  let  infinite  space  welcome  these  monuments  of  creating  power, 
I  cannot  wonder,  then,  angels  should  gaze  upon  the  scene  with 
untold  amazement,  and  attune  their  harps  to  lofty  song.  Each 
sun,  each  planet,  each  family  of  worlds,  as  it  sprung  into  being, 
received  an  impulse  from  the  hand  of  its  Creator,  and  sped  its  way 
into  the  orbit  for  which  it  was  destined.  And  there  it  revolves  in 
its  own  sphere,  and  revolves  upon  its  own  axis,  and  again  revolves 
in  blessed  union  with  the  whole  family  of  systems,  by  an  arrange- 
ment how  complete,  by  an  order  how  harmonious  ;  and  by  a  coun- 
terpoise of  powers,  which  at  once  retains  and  impels  it,  how  per- 
fect !  By  the  one,  it  would  fly  from  its  orbit,  and  wing  its  way 
for  ever  from  the  sphere  in  which  it  was  stationed  ;  and  by  the 
other,  it  would  come  into  speedy  collision  with  its  fellow  orb,  and 
then  with  other  orbs,  till  the  ruin  of  the  entire  universe  should  be 
complete,  and  the  chaos  perfect.  Oh,  how  amazing  the  system 
of  creation!  What  a  theme  for  song!  How  it  displays  (he  wis- 
dom of  the  power  of  the  incomprehensible  Architect !  Had  the 
original  impulse  been  greater  or  less,  had  it  been  differently  appor- 
tioned, without  that  wondrous  counterpoise  which  now  balances 
the  whole,  this  fair  world  of  ours  might  have  been  whirled  be\  ond 
the  solar  influence  ;  might  have  been  wafted  into  blackness  and 
darkness,  and  been  doomed  to  perpetual  sterility,  and  perhaps  to 
everlasting  winter.  But  now,  curbed  and  restrained,  and  its  path- 
way marked  out  by  the  finger  of  God,  he  reserves  it  as  the  theatre 
for  the  display  of  his  glory.  Creation  unfolds  to  us  his  wisdom 
and  power  ;  but  these  constitute  only  a  part  of  his  perfections. 
Would  we  discern  his  justice,  his  mercies,  his  grace,  his  love,  we 
are  directed  to  the  cross.  This  is  the  sun  and  centre  of  a  system 
infinitely  more  glorious  than  that  which  inspired  the  first  anthem 
of  the  angelic  choir.     We  can  sin;;  of  creation  as  the  cradle  of  our 


WORLDS    SENT    OUT,    ETC. 

being;  but  Redemption  lifts  our  song  to  nobler  strains.    Countless 

myriads,  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  will  participate  for  e\or 
in  those  joys  which  are  unalterable  and  full  of  glory,  and  behold, 
with  unceasing  and  adoring  wonder,  the  ways  and  the  perfections 
lod,  as  unfolded  in  his  everlasting  covenant. 

I  now  come  to  the  application  of  these  remarks.  The  impulse 
which  was  given  to  the  world,  in  the  original  creation,  not  un- 
aptly represents  the  effect  of  those  instructions  which  are  received 
iinler  the  parental  roof,  in  the  Sabbatli  school,  and  by  the  minis- 
trations of  the  sanctuary. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  Sabbath  school  teacher,  and  mark  his 
attitude.  He  stands  the  director  of  immortal  minds.  He  fits  them 
for  their  destined  course,  and  gives  the  impulse  which  propels 
them  in  their  future  orbit — not  unerringly — because  opposing 
powers,  counteracting  influences,  a  multitude  of  adverse  attrac- 
tions, all  contend  for  the  mastery,  and  form  a  mighty  combination 
to  impede  and  divert,  and  throw  off' those  minds  into  other  circles, 
where  they  will  flash,  and  redden,  and  glare  for  a  while,  like  wan- 
dering stars,  and  then  explode,  and  be  lost  in  the  blackness  of 
darkness  for  ever.  Oh,  what  an  attitude,  that  gives  to  a  planet  its 
impulse,  and  wafts  it  in  its  orbit,  and  balances  the  powers,  which, 
while  they  curb  and  rein  it  within  prescribed  limitations,  urge  it 
on  in  regular  and  systematic  progression.  But  the  course  of  plan- 
ets must  cease  after  a  few  cycles  of  years.  The  whole  system  of 
worlds,  when  they  shall  have  run  their  round,  and  answered  the 
purposes  of  their  destination,  must  perish.  Nothing  is  doomed  to 
live,  to  survive  the  general  wreck,  but  the  immortal  mind.  And 
;is  the  impulse  which  that  mind  receives  affects  it  throughout  all 
its  future  being,  oh,  how  mighty  the  enterprise,  how  solemn  the 
responsibility,  of  giving  it  a  direction  which  it  must  feel  for  ever, 
i  annihilate  a  world  than  impress  upon  mind  a  false  charac- 
end  it  whirling  in  some  irregular  or  eccentric  orbit.  Bet- 
ter that  the  brightest  planet  that  shines  should  be  hurled  from  its 
sphere,  and  sent  lawless  through  the  heavens,  and  be  sunk  in  ever- 
lasting night,  than  for  an  immortal  mind  to  receive  such  an  im- 
:;-  would  dash  it,  with  maddening  and  unhallowed  energy, 
against  other  minds,  and  mark  its  own  pathway  to  ruin  by  the  pros- 
it of  other  spirits,  which  are  also  destined  to  live  for  ever. 
It  is  not  the  loss  merely  of  a  single  soul;  this  were  but  a  speck 
in  the  account  ;  it  may  be  a  ruined  generation.  And  this  ruin 
may  spread  in  a  wider  and  still  wider  circumference,  and  roll  on, 
from  generation  to  generation,  with  an  accelerated  impulse,  till  it 


WORLDS    SENT    OUT,    ETC.  855 

is  announced  that  time  shall  be  no  more.  But  whence  its  origin  1 
It  is  traced  to  some  unfaithful  teacher  in  a  Sabbath  school  —  to 
some  wronff  direction  there — the  result  of  some  unhallowed  im- 
pulse, which  this  same  teacher  had  received  from  some  mistaken 
guide,  and  stereotyped  to  live  through  all  the  generations  of  men, 
down  to  the  funeral  of  the  world.  What  then  is  the  attitude  of 
the  teacher1?  How  can  he  take  his  station  at  the  goal,  and  give 
the  impulse,  without  spending  a  thought  upon  its  amazing  results'? 
Every  one  that  he  sends  forth  into  the  world  bears  some  impress 
which  he  has  imparted,  some  character  which  he  has  given,  and 
is  better  or  worse,  will  soar  higher  in  the  realms  of  light,  or  sink 
deeper  in  despair,  by  having  participated  in  his  instructions,  and 
received  from  him  an  onward  impulse.  Oh,  that  all  teachers  would 
remember  their  responsibility,  and  strive  to  send  forth  their  entire 
classes  in  spheres  of  usefulness  and  duty  here,  that  they  may  shine 
hereafter  like  the  "  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  as  the  stars 
for  ever  and  ever."  And  oh,  when  the  teacher  shall  be  able  to 
trace  the  history  of  these  immortal  minds,  which  he  put  upon  the 
track,  and  to  know  to  what  extent  they  have  been  shipwrecked 
and  foundered,  and  sunk  and  lost,  through  the  agency  which  he 
has  communicated,  I  can  readily  conceive  how  he  might  wish  that 
he  had  been  a  devil,  rather  than  to  have  occupied  the  fearful  posi- 
tion of  a  teacher  of  a  Sabbath  school,  and  there  betrayed  his  trust. 
I  think  this  subject  susceptible  of  still  further  illustration,  from 
the  various  disposition  of  the  worlds  which  God  has  made,  the 
laws  by  which  they  are  governed,  the  order  in  which  they  move, 
and  the  wondrous  adjustments  by  which  they  are  perfectly  balan- 
ced in  all  their  relative  positions,  and  roll  on,  each  in  its  course, 
and  each  contributing  to  the  interest  and  harmony  of  the  amazing 
whole.  In  imagination  I  have  supposed,  perhaps  quite  presumptu- 
ously, the  throne  of  the  Eternal  to  be  the  very  centre  of  the  uni- 
verse, around  which  all  worlds,  and  systems  of  worlds,  perpetually 
revolve.  And  as  my  mind  ranges  from  this  centre,  through  the 
fields  of  illimitable  space,  it  lights  upon  an  untold  multitude  of  ob- 
jects that  fill  it  with  amazement.  The  number  of  these  heavenly 
orbs,  their  varied  magnitudes,  their  respective  distances  from  each 
other,  and  from  the  common  centre,  and  systems  upon  systems, 
beyond  the  computation  of  Angelic  powers;  each  with  a  centre 
of  its  own,  yet  each  chained  to  all  the  rest  with  unseen  but  indis- 
soluble bands,  and  all  obedient  to  the  imp  ilse  which  first  sent 
them  careering  in  their  respective  orbits.  Oh,  what  a  theme  for 
the  most  enlarged,  and   delightful,   and   profound   contemplation  ' 


856  WORLDS    SENT    OUT,    ETC. 

I  love  to  lose  myself  in  the  immensity  of  the  works  of  God,  and 
unite  with  the  devout  Psalmist  in  singing,  "When  I  consider  the 
heavens,  the  work  pf  thy  hand,  and  the  moon  and  the  stars  that 
thou  hast  ordained,  what  is  man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him,  or 
the  son  of  mail  that  thou  shouldst  visit  him  1" 

But  there  is  a  grand  centre  in  the  moral  as  well  as  in  ihe  physi- 
cal universe.  In  the  revolutions  of  worlds,  you  will  mark  that  no 
one  stands  in  another's  way — no  one  takes  another's  path— no  one 
envies  another  its  nearness  or  its  remoteness  from  the  throne,  and 
none  is  displeased  that  others  should  have  larger  dimensions  than 
they,  or  move  in  a  more  extended  orbit,  or  shine  with  a  more 
refulgent  splendor.  There  is  no  collision  between  these  heavenly 
orbs — no  interference — no  discord.  What  a  lesson  to  the  Church, 
ami  to  the  world!  The  grand  fountain  of  impulse  and  attraction 
to  the  moral  system,  is  God.  The  great  love  wherewith  he  loved 
the  world,  is  the  central  influence  which  impels  to  every  proper 
feeling,  and  every  noble  action.  The  love  of  God  is  the  golden 
chain  which  binds  together  all  the  heavenly  hosts  ;  and  as  it  is  let 
down  to  earth  and  embraced  by  men,  it  unites  the  Church  Militant, 
and  the  Church  Triumphant,  and  the  Angtlie  Choir,  in  one  blessed 
and  harmonious  fraternity.  The  manifestation  of  the  love  on  the 
part  of  God,  is  in  the  gift  of  his  Son.  He  is  the  centre  of  the 
entire  system.  His  Spirit,  as  in  the  original  creation,  first  mould- 
ed, and  then  threw  into  their  respective  spheres,  all  who  can  lay 
any  just  claim  to  the  endeared  and  ennobling  appellation  of  saints. 
They  bear  His  blessed  image.  They  shine  by  His  light.  They 
move  by  his  power,  and,  receiving  their  impulse  from  Him,  they 
are  borne  onward  with  the  greater  velocity  the  nearer  their  ap- 
proach to  the  throne.  A  brighter  light  also  gilds  their  path,  and 
a  more  dazzling  srlory.  And  oh,  that  the  path  of  all  were  that  of 
the  just,  which  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day! 

Bui  some  Christians,  with  very  eccentric  orbits,  will  play  the 
comet.  Now  they  approach  the  centre  of  attraction,  with  amaz- 
ing  rapidity.  They  are  the  subjects  of  universal  wonder:  what  a 
train  marks  their  flight!  What  apprehensions  are  exerted  lest 
they  should  come  within  the  earth's  attractions,  as  they  do  within 
its  orbit,  and  bum  up  the  world  !  And  who  knows  but  some  comet 
may  l»e  commissioned  to  fulfil  the  decree  of  heaven,  respecting 
the  final  consummation  of  all  things  1  But  they  soon  pass  away, 
and  as  they  recede,  the  light  which  they  emit  grows  fainter,  until 
they  are  losl  to  the  vision,  and  are  lost  for  years  and  for  centuries, 
ere  they  return    to   excite   wonder  and   apprehension  afresh.     So 


WORLDS    SENT    OUT,    ETC.  857 

with  Christians,  who  dazzle  and  glitter  and  carry  with  them  a  train 
for  a  little  season,  and  then  fly  off  and  abscond,  and  are  forgotten. 
The  unequablcness  of  their  movements,  affords  just  cause  for  ap- 
prehension, lest  they  should  prove  wandering  stars,  to  whom  is 
reserved  the  mist  of  darkness.  The  alternations  of  intense  heat 
and  intense  co-Id,  how  very  uncomfortable  !  How  the  one  com- 
pletely unnerves  the  soul,  while  the  other  locks  up  its  energies  in 
the  frosts  of  winter  ! 

Other  Christians,  like  planets,  move  in  eccentric  orbits  ;  but  in 
orbits  slightly  eccentric.  They  shine  brighter,  and  are  borne  on- 
ward with  greater  rapidity  at  one  period,  than  at  another ;  yet  not 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  elicit  very  marked  attention.  There  is  a 
regularity,  and  an  order,  and  a  harmony  in  all  their  movements, 
beautiful  for  simplicity,  and  commanding  veneration  ;  and  as  plan- 
ets have  a  centre  around  which  they  revolve,  so  has  the  Christian; 
and  Christians  are  moreover  centres  of  influence  and  attraction  to 
others.  No  one  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  one  dieth  to  himself. 
No  one  is  so  feeble,  or  so  insignificant,  or  so  isolated,  as  to  render 
his  existence  and  character  of  no  effect.  He  is  the  subject  of  in- 
fluence. He  exerts  an  influence,  just  as  the  earth  attracts  the 
moon,  and  the  moon  the  earth.  The  system  of  nature,  how  beau- 
tiful, how  harmonious!  But  not  more  so  than  the  Christian 
system,  in  which  justice  and  mercy  meet  together,  and  right- 
eousness and  peace  embrace  each  other.  And  when  Christiani- 
ty shall  be  thoroughly  established  in  the  hearts  of  all ;  when 
its  principles  shall  be  thoroughly  understood  by  all ;  and  when 
its  high  and  holy  motives  shall  influence  all,  what  a  blessed 
concert  there  will  be  of  feeling,  of  heart,  and  of  action.  There 
will  be  no  collision,  no  strife,  no  discord — Ephraiin  will  not  en- 
vy Judah,  nor  Judah  vex  Ephraim.  All  will  move  on  in  har- 
mony around  their  respective  centres  of  influence,  in  larger  or 
more  limited  spheres ;  and  all  will  move  on  around  the  great  sun 
and  centre  of  the  moral  system,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  impelled 
by  one  motive— the  love  of  God  ;  and  having  only  one  theme  for 
the  employment  of  their  harps  through  all  the  ages  of  eternity. 
And  thus  the  great  love  wherewith  he  hath  loved  us,  and  given 
himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity. 


CAN  THINE  HEART  ENDURE  AXD  THINE  HANDS  BE  STRONG. 

No  one  has  ever  deliberately  calculated  on  the  horrors  of  ever- 
lasting abandonment.  0!  who  can  endure  it?  With  what  dark 
images  does  it  haunt  the  soul  !  No  ray  of  light — no  gleam  of  hope 
breaks  in  upon  the  prison  of  despair.  It  is  all  darkness — all  mis- 
ery— ail  hopelessness.  The  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not 
quenched.  The  darkness  of  perdition,  alas  !  who  can  bear  it  \  It  is 
so  fearful,  so  intense,  so  gloomy,  so  ceaseless.  It  is  the  gather- 
ing storm  which  increases  in  blackness — the  total  eclipse  which 
shuts  out  all  light  for  ever:  the  deep  dungeon  which  immures  the 
soul  in  eternal  midnight.  "The  mist  of  darkness" — "The  black- 
ness of  darkness,"  "  outer  darkness,"  are  terms  denoting  the  im- 
agery which  shadows  forth  the  world  of  perdition.  Oh  !  who  can 
dwell  for  ever  shut  out  from  light  1  How  appalling  that  dark  abyss, 
where  there  is  no  sun,  no  moon,  no  twinkling  star,  no  coming 
morn,  no  future  day, — that  "land  of  darkness  as  of  darkness  itself," 
where  there  is  no  order,  no  prospect,  no  object  of  vision,  nothing 
but  the  dense  cloud  of  bottomless  gulf!  the  terror  of  such  dark- 
ness how  inexpressibly  great!  And  yet  it  is  but  a  faint  image  of 
what  the  soul  in  perdition  must  endure  for  ever. 

The  shame  of  being  lost,  how  insupportable  !  The  slow  finger  of 
scorn  as  it  points  to  the  guilty  outcast  from  God.  Oh,  who  can 
bear  it  1  Where  will  the  sinner  hide  from  the  shame  of  his  naked- 
ness 1  Where  will  he  fly  from  himself  or  conceal  any  longer  his 
hidden  iniquities,  now  that  the  refulgent  glory  of  the  eternal  throne 
exposes  to  the  noon  day  gaze  all  the  abominations  which  he  has 
ever  committed  1  He  gathers  up,  perhaps  his  mantle  of  self-right- 
eousness, and  folds  it  around  him,  but  alas,  it  is  all  filthiness  ami 
rags.  He  is  ashamed  to  wear  it.  He  resorts,  perhaps  to  a  varietv 
of  expedients  to  preserve  some  shreds  of  a  reputation,  to  which  h*" 
is  tenderly  alive,  but  it  only  renders  more  signal  his  exposure, 
and  doubles  his  shame.  He  is  ashamed  of  the  ruin  which  he  has 
purchased  by  his  iniquities.  He  is  ashamed  of  the  unholy  influ- 
ence which  he  has  exerted,  ashamed  of  the  obliquity  which  is 
poured  upon  him,  ashamed  of  his  companion?  in  guilt,  of  his  asso- 
ciates in  crime,  ashamed  to  look  up  to  that  world  of  light  which 
he   might    have    inherited — ashamed   to   see  the    saints   in  glory 


CAN    THINE    HEART    EM  DURE.  Sod 

there  :  ashamed  that  he  heard  not  his  Father's  voice,  that  lie  fle*1. 
not  when  he  might,  to  the  Savior's  arms,  and  thus  lie  yielded  not, 
when  the  spirit  strove  10  his  renewing,  and  sanctifying  and  saving 
grace.  The  loss  of  Heaven,  how  shameful,  how  unnecessary,  crim- 
inal, vile,  irretrievable  ;  and  the  greater  the  shame,  because  lost 
in  the  indulgence  of  chose  passions  which  not  only  degrade  their 
possessor,  but  render  him  an  object  of  universal  loathing  and  con- 
tempt. Contempt  is  then  coupled  with  shame.  Oh,  who  can 
bear  contempt  ]  We  shun  it  as  an  adder  that  biteth.  But  the  por- 
tion of  the  wicked  will  be  ':  shame  and  everlasting  contempt." 

The  desertion  of  the  world  of  death,  how  terrible  !  The  solitary 
cell,  how  gloomy  !  But  this  is  the  dungeon  of  dungeons.  Alone, 
shut  out  from  all  society  and  shut  up  to  his  own  dismal  reflections, 
and  there  for  ever,  with  none  to  whom  he  can  unburthen  his  soul  \ 
with  none  into  whose  ear  he  can  pour  the  sad  tale  of  his  woe  j 
with  none  to  whom  he  can  confess  his  crimes,  and  thus  roll  off"  a 
fraction  of  that  intolerable  load  of  anguish  under  which  he  is 
crushed.  What  a  lonely,  deserted  state  ;  how  unspeakably  over- 
whelming !  In  that  land  of  shadows  and  of  "  darkness  as  dark- 
ness itself,"  "  friend,  lover,  and  acquaintance"  is  far  away  ;  and 
the  sinner  strides  his  despairing  track,  an  eternal  stranger  to  all 
the  sympathies  of  family,  all  the  endearments  of  social  intercourse, 
all  the  fond  recollections  of  home — once  sweet  home — but  now 
deserted  of  all  its  charms  ;  himself  deserted,  nay,  himself  the  es- 
sence of  eternal  desertion;  shunned  by  his  former  companions; 
abandoned  by  heaven  and  hope  ;  and  left  to  wend  his  solitary  way 
in  still  deeper  desertion,  through  the  long  track  of  endless  night. 
The  desertion  of  damnation,  how  intolerable!  It  is  the  bitterest 
ingredient  in  his  woe. 

The  passions  developed  and  perfected  in  the  lost,  how  terrible! 
Who  can  stand  before  envy  /  Oh  how  the  sinner  will  envy  the 
saints  in  light  !  Their  sweet  songs,  their  golden  harps,  their  joys 
unutterable  and  full  of  glory,  their  robes  of  spotless  purity,  are  all 
materials  for  the  corrosion  of  his  envy,  for  the  gnawings  of  that 
worm  that  never  dies.  .Jealousy — the  most  cruel  and  unrelenting 
of  all  the  passions,  will  there  find  full  scope.  All  the  fires  of  hell 
cannot  burn  it  out.  The  floods  of  perdition  cannot  drown  it. 
There  will  be  malice  and  pride  and  revenge&nd  vanity.  All  the  base 
passions  will  be  awake,  and  wrought  up  to  the  utmost  intensity  of 
action.  "  Hatred  and  variance  and  emulation  and  strife,"  sources 
of  discord  and  vexation  and  war  and  carnage,  rvro  made  to  bear  ir. 


8G0  CAN    THINE    HEART    ENDURE. 

terrible  concentration  upon  the  centre  of  the  heart.     Their  smok* 
will  be  as  Sod^m,  and  their  stench  as  Gomorrah. 

The  misery  of  being  lost,  how  inexpressible!  "Who  can  dwell 
with  the  devouring  /ire  1  Who  can  lie  down  in  everlasting  burn- 
ings]" Who  can  endure  the  gnawings  of  the  deathless  worm! 
The  sublimest  of  uninspired  poets  has  said, — 

"  Me  miserable !   which  way  shrill  I  fly 
Infinite  wrath,  and  infinite  despair  ? 
Which  way  I  fly  is  hell ;   myself  am  hell ! 
And  in  the  lowest  deep,  a  lower  deep 
Still  threatens  to  devour  me  ;    opens  wide 
To  what  the  hell  I  suffer  seems  a  heaven." 

it  is  misery,  without  relief,  without  hope,  without  limits;  perpet- 
ually increasing,  and  yet  with  powers  perpetually  strengthened  to 
bear  accumulated  woe.  It  is  a  wrath  to  be  revealed,  and  ever  to  be 
without  cessation,  without  abatement.  Oh  might  hope  enter  into 
the  dark  mansion,  might  its  guilty  inmates  indulge  the  prospect  ot 
annihilation,  at  any  period,  ever  so  remote  ;  might  some  ponder- 
ous rock  grind  them  to  powder,  or  might  one  drop  of  water  be  ap- 
plied to  their  parched  tongues,  what  a  luxury  !  How  would  it 
mitigate  the  horrors  of  despair,  and  render  less  intolerable  the 
abode  of  the  damned  !  But  when  they  cry,  How  long,  and  are 
answered,  Forever  ;  and  when  again  they  raise  their  cry,  How 
long'?  and  the  pit  echoes,  Forever  ;  when  rocks  and  mountains 
melt  down  and  leave  them.  Oh  how  naked,  without  a  covert  from 
the  vengeance  which  they  have  incurred  !  And  when  their  per- 
petual blasphemies  provoke  even  the  divine  endurance,  what  have 
they  to  anticipate  as  the  reward  of  their  deeds,  but  indignation 
and  anguish,  tribulation  and  wrath  1  As  the  guilt  of  the  lost  will 
for  ever  increase,  so,  side  by  side,  their  despair.  But  what  a  faint 
image  can  we  have  of  misery  to  be  endured  for  ever,  to  increase 
.for  ever,  and  to  be  borne  as  the  just  demerit  of  accumulated  sins 
for  ever  !  As  I  draw  near  in  imagination,  ;nd  hear  the  blasphe- 
mies of  the  pit,  the  accent  breaks  in  upon  me,  Oh  that  God  would 
die !  But  he  is  the  living  God ;  and  to  be  in  his  hands,  will  finisn 
the  soul's  despair! 


A  BETTER  CHURCH  WILL  MAKE  A  BETTER  WORLD. 

It  was  predicted  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures, 
that  "Prayer  also  shall  be  made  for  him."  The  world  might  then 
have  been  prepared  to  see  and  say,  that  whatever  other  means 
God  might  use,  in  reinstating  his  Son  in  the  empire  promised  him, 
extending  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  end  of  the 
earth — whatever  other  means  he  might,  use,  he  will  not  dispense 
with  Prayer.  The  very  spirit  that  is  to  vindicate  his  rights  in  this 
revolted  world,  is  a  spirit  of  prayer  and  supplication.  His  peop'e 
will  appeal  to  himself,  after  they  have  made,  and  while  they  are 
making,  their  appeal  to  men. 

And  the  Christian  has  learned  the  secret  of  prayer,  and  love3 
the  duty.  If  the  kingdom  would  rise  and  grow  without  his  prayers, 
he  would  not  be  willing.  He  can  go  at  any  hour,  with  any  cause 
that  lies  upon  his  heart,  and  plead  that  cause  in  the  court  of  hea- 
ven. The  very  nature  of  the  new  birth,  and  the  relationship  it 
has  established  between  him  and  his  exalted  Redeemer,  has  won 
his  heart  for  ever  to  that  interest  that  was  paramount  in  the  heart 
of  the  dying  Lamb  of  God.  Hence  all  his  followers  love  the  same 
interest,  and  cannot  be  willing  to  be  denied  the  privilege  of  push- 
ing it  forward  by  their  prayers.  As  was  said  of  the  converted 
Apostle,  "  Behold  he  prayeth,"  and  as  he  thus  gave  evidence  of  a 
new  birth,  so  every  Christian  loves  to  pray,  "  Thy  kingdom  come, 
thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven,  Amen,  even  so  come, 
Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly." 

This  is  a  part  of  the  work  in  which  he  will  not  be  willing  to  be 
denied  a  share.  It  is  the  very  work  for  which  his  new  birth  has 
prepared  him.  He  could  spend  his  life  at  the  throne,  and  would 
die  there.  And  God  loves  to  hear  him  pray,  and  may  sometimes 
withhold  the  blessing  he  was  about  to  give,  till  he  has  drawn  out 
the  soul  in  prayer,  "Oh,  my  dove,  thou  art  in  the  clefts  o(  the 
rock,  in  the  secret  places  of  the  stairs;  let  me  see  thy  counte- 
nance, let  me  hear  thy  voice ;  for  sweet  is  thy  voice,  and 
thy  countenance  is  comely."  And  when  he  prays,  "Thy  kingdom 
come,"  he  but  asks  God  to  do  what  he  lias  promised,  and  purposed 
to  do.  Hence,  how  free  of  access  is  the  throne  of  mercy !  how 
sweet  the  privilege  and  urgent  the  duty  of  going  to  God,  burden- 
ing the  heart  with  the  interests  of  his  own  kingdom  and  glory. 


862  A    RETTF.R    CHURCH 

Here  the  work  of  erecting  the  spiritual  temple  lies  open  to  as 
many  builders  as  will  touch  it  with  their  hands,  or  bear  it  on  their 
minds.  Every  heart  that  has  benevolent  and  holy  desires,  may 
urge  the  work  along,  the  very  work  for  which  the  world  rolls 
and  time  endures.  And  shame  on  that  believer  who  will  not  ap- 
ply his  energies,  and  would  be  willing  to  let.  the  temple  rise,  if  it 
might,  without  bis  help. 

Tbere  is  one  consideration  that  it  would  seem  must  arouse  the 
most  paralyzed  to  action  at  this  moment.  God  is  shaking  the 
world  from  the  very  revolution  prayed  for,  and  promised.  Nu- 
merous signs  mark  this  as  the  commencement  of  the  age  we  have 
been  looking  for.  I  hardly  know  where  to  begin  to  enumerate 
these  signs.  The  bonds  of  despotism  are  lessening,  that  men  may 
be  at  liberty  to  put  on  the  yoke  of  Christ.  Almost  every  arm  that 
ever  wielded  a  sceptre,  or  controlled  a  conscience,  is  unnerved. 
The  oppressed  are  rising  upon  their  oppressors,  and  trampling 
their  ensigns  in  the  dust.  The  miseries  of  the  world  have  been 
uncovered  to  the  gaze  of  the  Church.  We  have  sent  out,  and 
have  taken  a  guage  of  the  disasters  to  be  alleviated.  We  know 
how  many  millions  are  without  the  gospel,  and  how  desolated 
their  territory  without  heavenly  light,  and  we  know  too  how 
fearful  the  wastes  o(  our  cities,  and  in  all  parts  of  our  lands,  and 
how  wide  the  havoc  which  the  god  of  this  world  is  spreading 
among  its  population.  This  is  no  doubt  the  very  age  of  the  world 
when  its  people  know  their  own  present  history  ;  and  God  is  evi- 
dently preparing  instruments  for  some  mighty  change  in  the 
world's  condition.  He  has  awakened  the  Church  in  some  mea- 
sure to  a  sense  of  her  responsibilities,  and  she  has  set  her  guards 
on  her  distant  ramparts.  There  is  going  on  an  organization  of 
the  Lord's  hosts  that  must  soon  enlist  all  their  energies,  and  open 
every  embrasure,  and  marshal  every  phalanx  that  can  be  mustered 
for  the  onset  upon  the  powers  of  darkness.  The  child  that  can 
carry  a  tract,  or  breathe  a  prayer,  or  bequeath  a  penny,  can  now 
move  some  spring  that  touches  the  interests  of  redemption.  Some 
skirt  of  the  wide  harvest  reaches  to  our  very  doors,  and,  if  we  can 
only  lift  a  sickle,  we  can  thrust  it  in  and  reap.  It  is  now  easy  to 
be  useful. 

Am!   what  is,  again,  a  sign  of  the  times  worthy  of  notice  ;    many 

ungodly  men  are  convinced  that  now  isthe  time  to  secure  heaven  or 

it  is  lost,  for  ever.     They  are  ever  bending  to  listen  to  the  voice  of 

t,  before  they  are  safe,  its  voice  should  die  away  forever 

upon  their  ear.      They  are   urged  by  some  kind  of  motive  to  oflfel 


WILL    MAKE    A    BETTEB    WORLD.  8G3 

themselves  as  candidates  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  arc  coming 
as  near  as  may  be,  to  the  line  of  demarkation  between  the  two 
kingdoms,  hoping,  as  it  would  seem,  that  some  extraneous  impulse 
may  force  them  over    that  line,  and  they  shall  live. 

And  there  is  another  class  of  ungodly  men,  who  are  bracing 
themselves  against  any  means  that  may  promise  their  awakening. 
They  fear  they  shall  have  to  become  Christians.  They  dare  not 
trust  themselves  where  any  extra  means  are  used.  Thus  do  we 
to  see  evident  indications  that  this  is  the  age  of  mercy,  long 
predicted;  and  if  the  Christian  does  not  devote  himself  entirely 
to  the  Lord,  just  when  he  sees  the  evident  signs  of  his  coming, 
what  will  move  him  !  There  can  be  before  the  mind,  but  one  absorb- 
ing interest,  that  must  interest  all  the  energies  of  the  soul.  How 
much  afraid,  should  we  then  be,  if  we  do  not  feel  for  this  interest, 
if  we  are  not  ready  to  bring  forward  every  energy  we  can  summon 
to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty.  The  call  is  so  loud,  t lie 
field  so  wide,  the  reward  so  glorious,  how  can  any  one  be  idle  ? 
Asthe  patriot  will  plunge  in  among  his  country's  foes  in  a  favored 
hour,  and  sell  his  life  as  dear  as  may  be,  in  doing  the  foe  some  sig- 
nal damage,  so  must  every  child  of  God  be  willing  to  carry  with 
him  into  the  field,  where  he  would  win  souls,  the  dearest  and  the 
entire  interests  of  his  heart,  his  all.  If  he  die  in  the  conflict,  or  be 
made  poor,  or  suffer  reproach,  no  matter,  if  Jesus  be  honored  and 
souls  redeemed.  He  will  have  his  reward,  and  his  Master  the  hon- 
or. There  must  be  a  better  Church,  or  the  kingdom  of  this  world 
can  never  be  given  to  our  Lord  according  to  the  promise,  by  the 
means  specified. 

Christ  will  employ  his  people  in  re-possessing  himself  of  the 
kingdoms  lie  died  to  redeem.  The  work  befits  their  relationship 
in  Christ — is  the  very  work"  which  the  hope  of  heaven  has  quali- 
fied them  to  do;  the  work  most  friendly  to  their  sanctification, 
and  for  which  tin;  Savior  will  love  to  reward  them — a  work  that 
(  rod  will  not  do  without  his  people. 

The  Lord  Jesus,  then,  must  have  a  Church  that  will  obey  him  ; 
and  he  will  have,  as  trie  latter  day  glory  draws  nigh,  a  Church 
prepared  to  live  for  him,  and  labor  for  him,  and  die  for  him.  There 
can  he  no  doubt  hut  such  will  be  the  character  of  the  Millenial 
Church.  And  if  any  now  in  the  visible  kingdom,  cannot  wake 
their  hearts  to  this  tone  of  Christian  enterpri/.e,  they  had  better 
<!;<■,  and  commit  their  interests  to  another  to  occupy  for  the  Lord 
till  he  come.  He  manifests  himself  resolved  to  have  a  laborious 
Church,  that  through    their  agency  he   may  push  his  conquests  till 


8G4  A    BETTER    CHURCH 

the  world  is  redeemed.  And  when  he  has  such  a  Church,  the 
conquest  would  he  easy.  As  the  holy  Martyn  aroused  all  Persia, 
and  led  a  nation  of  the  deceived  an  I  destroyed  to  inquire  after  the 
"  Man  of  God,"  so  in  every  part  of  the  Church,  will  men  arise  who 
will  restore  her  dormant  energies,  and  pour. upon  her  slumhers  a 
note  of  holy  remonstrance  that  shall  quicken  every  heart  that  ever 
beat  with  spiritual  life,  and  the  Church  shall  slumber  no  more  till 
her  Lord  has  come.  Amen,  even  so  come  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly. 

And  now,  beloved  in  the  Lord,  a  poor  sinner  addresses  this  plea 
to  you,  who  hopes  and  will  try  to  pray  that  God  may  use  it  in 
rendering  you  a  better  Christian  than  you  ever  have  been.  You 
see  the  broad  ground  I  have  taken.  I  consider  you  and  all  tiiat 
you  have,  as  the  Lord's.  I  have  supposed  you  willing,  soon  as 
you  know  your  duty,  to  do  it,  and  have  endeavored  to  make  you 
acquainted  with  it.  You  will  show  yourself  to  be  a  true  disciple 
of  your  Master,  by  giving  yourself  to  him — your  mind  and  body. 
Your  power  to  speak,  and  reason,  and  write  ;  and  in  all  the  ways 
wherein  you  can,  you  will  do  him  honor.  You  will  give  him  your 
influence,  your  money,  your  children,  and  all  your  house — you 
will  pray  ror  Zion,  and  weep  for  her,  and  toil  for  her,  and  live  and 
die  for  her.  You  will  try  to  begin  the  Millenium  in  your  own 
house,  and  first  of  all  in  your  closet  ;  and  will  never  rest  while 
there  is  an  ungodly  soul  within  the  reach  of  your  influence,  and 
then  yon  will  not  rest  while  there  is  one  in  the  world.  You  \\\}\ 
not  be  satisfied  with  being  what  you  have  been,  and  doing  what 
you  have  done.  You  acknowledge  that  yon  have  never  been 
enough  like  Christ,  and  will  try  and  keep  trying,  till  you  die  to  be 
more  like  him.  Soon  as  you  have  read  this  address,  you  will  fall 
on  your  knees  and  pray  that  God  will  bless  it  to  your  soul,  and 
then  that  he  will  bless  it  to  others.  You  will  renew  your  cove- 
nant with  God,  and  give  him  all  that  you  have,  and  all  that  you 
are  ;  all  that  you  never  have  before  given  him,  and  all  that  your 
heart  may  even  now  grudge  to  give  him.  From  this  time  onward 
i ill  yon  die,  you  will  ever  make  it  your  business  to  save  a  perish- 
ing world  1.  If  such  is  now  the  purpose  of  your  heart,  why  not 
write  your  name  at  the  bottom  of  such  a  resolve,  and  just  consider 
it  tin-  covenant  you  now  make  with  God,  and  place  it  where  you 
can  sec  it  every  day  !  And  whenever  you  pray  over  this  cove- 
nant, pray  for  all  those  who  have  signed  it  as  you  have  ;  that  you 
and  they  may  be  Millenial  Christians^  and  honor  your  Master  in 
efforts  to  save  a  lost  and  ruined  world. 


IF  WE  HAD  A  BETTER  CHURCH  WE  SHOULD   HAVE  A  BETTER 

WORLD. 

It  has  sometimes  been  suggested,  by  the  unbelieving  heart,  that 
ihe  Church  is  too  small  to  put  forth  the  mighty  influence,  and  ex- 
ert the  control  that  God  requires  of  it. — "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth."  But  when  we  have  summed  up  the  kingdoms,  and  nations, 
and  tongues,  and  people  to  be  settled,  and  seen  the  smallness  of 
the  Church  that  is  to  constitute  the  salt.  When  we  raise  the  num- 
ber of  the  former  to  eight,  or  nine,  or  ten  millions,  and  dwindle 
away  the  count  of  the  other,  till  it  drops  to  a  few  hundred  thou- 
sands, and  seems  almost  to  terminate  in  nothing,  it  would  seem  as 
if  God  had  lain  upon  this  little  Church  a  work  such  as  the  task- 
masters of  Egypt  laid  upon  the  little  handful  of  Israelites,  when 
bid  to  make  the  bricks  that  built  their  mighty  pyramids  without 
straw.  Must,  then,  this  little  Church  send  out  the  Bible  that  must 
civilize,  and  the  ministry,  and  the  ordinances,  and  the  institutions, 
that  must  render  obedient,  and  believing,  and  dutiful,  this  mass  of 
total  and  unqualified  moral  death  1  Here  unbelief  cannot  refrain 
its  dissent.  Why  did  God  give  that  little  band  a  fatigue  duty,  so 
beyond  its  powers  and  its  prowess  1  The  answer  of  faith  is,  There 
is  Church  enough. 

Her  power  is  not  to  be  computed  by  her  numbers.  All  her  con- 
flicts are  secured  by  that  promise,  "  One  shall  chase  a  thousand, 
and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight."  Hence  her  song  may  be,  in 
the  midst  of  the  battle,  "The  Lord  of  hosts  is  with  us,  the  mighty 
God  of  Jacob  is  our  refuge." 

It  has  always  been  easy  for  the  Lord  to  save  by  many  or  by  frw, 
and  it  is  only  unbelief  that  has  ever  been  afraid.  When  Gideon's 
thirty  thousand  were  marshalled  on  the  field  of  conflict,  and  the 
captain  of  the  Lord's  host  reviewed  them,  his  answer  was,  "They 
are  too  many."  When  he  had  reduced  them  down  to  three  hun- 
dred, and  they  must  meet  the  hosts  of  Midian,  then  he  permitted 
them  to  escape  their  assault,  and  the  victory  was  easy.  If  Gideon 
had  gone  up  to  battle  with  his  thirty  thousand,  it  might  have  been 
doubted  whether  the  Lord  of  hosts  was  with  them,  and  the  victory 
might  have  been  ascribed  to  some  god  of  the  hills,  or  to  some  su- 
perior skill  in  tactics,  that  Israel  must  have  learned  in  Egypt,  or 
in  the  wilderness. 


8GG  IF  WE  HAD    A  BETTER  CHCRCH,  ETC. 

"  Ye  are  the  l'ght  of  the  world  ;  "  but  must  the  whole  mass  of 
Egyptian  darkness,  that  broods  upon  the  fields  of  the  apostaey  be 
illuminated  by  the  little  rush-light  that  was  lit  up  two  thousand 
years  ago  on  Moriah,  and  lias  not  shot  out  its  light  even  yet  over 
more  than  two  or  three  of  the  nations  1  And  this  little  Church,  il 
seems,  must  reflect  this  little  rush-light  over  all  the  nations,  or 
the  darkness  that  broods  upon  them  becomes  the  blackness  of 
darkness  for  ever.  So  inquires  unbelief ;  but  faith  answers,  There 
is  light  enough.  Heaven  will  spread  its  broad  reflector  over  this 
rush-light,  and  it  will  shine  unto  ail  the  nations,  and  will  travel  en 
from  the  rising  morning  to  the  west,  and  be  reflected  from  the 
river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  When  Luther  rose  in  Germany, 
who  could  have  believed  that  his  little  fly-light  would  scorch  out 
the  Pope,  and  burn  on  till  it  should  dazzle  into  blindness  the  whole 
gang  of  Cardinals  that  propped  his  ghostly  empire.  And  this 
Church,  through  the  multiplying  moral  reflectors  that  God  has  pro- 
vided, the  power  of  letters,  the  invention  of  printing,  and  the  in- 
fluence of  the  press,  will  throw  this  light  in  broad  and  lucid  sheets 
over  all  the  nations,  till  their  salvation  shall  go  forth  like  a  lamp 
that  burnetii.  Soon  as  the  Church  shall  be  properly  organized, 
and  shall  know  her  strength,  and  shall  have  counted  up  her  re- 
sources, she  will  find  that  her  strength  and  resources  are  sufficient 
for  the  enterprise,  and  the  worst  work  will  be  done. 

And  then  we  must  never  forget  that  the  Church  needs  but  few 
leaders,  and  that  few  are  employed  to  draw  out  all  her  strength. 
If  there  be  fewer,  still  she  would  have  no  less  strength.  If  they 
were  more  numerous,  some,  who  are  now  conspicuous,  would  be 
thrown  into  the  background  ;  and  some  that  are  last  would  be  first  j 
but  the  Church  would  be  no  stronger. — There  is  just  Church 
enough.  And,  besides,  the  Church  can  display  more  strength 
as  soon  as  her  interest  shall  require  that  display.  She  can  fill  up 
the  ranks  of  her  ministry  as  soon  as  her  Leader  shall  give  the 
command.  There  are  men  enough  educated  already,  and  can  be 
called  in  from  other  fields  as  soon  as  the  Lord  shall  have  need  of 
them  j  and  we  can  educate  many  thousands  more  at  the  Lord's 
bidding,  in  a  very  few  years,  and  pour  upon  the  Church,  and  upon 
the  world,  a  host  of  laborers  to  reap  the  whitening  harvest.  All 
this  can  he  done  in  time  to  have  the  millennium  open  during  the 
present  century ;  so  that  the  seven  thousandth  year  of  the  world 
shall  be  its  Sabbath,  and  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  then  become 
the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

And,  moreover,   the  Church  can   so  increase  her  energ' ?s  as  to 


FIFTEEN    MINUTES    BEFORE    THE   TDIE.  8G7 

quadruple  her  strength  in  a  few  weeks.  Let  God  pour  out  his 
Spirit  upon  her  sons  and  her  daughters,  and  produce  a  revival  in 
every  field  of  her  labor  !  and  we  see  in  a  moment  how  her  armor  shall 
brighten,  and  her  resources  multiply  beyond  all  human  computa- 
tion. And  all  this  can  be  as  soon  as  the  Church  is  ready  to  use 
her  strength.  When  the  walls  of  Jericho  must  fall,  there  will  not 
be  wanting  army  enough  to  begirt  her  accursed  territory.  Our 
fears  about  the  number  of  the  sacramental  host  are  all  ill-timed. 
There  will  be  more  when  more  are  wanted.  When  the  Church 
shall  wish  to  spread  out  the  wings  of  her  host,  till  they  shall  be* 
girt  the  world,  a  little  one  shall  become  a  thousand,  and  a  strong 
one  a  great  nation.  When  Elisha  was  pent  up  in  Jothan,  and  the 
hosts  of  Syria  spread  over  all  the  hills,  and  covered,  with  their  horses 
and  their  chariots,  the  whole  territory  of  idolatry,  and  unbelief, 
cried  out,  "  Alas,  my  master!  how  shall  we  do  1"  Faith  could 
easily  climb  the  hills  and  see  them  all  glaring,  with  the  horses 
and  chariots  of  fire.  And  the  prophet  was  as  safe  as  if  heaven's 
Chieftain  had  sent  his  whole  life-guard  to  protect  the  man  of  God. 
Well  might  he  sing,  as  he  let  the  blinded  Syrian  into  Samaria, — 
The  chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thousand,  even  thousands  of  an- 
gels.   And  well  add,  by  way  of  chorus — The  Lord  is  among  them. 


"FIFTEEN  MINUTES  BEFORE  THE  TIME." 

If  there  is  any  one  principle  to  which  the  formation  of  my  char- 
acter has  been  chiefly  indebted,  it  is  this  motto  of  a  distinguised 
naval  commander.  Nobody  ever  waited  for  Lord  Nelson.  He 
made  it  an  invariable  rule  to  be  present  at  any  appointment,  and  to 
be  ready  for  every  enterprise,  at  least  fifteen  minutes  before  the  time, 
and  to  wait  rather  impatiently  the  arrival  of  the  moment  allotted 
for  action.  When  the  hour  had  fully  come,  and  the  delay  of  others 
rendered  it  inexpedient  to  proceed,  he  looked  upon  his  own  obliga- 
tion as  cancelled,  withdrew  immediately  from  the  place  of  rendez- 
vous, and  no  inducement  could  ever  prevail  upon  him  to  return. 

The  lesson  inculcated  by  this  motto,  is  to  be  in  time  for  every 
duty.  It.  should  be  the  standard  principle  of  every  man,  who  hag 
any  regard  to  those  with  whom  he  acts,  to  be  truly  punctual  to  all  his 


8G8  FIFTEEN    MINUTES    BEFORE    THE    TIME. 

engagements.  To  himself  it  is  a  rule  of  incalculable  importance, 
and  applies  to  every  occupation  and  every  pursuit.  The  ancients 
represented  time  under  the  similitude  of  an  old  man,  with  a  single 
lock  upon  his  forehead,  gravely,  but  steadily  approaching  an  assem- 
bled multitude — and  whoever  seized  this  lock,  and  held  him  by  it, 
was  born  onward  with  the  most  assured  pledge  that  could  be  given, 
of  future  success.  But  if  any  suffered  him  to  pass  them,  he  spread 
the  wings,  which  till  then,  were  concealed  behind  him  and  flew 
away  with  a  rapidity,  which  rendered  persuit  utterly  vain.  Hence 
the  homely  adage,  "  Take  time  by  the  forelock."  Better  be  fifteen 
minutes  too  early  than  one  too  late.  Too  late  !  Alas  what  a  crowd 
of  sensations  cluster  round  that  ill-omened  phrase  !  The  disappoint- 
ments how  numerous!  The  disasters  how  sad  !  The  consequences, 
Oh  !  who  can  trace  them,  as  they  reach  through  all  future  time,  and 
embosom  themselves  in  the  abyss  of  eternity. 

The  importance  to  one's  self  of  being  before  the  time,  may  per- 
haps be  more  closely  illustrated  by  an  example.  I  have  in  my  eye 
a  young  man  who  was  my  classmate  in  College.  There  was  no- 
thing in  the  structure  of  his  mind  or  in  its  development  peculiarly 
striking.  It  seemed  to  me  a  mind  cast  in  the  ordinary  mould,  with 
no  stamp  upon  it  of  either  genius  or  brilliancy.  But  I  marked  the  reg- 
ularity with  which  he  attended  upon  all  the  duties  of  the  Institution. 
He  was  ever  before  the  time  in  the  chapel,  the  recitation  room,  the 
Society's  hall,  or  whatever  else  there  was  a  just  claim  upon  his 
merit  and  attention.  Nor  did  he  ever  offer  as  an  excuse,  that 
he  was  unprepared  for  any  exercise  to  which  he  was  properly  call- 
ed. He  took  time  by  the  forelock,  and  had  his  lessons  all  thorough- 
ly digested  long  before  the  hour  of  recitation  arrived.  His  essays 
were  all  written,  a  week  in  advance  of  the  time  when  he  was  expect 
ed  to  read,  and  as  leisure  offered,  he  would  frequently  after  re-model 
and  re-write  them.  He  left  nothing  to  be  done  at  the  eleventh 
hour;  but  carried  out  the  principle  of  punctuality  into  every  thing 
that  concerned  him. 

The  result  was,  he  left  many  of  his  class  lagging  behind,  while  he 
pressed  onward  with  increasing  energy,  and  making  every  day  a 
sensible  increase  to  his  stock  of  knowledge.  He  was  at  last  gradu- 
ated with  a  distinction  which  he  had  not  hoped  to  attain.  And 
without  entering  into  the  minute  particulars  of  his  after  life,  suf- 
fice it  to  say  that  he  became  a  minister  of  the  everlasting  Gospel, 
where,  he  carried  out  this  same  principle  in  his  preparations  for  the 
sanctuary — in  his  family,  in  his  parochial  visitations,  and  in  the 
meetings  of  Ecclesiastical  counsels. 


FITEEN    MINUTES    BEFORE    THE    TIME  8G9 

Whoever  else  was  behind  the  time,  with  him  there  was  one  un- 
deviating  rule.  He  was  never  tardy — never  unprepared.  And  by 
this  means  he  acquired  that  vigor  of  thought,  and  energy  of  style, 
and  pathos  of  utterance,  so  essentially  requisite  to  distinguished 
usefulness,  as  a  herald  of  the  cross.  There  was  nothing  tame,  or 
imbecile,  or  common-place  in  any  of  his  efforts.  To  him  self  then, 
his  habit'of  punctuality  was  amazingly  wseful ;  and  not  less  so  to 
others,  than  to  himself.  This  example  has  had  a  powerful  influ- 
ence in  producing  a  similar  habit  among  all  who  were  within  its 
range.  Nor  has  he  failed  to  impress  the  duty  by  those  arguments, 
which  every  ingenuous  mind  will  admit  to  be  unanswerable.  What 
right  have  I  to  cause  a  number  of  men,  whom  I  have  engaged  to 
meet  at  a  particular  hour,  not  only  to  waste  their  time,  but  become 
impatient  and  fretful  by  my  delay  \  I  rob  them  of  that  which  I 
never  can  restore — the  precious  hours  thus  worse  than  wasted.  I 
set  them  a  pernicious  example — I  betray  an  important  trust  — I  tan- 
talize with  the  sensibility  of  those  whom  I  am  bound  to  respect 
and  cut  off  a  portion  of  their  usefulness.  In  an  individual  case, 
which  I  have  occasioned,  may  be  small,  but  in  the  aggregate  the 
amount  exceeds  belie  . 

Let  me  select  another  instance  of  a  different  character,  to  illus- 
trate the  principle.  Our  funeral  solemnities,  it  is  too  well  known, 
are  seasons  of  great  and  tantalizing  delay.  When  the  appointed 
hour  arrives,  the  undertaker  is  not  there,  or  the  hearse  is  not  there, 
or  the  minister  is  not  there — or  some  of  the  pall-bearers,  or  mourn- 
ers, or  attendants,  or  friends  are  absent — there  is  nothing  in  readi- 
ness for  the  solemnity.  And  not  unfrequently,  a  single  individual 
keeps  hundreds  in  waiting,  not  merely  minutes,  but  hours  after  the 
allotted  period  for  commencing  the  solemnities.  And  who  does 
not  know  that  such  delays  are  calculated,  more  than  any  thing 
ftlse,  to  unfit  the  mind  for  receiving  any  favorable  impression  from 
the  spectacle  of  mortality,  whose  obsequies  are  celebrated  1  How 
many  have  wished  themselves  away  before  the  services  began  ; 
and  how  many  have  fled  from  the  scene,  as  soon  as  they  could  de- 
cently do  it,  in  anger  that  they  were  thus  duped  of  the  time  that 
should  have  been  devoted  to  other  duties  1  It  is  on  this  account 
that  the  generality  of  funerals  utterly  fail  of  producing  any  good 
effects.  Let  punctuality  be  observed  by  those  who  have  the  man- 
agement of  these  solemnities,  and  they  will  oftener  prove,  what  they 
are  intended  to  be,  salutary  lessons  to  the  living. 

In  conclusion,  I  fvill  only  remark,  that  the  period  is  rapidly  ap- 
proaching, when  the  feast  to  which  we  are  all  invited,  will  be  ready 


{-■70  GOSPEL    POLITENESS    THE    ALLY    OF    HEAVEN. 

and  should  our  preparation  be  delayed  till  the  door  is  shut,  our  exclu- 
sion will  be  final  and  for  ever.  My  soul  shudders  at  the  thought  of 
being  an  outcast  from  God — of  dragging  out  an  eternal  and  misera- 
ble existence  an  exile  from  my  Father's  house  !  And  I  would  em* 
ploythe  brief  residue  of  my  days  in  diligent,  and  active,  and  perse- 
vering efforts  to  escape  from  so  fearful  a  result.  For  none  can  be 
too  soon  or  too  well  prepared,  as  the  night  is  far  spent,  and  the  day  is 
at  hand.  I  would  awake,  and  array  myself  in  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  and  be  ready  to  meet  him  at  his  coming  ;  for  he  will  not 
tarry  beyond  the  allotted  hour.  And  then  it  will  be  said,  and 
finally  said,  "  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still ;  and  he  that 
is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still  5  and  he  that  is  righteous,  let  him 
be  righteous  still. 


GOSPEL  POLITENESS  THE  ALLY  OF  HEAVEN.* 

Do  not  the  forms  of  politeness  interfere  with  Christian  fidelity  1 
I  ask  this  question  in  consequence  of  a  case  known  of  a  minister, 
who  at  the  first  interview,  sat  down  by  the  conscience  of  a  sinner, 
and  pressed  it  pungently  with  divine  truth  :  I  know  not  what  was  the 
result,  except  that  it  was  well  received.  This  interview  was  made 
the  subject  of  conversation,  when  one  remarked,  that  he  had  known 
a  similar  case,  when  the  individual's  serious  impressions  were  en- 
tirely effaced  by  the  abruptness  of  manner  in  which  the  subject 
of  religion  was  introduced;  and  that  it  was  quite  certain,  in  his 
mind,  that  much  more  injury  than  good  was  the  result  of  such  at- 
tacks. — But,  after  all,  I  thought  it  very  questionable  whether  the 
injury  supposed  was  a  reality.  The  apparently  unpropitious  inter- 
view may  yet  prove  to  be  propitious  ;  and  the  individual  may,  at 
some  future  time,  be  brought  into  the  kingdom  of  God  by  that 
very  effort.  When  the  harpoon  of  the  whaleman  has  taken  full  ef- 
fect, the  mighty  monster  of  the  sea  flies  and  flounders  and  plunges 
and  struggles,  with  an  energy  that  nothing  but  a  death  wound 
could  have  inspired.  So  the  very  stab  of  truth  that  transfixes  the 
conscience,  and  brings  the  sinner  to  lie  tamely  as  a  lamb  at  the 
toot  of  the  cross,  is  often  preceded  by  convulsions  and  throes  that 

"Contributed  anonymously  to  a  religious  paper. 


GOSPEL    POLITENESS    THE    ALLY    OF    HEAVEN.  871 

resemble  death  itself.  I  have  seen  a  man  quit  the  sanctuary  in  a 
rage,  and  refuse  to  bow  at  the  domestic  altar,  and  avow  infidelity, 
and  become  a  bold  blasphemer,  while  the  truth  was  fixing  his 
barbed  arrows  in  his  soul.  The  result  of  the  whole  is,  the  Spirit 
of  God  is  now  constraining  him  to  meet  his  naked  heart  alone. 
"Sharp  arrows  of  the  Mighty,  witb  coals  of  juniper,"  were  drink- 
ing up  his  spirit  ;  and  he  made  himself  desperately  angry,  to  keep 
himself  from  being  terribly  afraid.  But,  in  cases  of  this  kind, 
what  is  the  frequent,  and  very  desirable  effect  \  I  remember  one 
who  threatened  his  wife  that  if  she  went  to  make  a  profession  of 
religion,  he  would  have  the  oven  heated  against  her  return,  and 
throw  her  in.  She  went : — he  gathered  the  fuel ;  he  kindled  the 
fire  ;  and  while  the  oven  was  heating,  he  became  terribly  alarmed, 
and  when  she  came  back  she  found  him  on  his  knees  in  an 
agony  of  despair,  imploring  mercy  ;  and  she  knelt  with  him  and 
joined  in  the  prayer.  It  was  his  determined  resolve  to  carry 
his  rash  threat  into  fearful  execution;  but  he  was  overpowered 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  his  paroxysm  of  rage  was  exchanged  for 
tears  of  contrition.  All  this  was  but  a  struggle  of  his  conscience 
against  the  truth  of  God,  applied  by  the  agency  of  the  Spirit. 
Often,  the  very  thing  we  ought  to  do  must  offend,  if  it  does  not 
result  in  salvation  ;  and  if  it  do  thus  result,  it  is  a  result  that  arises 
often  from  the  very  offence.  Our  motto  should  be  that  of  the 
orator  who  was  pleading  an  unpopular  measure,  and  when  one 
came  to  cut  him  down,  he  calmly  said,  "  Strike,  but  hear  me  !" 

Oh,  what  a  pity,  and  what  a  grief,  that  Christian  parents  do  not 
keep  their  families  so  familiar  with  this  subject,  both  before  and 
after  conversion,  that  we  may  approach  them  without  ceremony, 
and  as  readily  inquire  into  the  health  of  their  souls  as  their 
bodies  !  How  much  time  would  thus  be  saved  ;  and,  what  is  far 
more,  how  many  a  word  might  be  spoken  that  would  reach  the 
conscience  and  sanctify  the  heart,  which  is  not  said,  because  the 
laws  of  politeness  forbid  it.  "  Oh,  tell  it  not  in  Gath  ;  publish  it 
not  in  the  streets  of  Askelon  ;  lest  the  Philistines  rejoice;  lest  the 
daughters  of  the  uncircumcised  triumph  !"  Shall  we  care  so  much 
about  the  rules  of  politeness  as  to  lose  the  chance  of  saving  the 
soull  If  your  house  were  in  flames  at  a  midnight  hour,  must  we 
go  through  all  the  forms  of  genteel  vexation — ring  the  bell  and 
wait  the  tedious  process  of  an  announcement — before  we  commu- 
nicate to  you  the  alarming  intelligence  1  If  your  child  was  drown- 
ing, might  we  not  make  an  abrupt  effort  to  save  it  from  a  watery 
grave  or  even  bid  the  dog  do  it  1     Or   if  your  child  was  seized 


872  GOSPEL    POLITENESS    THE    ALLY    OF    HEAVEN. 

with  some  fatal  disease  that  required  the  immediate  application  of 
a  known  remedy,  might  we  not  administer  it  without  going  through 
all  the  forms  of  painful  ceremony  1  One  father,  at  least,  wishes 
to  be  understood,  that  he  throws  his  family  open  to  the  approach 
of  the  ministers  of  religion,  and  fears  no  ill  consequence  from  the 
abruptness  of  manner  in  which  they  may  approach  them  with  the 
message  of  salvation.  Oh,  seize  them  !  bring  the  truth  into  close 
and  burning  contact  with  their  consciences  ;  and  give  them  no  rest 
day  nor  night,  till  they  rest  on  the  sufficiency  of  the  atonement, 
and  are  joyful  in  the  presence  of  the  King !  He  wishes  to  meet 
them  all  in  heaven,  and  that  none  of  them  may  be  missing  when 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  maketh  up  his  jewels.  But  he  is  afraid  that 
in  this  desire  he  will  fail  if  the  forms  of  politeness  are  suffered  to 
interfere  with  ministers  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty.  He  re- 
members with  pleasure  one  city  which  was  visited  with  a  power- 
ful effusion  of  the  Spirit ;  and  then  it  was,  that  the  word  of  divine 
truth  was  not  embarrassed  by  any  such  restraints.  You  could  go 
any  where,  and  spe'ak  to  any  one  without  ceremony. on  the  con- 
cerns of  the  soul,  and  he  would  listen  to  you  with  deep  and  thrill- 
ing interest.  And  the  result  was,  that  the  work  of  God  pervaded 
every  street,  and  its  influence  was  seen  in  many  families  in  that 
beloved  city.  And  he  longs  for  the  return  of  another  season  so 
joyous,  so  full  of  interest,  and  of  such  unspeakable  blessings  to 
multitudes  of  immortal  souls.  But  he  can  not  look  for  it  when 
and  where  and  while  these  impediments  stand  in  the  way  of  reach- 
ing the  conscience,  which  should  be  made  of  easy  access  to  those 
who  would  ply  it  with  truth  and  fit  it  for  heaven. 


DUPLICITY. 

"  0  what  a  goodly  outside  falsehood  hath." 

To  seem  to  be  what  one  is  not,  is  base. 

Duplicity  I  can't  and  wont  forgive. 

When  man  is  not  sincere  with  fellow  man, 

And  would  betray  him  with  love's  sacred  tokens, 

The  smile,  the  warm  right  hand,  th'  embrace  and  kisv, 

0  then  [  hate  my  species,  hate  the  name 
Of  man,  and  hate  myself  if  this  I've  done. 

1  can  most  willingly  endure  rebuke, 

The  coarsest.     To  my  face  a  man  may  play 

The  very  boor,  and  still  I  can  forgive  ; 

May  call  me  every  name   that  is  uncouth, 

And  make  me,  if  he  please,  the  veriest  fiend, 

If  still  ingenuous,  if  bold  and  manly  ; 

Will  let  me  see,  and  hear  him,  all  the  while  ; 

I  then  know  who  he  is,  and  what  ;  can  tell 

Him  all  my  heart,  and  perchance  make  him  feel, 

That  he's  the  very  wretch,  and  thinks  the  thoughts, 

And  does  the  deed,  he  fathers  upon  me. 

Or  one  may  arm  himself  with  spear  and  dirk, 

May  in  the  onset  act  the  bloody  Turk, 

If  he  but  show  his  arms.     I  there  can  meet 

Note. — These  few  poetical  productions  of  Mr.  Clark  are  here  inserted  merely 
as  specimens  of  his  style,  and  to  exhibit  his  versatility  of  talent.  Most  of  them 
have  appeared  in  the  periodicals,  for  which  they  were  originally  prepared.  He 
seems  not  to  have  written  poetry  except  when  deeply  impressed  with  some  mat- 
ter of  peculiar  interest.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life,  when  he  was  unable  to 
write,  he  frequently  dictated  to  his  daughter  passages  of  uncommon  strength  and 
beauty.  Those  productions  were  seldom  finished.  His  mind  would  act  with 
great  vigor  for  a  little  time,  and  then  he  would  lose  si^'ht  of  his  subject,  and 
break  off,  exhi!>itinu:  in  the  most  affecting  manner  his  consciousuess  of  his  own 
imbecility. 

The  following  stanza,  the  last  he  ever  composed,  shows  the  state  of  his  mind, 
at  that  period  of  his  life. 

"  I  long  to  trace  my  footsteps  back 
And  learn  the  traits  of  mind  I  lack, 
And  gird  my  mind  for  future  flight 
In  darkness,  or  in  shades  of  night." 


874  DUPLICITY. 

Him,  can  present  my  shield  before  his  thrust, 

And  parry  off  the  stroke  that  would  destroy  me. 

The  very  pirate  dark  in  bloody  deeds, 

The  curse  of  all  lands,  may  approach  my  back, 

And  play  his  game,  if  he  but  hoist  his  flag, 

And  warn  me  I'm  to  meet  with  pirate's  play. 

Yes,  I  can  fearless   lay  my  shield  aside, 

And  meet,  with  bosom  bare,  the  prowess,  frank, 

That  dares  to  show  its  steel,  and  give  me  time 

To  unsheath  mine  :  I  am  then  no  coward. 

But  the  base  wretch  that  smiles  but  to  betray, 

Who  asks  me  of  my  health,  would  know  my  cares, 

Draws  out  my  tale  of  woe,  and  proffers  sympathy  ; 

Deals  off  kind  language  in  a  tearful  dress  j 

And  all  the  while  he  hates  me  cordially, 

And  means  but  to  betray  and  injure  me  ; 

Turns  all  my  doling  into  basest  crime. 

And  leaves  me  but  to  circumvent  and  ruin  me  ! 

That  man  I've  not  the  meekness  to  forgive. 

Would  he  not  do  less  harm  if  all  would  shun  him, 

Just  as  we  do  the  viper  and  the  asp  1 

I  want  base  names  to  call  him  ;  he's  a  wretch, 

A  miscreant,  a  thief,  a  dark  assassin, 

A  dog,  a  wolf,  and  bites  before  he  barks. 

He  ought  to  have  a  lair  with  beasts  of  prey, 

And  growl  like  them.     Yes,  in  my  soul  I  think 

That  claws,  and  tusks,  and  hoofs,  and  horns,  far  more 

Than  speech,  and  tears,  and  smiles,  would  well  become  him, 

0  who  can  see  the  gifts  of  God  perverted  1 

What  were  tongues  made  for  1     Merely  to  beguile  ! 

Why  the  face  formed  for  smiles  1     To  deal  deceit  ! 

Were  tears,  as  in  the  sea-maid,  and  the  panther, 

Bestowed  but  to  be  used  as  a  decoy  1 

Were  faces  made  to  wear  a  thousand  forms, 

And  each  a  lying  index  of  the  heart  1 

Must  a  creating  God  be  thus  insulted  1 

Why  all  the  kind  civilities  of  life  1 

That  man  more  easily  may  seize   his  prey  ! — 

To  be  the  engine  of  malicious  purpose  ! — 

That  man  may  not  be  safe  unless  alone  ! — 

To  make  our  race  more  wretched  than  the  fall  has! — 

To  make  the  world  a  desert  !     This  the  purpose  1 


DUPLICITY.  875 

0,  give  me  then  a  lodge  in  some  deep  glen, 

Amid  the  polar  or  the  Alpine  snows, 

Where  shines  not  sun,  nor  moon,  nor  stars,  nor  torch; 

Where  reigns  eternal  frost,  and  cold,  and  night ; 

Where  p  owls  the  bear,  where  screams  the  owl, 

And  panther  ;  lives  every  fowl  of  prey  ; 

Where  frowns  the  pendant  rock,  and  glaciers  wild, 

Where  hang,  suspended  by  a  breath,  the  avalanche  ; 

I  would  far  sooner  court  the  eagle's  grasp, 

Associate  with  vultures,  or  the  white  bear, 

Could  cov'nant  with  the  tempest  and  the  whirlwind, 

Could  be  where  dwells  one  long  eternal  silence, 

Or  wrestle  with  the  blast  all  day,  all  night, 

Than  live  with  men,  if  men  must  be  such  fiends. 

In  my  young  boyhoood  once  I  read  this  line, 

"  An  honest  man's  the  noblest  work  of  God," 

I  thought  the  poet  vexed,  and  blamed  his  spleen  ; 

(As  you  perhaps  may  smile  or  scowl  at  mine  ;) 

I  called  the  doctrine  infidel,  and  said, 

The  Christian  is  the  noblest  work  of  God. 

Ah,  yes,  but  how  can  he  be  better  known, 

Than  by  his  honesty  ?     Would  God  no  man 

Could  take  the  Christian  name  without  the  nature  ; 

But  truth  is,  many  wear  a  fair  outside, 

While  all  within  is  stench  and  dead  men's  bones; 

To  speak  out  all,  I  mean  but  few  are  frank. 

They  will  not  say  to  friends  and  foes  the  truth, 

The  whole  of  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth. 

How  few  before  your  face  will  tell  your  faults, 

Yet  honesty  says  loudly  here  or  no  where. 

Why  hate  my  faults  and  will  not  tell  me  why  1 

Wrhy  have  me  tried  where  none  defends  my  cause  ? 

'Tis  only  the  whole  truth  that  gives  the  fact  ; 

More  than  the  whole,  or  half,  is  but  a  lie. 

The  Christian's  great  Exemplar  was  sincere  ; 

At  every  place  and  time  his  lips  spoke  truth — 

Said  he,  and  sail  it  to  the  men  themselves, 

Ye  serpents,  ye  progeny  of  vipers, 

How  can  ye  hope  to  'scape  the  Hell  ye  earn  1 

Ah,  this  was  heaven-like,  was  being  honest. 

He  dared  to  be  the  foe  of  vice  out-right ; 


87G  A  RETURN  TOKEN. 

And  shall  we  fear  to  copy  from  the  Lord  1 

We  cast  reproach  upon  him   when  we  dare  not. 

How  can  the  good  man  dare  deceive  his  fellows  % 

Let  the  ungodly  practice  their  deceit  ; 

They  have  their  sure  reward !  Let  us  speak  truth. 

Be  men  the  foes  of  God  ?     Then  tell  them  so. 

Say  nothing  that  shall  hide  from  them  their  state, 

And  make  them  hope  for  heaven  while  lost. 

Why  tell  them  God  is  pleased,  while  conscience  lowers, 

And  death  draws  near,  the  judgment  close  at  hand. 

"  Hell  moves  to  meet  them,"  all  their  hopes  a  dream  % 

The  pit,  the  outer  darkness,  and  the  gnawing  worm, 

Will  soon  their  doom  disclose,  your  treachery  prove. 

Be  men  the  friends  of  God,  Why  injure  them  1 

Why  need  they  on  the  road  to  Heaven  be  betrayed, 

And  grieved,  and  wounded  by  a  Christian  friend  1 

Lips,  that  a  coal  from  off  the  altar  touched, 

How  can  they  lie  1     But  if  all  this  may  be, 

(0,  tell  it  not  in  Gath,  hush  it  in  Askalon.) 

Still  can  they  to  their  very  kindred  lie 
Deceive  a  brother  !  undermine  a  friend  ! 
Hope  too,  to  live  in  heaven  with  that  friend  ! 

The  author  hopes  that  he  possesses  a  spirit  of  forgiveness,  though  he  has  thus 
made  use  of  the  poet's  licence,  and  expressed  in  strong  language  his  hatred  o< 
duplicity. 

HONESTAS. 


LINES  SENT  AS  A  "RETURN  TOKEN'5  FOR  A  VALUABLE  PRESENT, 
JANUARY  1,  1831. 

'Twas  New  Year's  day  of  thirty-one, 
It  dawned  on  Troy  with  promise  kind  ; 

The  Spirit  had  its  work  begun; 

The  dead  to  raise,  the  lost  to  find. 

We  early  sought  the  house  of  prayer — 

♦Twas  full  of  feeling,  full  of  God, 
For  scores  of  throbbing  hearts  were  there 

To  seek  his  grace  and  plead  his  word. 


A   DIRGE    OF    THE    SANCTUARY.  877 

Kind  Heaven  heard  the  morning  song, 

And  listened  to  our  fervent  cry, 
While  angels  did  the  song  prolong, 

And  told  the  story  through  the  sky. 

God  had  shed  down  some  mercy  drops, 

And  Troy  its  sweetest  New  Year  saw, 
And  cheerful  smiles  and  heavenly  hopes 

Graced  many  a  lately  anxious  brow. 

Two  forms  appeared  in  kindness  dressed—" 

Affection's  token  in  their  hands  ; 
"^he  giver  shall  be  doubly  blessed, 

The  God  of  mercy  so  demands. 

May  God  your  kindness  quite  repay, 

Your  New  Year's  gift  in  grace  restore, 
And  guide  you  by  a  heavenly  ray, 

And  on  your  seed  his  blessings  pour, 
For  ever  and  for  ever  more. 


A  DIRGE  OF  THE  SANCTUARY.' 

Twas  the  third  watch  of  night,  and  all  was  still, 
Save  the  lone  house-dog  in  his  kennel  dark, 
Who  gave  portentous  signs  of  woe  at  hand — 
Then  burst  the  cry  of  fire!  on  my  drowsy  ear. 
I  hearkened,  and  the  cry  waxed  louder  still. 
And  louder. 

My  chamber  opened  on  the  north  and  east, 
And  the  shrill  piercing  cry  had  waked  me — 
Oh  !  'twas  the  Temple  of  the  living  God 
All  lighted  up  by  its  own  gloomy  fires  ; 
Each  ornament  became  a  flaming  torch, 
And  guided  the  destroyer  in  his  ruthless  march 
Oh !  it  seized  at  length  the  stubborn  frame-work, 

•  Written  on  the  night  of  the  burnin?  of  St.  Philip's  (an  Episcopal)  Church, 
at  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1835— the  oldest  church  in  that  city,  anil  one  of  the  most 
ancient  church  edifices  in  the  United  States. 


IS    BEGGAR. 


As  savage  tiger,  from  the  deep  dark  wood 

Seizes  the  aged  pilgrim  by  the  way — 

Tears  the  flesh,  piecemeal,  quivering  in  his  teeth, 

And  bears  him  to  his  lair — then  stays  to  rest. 

A  sacred  tablet  told  its  wondrous  age — 

How  solemn  read  that  seventeen  hundred  twenty-three  I 

But  all  its  work  was  done,  and  heaven  now  called 

The  city  to  its  obsequies.     0,  why  be  burned 

The  consecrated  house  of  God  !     Fly  quick  some  angel, 

Dip  your  wing  in  life's  fair  stream  and  quench  the  fire, 

It  should  not,  cannot  burn,  for  God  is  there. 

Most  cruel  storm,  to  swell  thy  blast,  and  rage, 

And  blow,  at  this  sad  hour  so  barb' rou sly! 

Ah,  must  thy  pipes  all  stay  their  melody,* 

And  not  one  gloomy  dirge  mourn  out  thy  obsequies  I 

Prostrate  in  dust  the  pride  of  Charleston  lies : 

The  glory  of  a  century  is  gone,  clean  gone  for  ever  ; 

The  watchful  clock  knew  well  the  wonted  hour, 

And  gathered  up  its  strength  to  strike  once  more — 

A.s  if  impressed  that  k  could  never  speak  again, 

rt  uttered  one !  two  ! !  three  ! ! !  and  all  was  still. t 


A  WONDROUS  BEGGAR. 

All  hungry  from  the  wilderness  he  came, 

Barefoot,  and  covered  with  a  camel's  skin, 

And  girt  his  loins  with  thong,  and  bald. 

Months  had  the  ravens  brought  him  meat  and  flesh, 

And  Cherith  brought  him  water,  kind  Heaven's  bountj' ; 

Ah,  but  the  brook  had  dried.      The  ravens  kept 

Their  duty  up,  through  many  a  moon  unwearied, 

And  called  him  to  his  meal,  each  morn,  each  night, 

And  when  the  work  was  done,  stayed  by  the  task. 

"Elijah,  man  of  God,  come  to  your  bread  !" 

How  strange  the  servant,  and  the  server  strange, 

A  bird  that  lives  on  prey,  and  loves  most  loathsome  food  • 

Referrint*  to  the  onran. 
\  The  tower  fell  just  as  the  clock  struck  three. 


A    WONI  ROUS    BEGGAR. 


870 


How  (ame  he  by  the  clean  and  healthful  meal  \ 

Did  it  drop  down  from  heaven  1     Or  came  it  whence  1 

The  prophet's  Lord  owns  all  the  cattle  on  the  hills. 

But  he  had  <rone  to  prove  a  widow's  faith, 
And  have  her  fit  betimes  for  heaven.     Famine  raged — 
The  earth  was  iron  and  the  sky  was  brass — 
Nor  rain  nor  dew  had  dropped  for  many  a  month — 
Death  stared  her  in  the  face.     Her  meal  was  low, 
Her  oil  sunk  in  the  cruise.     What  could  she  do 
But  die  1     But  lo  !  the  wondrous  beggar  came  from  far  ! 
She  knew  her  noble  guest.     'Twas  not  a  costly  palace, 
Nor  she  a  queen  in  gay  and  rich  attire  ; 
No  badge  could  win  him  to  her  lonely  hut. 
He  asked  for  water.     Ahab's  flocks  had  none  ; 
'Twas  famine  in  the  courts  of  kings  and  princes. 
What  wondrous  streamlet,  think  ye,  fed  her  spring  1 
Did  it  rill  down  from  heaven  1     Or  came  it  up 
From  earth's  deep  fountains,  where  the  famine  reached  not  1 
Deep  from  the  nether  springs  some  angel  drew  it  up  ; 
It  came  most  plenteously — it  came  most  timely — 
The  widow  and  her  son  were  gathering  up  two  sticks, 
To  bake  a  cake  and  die — 'twas  the  last  morsel. 
Bake  one  for  me,  the  wondrous  beggar  cried, 
And  then  for  thee  and  him — There'll  be  no  want. 
There'll  he  no  want !  the  little  urchin  cried  ;  what  can  it  mean  1 
The  oil  and  meal  are  almost  gone  ; 
He  knows  not,  said  the  careful  lad,  our  want; 
He  did  not  hear  our  cry  for  daily  bread, 
This  morning,  ere  the  dawn  had  broken  forth  ; 
He  did  not  see  my  anxious  mother's  tears; 
I  wonder  does  he  know  she  is  a  widow  1 
0  mother,  let  me  tell  him  he  has  missed  the  house 
Where  Heaven  would  have   him  fed.     Hold  now  thy  peace, 

my  son, 
The  stranger  is  from  God. — I  heard  him  pray — 
His  faith  took  hold  of  Heaven — 'twas  the  strong  grip  of  death — 
God  will  yet  make  it  plain,  my  son,  "  There'll  be  no  want." 
Ah!  what  can  mother  mean  1     The  beggar's  cake 
Will  drain  the  barrel  dry,  and  spend  the  oil. 
She  baked  the  cake — the  meal  expended  not — 
The  oil  but  multiplied.     There  seemed  far  more 


880 


DIRGE  FOR  THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 

Than  when  they  supped  last  night  — Heaven  increased  it; 

Now  she  well  knew  her  guest — God's  holy  prophet — 

And  many  a  month  she  fed  him  at  her  board  ; 

Her  meal  still  lasted,  and  her  oil  held  out. 

Their  holy  converse  we  may  know  in  heaven, 

When  olden  times  shall  pour  their  story  on  the  ear 

Of  the  redeemed.     Reader,  let  you  and  I  be  there — 

We'll  have  the  story  from  their  own  sweet  lips, 

In  high  and  holy  songs.       *         *         * 

He'll  tell  us  of  his  raising  up  the  lad, 

While  lodged  'neath  the  same  roof,  and  fed  by  miracle ; 

And  the  whole  story  of  the  prophets  slain  ; 

Of  Jezebel,  the  impious  wife  of  Ahab, 

Whose  heart  was  set  on  mischief  and  on  blood, 

Till  the  dogs  licked  her  own,  at  Naboth's  vineyard 

Perchance  he'll  glance  at  scenes  of  later  date, 

And  tell  the  tale  of  the  transfigured  Lamb 

On  Tabor,  ere  he  suffered  on  Moriah's  mount ; 

And  then  he'll  help  us  to  admire  His  love, 

Who  washed  us. 


DIRGE  FOR  THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY,  1834. 

[n  a  mouldering  cave,  where  her  woe  sought  retreatr 

Columbia  sat  wasted  with  care, 
For  a  Washington  wept,  and  lamented  her  loss, 

And  gave  herself  up  to  despair. 

The  sides  of  her  cell  she  had  sculptured  around 

With  th'  exploits  of  her  favorite  son, 
And  every  pathway  and  every  rock, 

Seemed  inscribed  with  some  deed  he  had  done. 

The  star  of  her  glory  rose  high  in  the  west, 

Her  Eagle  no  prowess  could  daunt ; 
The  cleft  of  the  rock  was  the  place  of  her  rest — 

The  heavens  invited  her  haunt. 


THE   CHILDREN'S   GROVE    SONO.  881 

But  the  tears  ceased  at  length  to  moisten  her  face, 

Her  commerce  filled  every  sea  ; 
Her  glory  was  sung  by  the  nations  afar, 

'Twas  the  song  of  the  brave  and  the  free. 

But  a  sigh  from  her  cave  broke  her  joy  in  the  midst, 

Like  tbe  slow  dirge  of  one  she  begat  ; 
We  listened  to  know  who  the  stranger  could  be 

'Twas  the  loved  and  the  brave  LAFAYETTE. 

Hail,  heroes !  you're  gone  from  the  seat  of  the  brave, 

0 !  to  know  that  your  sins  were  forgiven, 
That  your  spirits  may  rise,  when  you're  waked  from  the  grave, 

To  fill  some  high  mansion  in  heaven  ; 

And  the  land  that  you  loved,  may  it  smile  in  the  west, 

Till  moon,  and  till  sun  shine  no  more  ; 
Be  the  theme  of  the  brave,  and  the  place  of  their  rest, 

For  ever  and  for  ever  more. 


THE    CHILDREN'S    GROVE    SONG,* 

FOR  THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 

O  tell  us,  our  fathers,  the  tale  of  your  woe, 

When  ye  girt  on  the  sword  to  couflict  the  foe, 

And  met  them,  and  slew  them,  and  stained  with  their  blood, 

The  hills  where  we  ramble,  the  vales,  and  the  wood. 

Whence  came  they,  and  why,  to  this  far  Western  world? 
Why  'gainat  you  their  banners  of  death  were  unfurled  ? 
Did  you  nate  them?  or  hurt  them  ?  else  why  all  their  wrath? 
The  soil  was  your  own  — 'twas  the  land  of  your  birth. 

Say,  which  of  us  lost  our  grandsire  in  the  fight? 
Or,  who  was  made  poor  by  the  enemy's  might? 
Tell  which  of  our  grandmas  were  widowed,  and  wept 
When  the  fierce  battle  raged,  and  children  all  slept  ? 

We  would  hear  the  sad  tale,  and  would  wipe  off  your  tears, 
And  ply  every  effort  to  solace  your  years; 
We'll  obey  you,  and  love  you,  and  lift  up  your  name, 
To  be  borne  on  the  wings  of  a  far-flying  fame. 

*  Mr.  Clark  took  great  pleasure  III  open  air  services.  A  beautiful  maple  grove  in  Bennington, 
Vt,  was  made  theseaneof  a  Fourth  of  July  Picnic  (A.  i>.  1828),  where  this  Bong  was  sung 
with  a  j  id  volume  of  sound  which  still  linger  in  the  writer's  recoUec 

Mr.  Clark's  boys  was  at  this  time  seised  wtthapassion  to  become  the  owner  of  that  grove. 
Years  rolled  on,  during  which  those  maple  openings  and  avenues  grew  more  and  m  I 

in  that  boy's  ambition,     Be  visited  them  at  times,  as  a  hallowed  temple.  In  which  bolj 
r.iona  lin|  ligured  iu  his  imagination.     To-day  that 

grove  is  part  of  a  large  estate  owned  by  that  sou. 


$82  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  GOOD  TASTE. 

We'll  catch  the  same  spirit  thai,  saved  you  your  home, 
And  sing  of  your  deeds,  when  you  sleep  in  the  tomb  ; 
Our  foes,  if  they  come  to  molest  us  again, 
Shall  die  as  your  foes  died,  and  bleach  the  same  plain. 

To  God,  when  the  victory's  won,  we  will  sing, 
And  own  him  our  Savior,  our  Lord,  and  our  Kiwg : 
We'll  tell  how  he  helped  us,  when  none  else  could  save, 
And  made  us  to  triumph  o'er  death  and  the  grave. 

Let  us  march  to  the  vale,  then,  where  Nature  is  still, 
Where  grow  the  tall  trees,  and  rolls  the  soft  rill ; 
We'll  listen  all  breathless,  and  birds  cease  their  song, 
While  our  fathers  shall  tell  us  the  deeds  God  has  done. 

Come  sisters,  come  mothers,  'we'll  hie  to  the  grove, 
The  angels  shall  join  us,  and  God  will  approve; 
'Tis  the  birthday  of  freedom,  we'll  shout  and  be  glad, 
'Tis  the  Sabbath  the  great  God  of  battles  hath  made. 

Now,  up  to  thy  throne,  thou  victorious  King, 

Our  gladdest  hosaunas  we  joyfully  bring ; 

But  we'll  praise  thee  far  better,  when  thou  bid  us  rise, 

And  tell  of  thy  victories  ioud  in  the  skies. 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  A    GOOD  TASTE   UPON   THE  MORAL   AFFEC 

TIONS.* 

The  question  has  been  often  asked,  whether  this  is  a  deformed 
or  a  beautiful  world  ;  whether  it  came  from  the  hand  of  its  Maker 
in  its  present  aspect,  or  has  been  marred  and  defaced  by  some 
mijlity  disaster.  Men  have  had  on  this  subject  widely  different 
opinions.  One  has  seen  nothing  in  which  this  world  is  defective  ; 
no  mountain  he  would  have  levelled,  no  valley  he  would  raise,  no 
rock  he  would  bury,  no  marsh  he  would  drain,  no  heath  he  would 
fertilize,  no  morass,  he  would  redeem.  Another  has  seen,  or 
thought  he  saw,  deformity  every  where,  and  has  in  many  a  gloomy 
hour  responded  to  that  moan  of  the  poet,  uttered  in  view  of  the 
first  transgression : 

"  Earth  felt  the  wound,  and  Nature,  from  her  seat 
Sighing  through  all  her  works,  gave  signs  of  wo, 
That  all  was  lost." 

•  Delivered  before  the  Alexandrian  Society  of  Amherst  College,  August  21, 
1827. 


UPON    THE    MORAL    AFFECTIONS.  883 

To  him  it  has  seemed,  that  in  every  hill  and  vale  and  ocean  and 
lake  and  heath  and  river  there  is  some  curse  to  be  deplored.  Oth- 
ers again  have  discovered  on  the  face  of  this  world  many  beauties, 
which  must  have  been  designed  as  such  by  its  Creator  ;  while 
yet  they  see  deformities,  which  indicate,  that  when  Jehovah  rested 
from  his  work  he  left  this  world  not  as  it  now  is,  and  which  be- 
speak some  convulsion,  by  which  its  distortions  have  been  genera- 
ted, and  much  of  its  original  beauty  lost.  Some  of  its  most  ele- 
vated ridges  wear  the  marks  of  having  risen  from  the  ocean,  while 
the  presumption  is,  that  what  were  once  its  mountains  are  now 
buried  in  the  depths  of  the  sea. 

That  the  earth  has  been  swept  over  by  some  deluge  passing 
from  north  to  south,  is  too  obvious  to  admit  of  a  doubt.  But  whe- 
ther the  event,  happen  when  or  how  it  might,  finally  left  the  sur- 
face of  the  world  deformed  or  beautiful,  may  still  be  a  question  to 
be  decided,  very  differently  perhaps,  by  our  different  tastes. 
One  man  will  see  deformity  in  some  cases  where  another  sees 
only  beauty.  It  may  even  be  questioned,  whether  men  of 
equally  improved  tastes  will  invariably  agree  in  what  is  beau- 
tiful, and  what  deformed,  in  the  sceneries  of  nature.  One  may 
have  taste  only  for  what  is  plain,  and  another  for  what  is  splen- 
did. One  may  be  most  gratified  when  in  his  landscape  there  are 
seen  the  barren  rock,  and  the  broken  cliff;  while  another,  who 
can  be  pleased  only  with  what  is  useful,  must  see  every  spot  fer- 
tile, have  every  rock  concealed,  and  every  eminence  accessible. 
Which  of  these  have  the  best  taste,  is  a  question  on  which  inge- 
nuity might  employ  itself  most  elegantly,  and   not    without  profit. 

Whether  taste  should  be  denominated  an  internal  sense,  or 
judgment  operating  without  any  perceptible  process  of  reasoning, 
is  of  small  moment;  for  whatever  difficulties  there  may  be  in  de- 
fining, there  is  none  in  understanding  it.  "  Taste,1'  says  an  elegant 
writer,  "  is  of  all  nature's  gifts  the  most  easily  felt,  and  the  most 
difficult  to  explain  ;  it  would  not  be  what  it  is,  if  it  could  be  de- 
fined ;  for  it  judges  of  objects  beyond  the  reach  of  judgment,  and 
serves  in  a  manner  as  a  magnifying  glass  to  reason."'  I  have  sup- 
posed it  not  wide  from  the  truth  to  say,  that  taste  is  a  sense  of  the 
understanding,  holding  much  the  same  relation  to  objects  of  nature 
and  art,  that  conscience,  another  sense,  holds  to  moral  objects. 
As  one  has  been  defined,  "  The  power  of  receiving  pleasure  or 
pain  from  the  beauties  or  deformities  of  nature  and  of  art  ;"  so  the 
other  may  be  termed,  the  power  of  receiving  pleasure  or  pain 
from  moral  beauty  or  deformity.     Hence,  to  trace  the  resemblance 


884  THE    IXFUKSCE    OF    A    GOOD    TASTE 

a  little  further,  as  there  may  be  a  vitiated  conscience  that  shall 
approve  of  the  most  abominable  deeds,  so  there  may  be  a  vitiated 
taste  that  is  pleased  with  what  is  beyond  doubt  a  deformity.  I  am 
aware  that  this  remark  however  involves  the  question,  whether 
there  is  any  standard  of  taste  founded  in  the  principles  of  the  hu- 
man constitution,  or  whether  casual  association  is  to  account  for 
all  our  notions  in  matters  of  taste. 

But  leaving  all  these  questions  to  men  of  more  leisure,  I  pro- 
pose to  inquire,  whether  a  cultivated  taste  exerts  a  favorable  influ- 
ence, upon  the  moral  affections.  1  have  supposed  the  affirmative  of 
this  question  capable  of  the  fullest  proof,  and  that  the  discussion 
of  it  would  lead  to  a  great  variety  of  practical  and  important  re- 
marks suited  to  this  occasion.     I  would  say,  then,  in  the 

First  place,  That  a  cultivated  taste  tends  to  soothe  and  restrain 
the  vnrulely  and  turbulent  passions.  I  venture  to  assert,  that  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  excepted,  there  is  no  power  that  can  ope- 
rate more  favorably  upon  the  passions  than  such  a  taste.  The 
mind  that  is  under  its  plastic  influence  will  naturally  be  led  to 
dwell  on  objects  that  excite  the  better  emotions,  the  soft  and  ten- 
der, or  the  grand  and  sublime;  is  withdrawn  from  vexatious  care, 
and  led  to  retirement  and  reflection  ;  and  the  result  of  all  this  is 
tranquility.  And  the  mind  thus  occupied  will  not  so  readily  seek 
enjoyments  that  are  forbidden. 

In  all  parts  of  creation  there  are  beauties  or  sublimities  by 
which  a  good  taste  is  gratified.  Above  are  the  hosts  of  heaven, 
the  sun  going  forth  in  his  strength,  the  moon  walking  in  bright- 
ness, and  the  uncounted  stars  decorating  the  whole  expanse.  As 
we  descend  to  earth,  we  find  it  clothed  in  beauties  too  permanent 
to  suffnr  any  power  but  that  which  spake  them  into  being  to  erase 
them.  Hence,  to  a  cultivated  taste  there  are  every  where  sources 
of  enjoyment  calculated  to  supplant  the  rougher  affections,  and 
rrenerate  and  mature  those  that  are  kind  and  lovely  ;  and  the  mind 
thai  is  innocently  happy  is  not  so  easily  disturbed  by  temptations. 

What  evil  passion  can  rage  uncontrolled  at  a  moment  when  the 
mind  is  happy  in  enjoyments  which  God  has  not  forbidden  :  happy 
in  the  works  of  his  own  hands.  The  mind  thus  occupied  will  be 
urged  to  the  reflection  of  the  poet : 

"  Those  are  thy  glorious  works,  Parent  of  good, 
Almighty,  thine  this  universal  frame, 
Tims  wondrous  fair;  thyself  how  wondrous  then!" 

And  what  power  has  any  forbidden  object  to  attract  or   control  a 


UPON    THE    MORAL    AFFECTIONS.  885 

mind  so  employed  ?  Envy,  for  instance,  what  place  can  it  have  1 
A  good  taste  enjoys  what  is  another's.  It  cares  not  whose  is  the 
landscape,  or  the  palace,  or  the  tastefully  cultivated  garden.  It 
waits  not  to  ask  what  interest  accrues  to  self  from  the  fertility, 
the  order,  the  convenience,  the  harmony,  or  variety  which  it  sees 
and  admires.  It  covets  not  to  call  the  stars  its  own,  nor  the  brook 
that  winds  down  the  valley,  nor  the  fruits  and  foliage  that  cover 
the  hills.  The  stranger,  no  less  than  the  proprietor,  may  inhale  the 
fragrance,  and  hear  the  music,  and  feel  the  harmony  that  breathes 
about  him.  The  man  of  taste  realizes  to  some  extent  the  rich  ex- 
perience of  the  child  of  God: 

"  He  looks  abroad  into  the  varied  field 
Of  nature,  and,  though  poor,  perhaps,  compared 
With  those  whose  mansions  glitter  in  his  sight, 
Calls  the  delighthful  scenery  all  his  own. 
His  are  the  mountains,  and  the  valleys  his, 
And  the  resplendent  rivers." 

"Yes,  ye  may  fill  your  garners,  ye  that  reap 
The  loaded  soil,  and  ye  may  waste  much  good, 
In  senseless  riot." 

But  there  are  men  that  have  "richer  use  of  yours  than  you." 
The  man  of  cultivated  taste  owns  all  he  sees.  The  cottage  on  the 
hill,  and  the  nodes  that  feed  about  it,  and  the  woodbine  that  creeps 
it  over,  and  the  house-birds  that  build  their  nests  there,  are  all  the 
instruments  of  his  gratification.  Nature,  with  all  its  original 
scenery,  and  art,  with  all  its  varied  improvements,  are  so  much 
the  property  and  inheritance  of  a  good  taste,  that  envy  can  hardly 
find  entrance. 

Covelousness,  a  kindred  passion,  will  be  restrained  by  the  same 
means.  A  (jood  taste  can  leave  others  in  possession  of  what  is 
theirs,  satisfied  with  the  power  of  enjoying  what  is  not,  as  well  as 
what  is  its  own.  It  is  like  the  lark,  which  can  soar  amid  the 
beavens,  and  may  light  and  drink  at  any  brook,  and  gather  its  food 
mi  any  field,  and  cares  not  to  call  the  territory  its  own. 

I  even  venture  to  say  that  the  angry  passions  are  restrained  by 
the  same  means.  These  are  more  likely  to  have  their  abode  in 
minds  that  have  never  traveled  from  home,  nor  been  expanded  by 
cultivation  ;  and  are  produced  by  a  contractedness  and  a  jealousy, 
as  mean  as  mischievous  ;  deformities  which  a  good  taste,  as  wel. 
as  a  right  temper,  reprobates  as  coarse,  unsightly,  and  repulsive. 
The  harsh  language,  and   the    course    rebuke,    and    the    distorted 


886  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  A  GOOD  TASTE 

countenance,  and  the  whole  apparatus  of  malevolence  are,  to  a 
good  taste,  grating  beyond  endurance. 

I  have  not  meant  to  say,  nor  have  I  said,  that  an  improved  taste 
will  wholly  subdue  these  passions  ;  but  that  it  may  be  the  ally  of 
piety.  We  have  always  seen  the  rougher  passions  and  an  un- 
cultivated taste  in  the  same  household,  and  associated  by  the  same 
fireside.  Can  you  not  know  something  of  a  family  by  the  avenue 
to  their  habitation!  When  you  see  it  all  deformity  without;  un- 
sightliness,  and  disproportion,  and  inconvenience,  can  you  not 
trace,  many  times,  a  corresponding  roughness  of  moral  aspect  in 
its  uncultivated  tenants1.  While  the  mind  acts  upon  every  thing 
about  it,  there  is  from  every  thing  about  it,  a  reaction  upon  the 
mind.  I  know  there  are  cases  when  we  discover  what  is  kind  in 
the  midst  of  unsightliness  and  deformity.  We  have  sometimes 
found  true  religion  where  there  is  little  else.  It  is  not  denied  that 
the  grace  of  God  may  aehieve  Avhat  a  cultivated  taste  could  not,  and 
still  the  latter  may  be  very  far  from  powerless.  Go  to  the  tasteful 
but  lowly  dwelling,  which  is  approached  by  a  neatly  adorned  avenue 
set  with  many  a  flower,  and  stripped  of  all  that  is  coarse  and  un- 
couth, and  there  will  be  many  chances  that  its  door  will  be  hospit- 
ably thrown  open,  and  the  stranger  welcomed,  and  his  inquiries 
civilly  and  kindly  answered.  The  very  child  that  meets  you  and 
welcomes  you,  will  exhibit  a  mind  mellowed  down  by  the  trans- 
forming influence  of  the  scenery  around  him. 

1  know  that  the  passions  may  be  tame,  through  deficiency  of  in- 
tellect, or  may  be.  on  the  other  hand,  too  refractory  for  a  good 
taste  to  restrain  ;  and  when  the  latter  has  operated,  even  powerfully, 
it  may  not  have  produced  the  whole  effect  that  piety  would. 

"None  but  a  power  divinely  strong 
Can  turn  the  current  of  the  soul." 

We  have  seen  men  of  polished  manners,  and  improved  tastes,  under 
a  paroxysm  of  passion,  degraded  into  all  that  is  coarse  and  forbid- 
ding in  the  savage.  Hence  the  barbarous  habit  of  duelling,  even 
among  our  most  accomplished  men,  and  hence  the  coarse  and  un 
■courteous  style  with  which  eloquent  lips,  and  the  pen  well  disci 
)  lined,  can  sometimes  attack  a  perhaps  perfectly  innocent  rival. 
How  ashamed  have  we  sometimes  been,  to  see  issuing  from  the 
halls  of  legislation,  a  ribaldry  that  would  raise  ablush  in  Newgate. 
These  were  instances  when  a  cultivated  taste  had  not  power  enough 
id  imprison  thi  malignant  passions,  and  showed  its  infinite  inferi- 
ority to  that   grace   of  God,  which  can  bind  the  strong  man,  and 


UPON   THE    MORAL    AFFECTIONS.  887 

even  cast  out  devils.  So  the  ferocious  animal  that  is  charmed  by 
music,  retains  still  his  claws  and  his  fangs,  does  but  temporarily  for- 
get liis  habits  of  prey,  and  is  mild  only  till  the  harmony  that  held  him 
has  ceased.  The  power  which  cannot  convert  the  lion  into  a  lamb, 
may  lay  his  fury  ;  what  cannot  render  the  vulture  a  dove,  may  turn 
away  his  eye  from  the  prey.  A  cultivated  taste  may,  in  the  hour 
of  assault,  open  the  mind  to  conviction,  and  lay  the  tumult  of  pas- 
sion, till  reason  and  conscience  can  do  their  office,  and  thus  the 
man  may  be  saved  through  its  influence  from  a  headlong  plunge 
into  misery  and  ruin. 

We  ascribe  to  a  good  taste  a  similar  influence  over  the  deformities 
of  surfeiting,  inebriation,  and  lust.  In  the  hall  of  gluttony,  in  the 
haunts  of  intemperance,  and  in  the  dark  retreats  of  pollution,  it 
sees  what  offends  it  as  certainly  as  piety  is  offended.  That  the 
appetites  should  govern  reason  is  a  disgusting  perversion  of  all  or- 
der and  decorum.  That  the  fancy,  the  imagination,  the  memory, 
and  the  whole  apparatus  of  intellect,  with  the  organs  of  sense  and  the 
whole  family  of  kind  and  useful  instincts,  should  be  subjected  to  the 
dominion  of  lust,  is  as  unseemly  and  incongruous,  as  it  is  impious. 
To  see  the  angel  mind  suspend  its  nobler  occupations,  and  descend 
from  the  high  elevation  of  reflection  and  reason,  to  become  con- 
versant with  the  premises,  and  the  conclusions,  and  the  outland- 
ish dialect  of  the  gaming  table,  or  the  vulgarities  o{  the  midnight 
carouse,  is  to  an  improved  taste  pitiable,  and  disgusting.  1  would 
have  every  man  a  Christian,  that  I  might  be  sure  that  he  will 
not  descend  so  low,  but,  if  this  may  not  be,  I  would  have  him  a 
man  of  taste  and  refinement,  that  he  may  not  so  debase  himself. 
When  we  have  seen  the  man,  who  might  have  been  a  philosopher, 
a  poet,  a  statesman  or  a  philanthropist ;  who  might  have  vied  with 
Locke  and  Boyle  and  Newton  and  Burke  ;  might  have  been  classed 
with  Howard  and  Sharp  and  Clarkson  and  Wilberforce  ;  might  have 
risen  in  holiness  of  design  and  energy  of  purpose,  to  an  enrolment 
with  Brainard  and  Swarts  and  Vanderkemp  and  Martin  and  IMills ; 
misjht  have  made  themselves  greatly  useful  and  very  dear  to  their 
generations  as  did  Edwards  and  Dwight  and  Worcester  and  Moore  ; 
— to  see  one  who  might  have  thus  exalted  his  nature,  and  given 
the  highest  value  to  his  existence,  reeling  through  the  streets,  and 
pouring  forth  pollution  from  his  impious  lips,  as  he  returns  from 
the  rendezvous,  to  distract  the  order,  and  break  the  peace,  and 
extinguish  the  last  lingering  hope  of  his  family  ;  Oh  !  this  is  a  sight, 
with  which,  religion  aside,  nnd  humanity  aside,  agood  taste  is  dis 
jrusted  to  the  last  degree. 


888  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  A  GOOD  TASTE 

Anil  when  concupiscence,  in  its  unhallowed  vagrancy,  has  mur- 
dered the  peace  of  some  other  family,  and  begins  to  re-act  upon 
home,  withering  all  the  prospects  that  budde'1  ind  blossomed  there  i 
and  the  wife  becomes  ashamed  of  her  husband,  and  the  children  of 
their  father,  and  the  happy  circle  is  at  length  broken  up,  and  cast 
out  the  prey  of  a  selfish  and  unfeeling  world,  then  is  a  good  taste  no 
less  than  piety  itself  outraged. — As  if  the  clown  should  be  permit- 
ted, with  coarse,  untutored  pencil,  to  besmear  and  utterly  ruin  one 
of  the  finest  paintings  of  Raphael,  or  chisel  into  uncouthness  and 
distortion  one  of  the  noblest  statues  of  Angelo  ;  for  no  painting  or 
statue,  no  achievement  of  art  or  genius,  has  ever  more  highly  grati- 
fied a  refined  taste,  than  the  image  of  a  harmonious  family,  mov- 
ing on  in  the  sphere  of  domestic  duty  and  enjoyment,  while 

"  Each  fulfils  his  part, 
With  sympathizing  heart, 
In  all  the  cares  of  life  and  love." 

Let  some  cultivated  mind  compare  to  the  life  this  drawing,  Jet 
some  statuary  lay  in  bold  relief  before  the  eye  all  the  smiling  fea- 
tures of  such  a  scene,  and  then  let  it  be  all  defaced  by  the  de- 
bauched husband  and  father,  and  tell  me  if  a  good  taste  would  be 
more  disgusted,  should  a  swine  from  the  mire  enter  a  palace,  and 
tear  and  besmear  and  destroy  every  object  it  could  reach.  Thus 
a  good  taste  is  at  war  with  the  unhallowed  passions,  and  becomes 
n  powerful  ally  of  virtue. 

Let  me  say  again,  that  a  cultivated  taste  is  the  friend  of  virtue, 
as  it  operates  to  remove  the  monuments  of  our  disgrace,  and  ob- 
jects of  our  embarrassment  and  vexation,  that  have  marred  the 
beauty  of  the  exterior  creation.  Give  it  the  means,  and  it  oblite- 
rates every  physical  disorder,  and  brings  back  the  world  to  its 
primitive  beauty  and  loveliness,  and  causes  to  glow  a  boundless 
Eden  in  the  valley  of  death.  It  would  terrace  every  hill  to  its 
summit,  or  cast  it  into  the  deep  ravine;  would  wall  and  restrain 
the  wayward  current;  would  drain  the  morass;  would  shape  to 
proportion  the  deformities  of  the  protruding  rock  ;  would  spread 
fertility  over  the  heath,  and  paint  every  cottage,  and  eradicate  for 
ever  the  noxious  shrub  and  plant  and  tree.  Thus  would  there  be 
destroyed  the  haunt  of  the  serpent,  the  lair  of  the  wolf,  the  retreat 
of  the  robber,  the  pestiferous  exhalations  that  generate  disease  and 
death,  and  the  world  would  become  beautiful  again  as  when  its 
Almighty  Creator  pronounced  it  all  very  good.  And  then  who 
can  doubt  but  its  tenants  would  become  more  happy  and  more  vir- 


UPON    THE    MORAL    AFFECTIONS.  889 

tuous.  Having  fewer  fears  and  fewer  vexations,  the}'  would  in- 
dulge less  frequently  the  malignant  passions.  They  might  stt 
then  under  their  vine  and  their  figtree,  and  there  would  he  none 
to  make  them  afraid. 

Let  me  say  again,  that  a  cultivated  taste  tends  to  bring  men  un- 
der the  influence  of  sacred  truth,  and  thus  holds  them  within  the 
reach  of  resistless  reformation  and  virtue.  Reason  and  judgment 
confirm  the  decisions  of  a  good  taste,  and  are  employed  though 
imperceptibly  in  all  its  operations;  hence  such  a  taste  is  friendly 
to  correct  habits  of  thought  ;  and  the  man  accustomed  to  think 
correctly  on  one  subject,  is,  to  say  the  least,  the  better  prepared 
to  investigate  another.  Now  there  is  no  other  system  in  which 
such  a  taste  can  find  the  harmony,  and  the  order,  and  the  consis- 
tency, and  the  grandeur,  which  prevail  in  the  system  of  divine 
truth.  There  are  positions  that  no  genius  can  controvert,  argu- 
ments that  no  discernment  can  impeach,  illustrations  that  strike 
with  the  vividness  of  lightning,  and  conclusions  that  bear  upon  an 
ingenuous  mind  with  the  weight  of  a  world.  Hence  we  should 
decide,  a  priori,  that  a  good  taste  could  not  overlook  the  book  of 
God.  And  what  is  there  in  the  whole  apparatus  of  a  practical  reli- 
gion to  which  such  a  taste  is  not  congenial  \  The  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord,  that  stills  the  tumult  of  labor,  calls  man  from  his  drudgery, 
clothes  him  in  neatness,  and  wakes  the  peal  of  the  church  going 
bell,  and  congregates  the  multitude,  and  seats  them  in  the  sanctu- 
ary, and  breaks  down  all  adventitious  distinction,  and  puts  a  thou- 
sand minds  upon  the  track  of  the  same  august  truth  ;  and  spreads 
a  stillness  and  a  composure  and  a  thoughtfulness  over  the  whole 
region,  how  beautiful!  how  sublime!  If  we  look  at  facts,  do  they 
not  testify,  that  a  cultivated  taste  sustains  a  close  relationship  to 
all  this  1  Are  the  families  that  are  represented  in  the  solemn  as- 
sembly, the  mean,  and  the  uncultivated  \  And  do  we  find  loung- 
ing away  the  hours  of  holy  rest,  the  neatly  clad,  and  best  improv- 
ed portions  of  the  community  1  Or  do  we  find  this  belter  part  of 
society  in  the  sanctuary,  joining  in  its  prayers,  and  aiding  in  its 
praise,  and  listening  to  the  mysteries  of  heavenly  truth,  and  bring- 
ing to  a  higher  elevation  that  taste,  which  aided  in  assembling 
them  1  Go  to  those  districts  of  Christendom,  where  no  gospel  is 
proclaimed,  and  no  multitudes  assemble  in  the  sanctuary,  and  no 
general  survey  of  their  hamlets  will  remind  you  that  it  is  the  Lord's 
day  ;  and  sure  as  life,  religion  is  wanting  there,  and  about  as  sure 
is  the  total  absence  of  a  cultivated  taste.  You  will  see  patroling 
the  streets,  their  untutored  and  beggarly  offspring,  and  in  most  of 


800  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  A  GOOD  TASTE 

their  habitations  you  will  discover  the  sure  indication  of  minds  aa 
uncultivated,  as  their  principles  and  conduct  are  immoral.  A  good 
taste  would  remove  many  of  the  obstacles  to  keeping  a  Sabbath, 
and  building  a  sanctuary,  and  supporting  a  ministry,  and  sustain- 
ing a  Sabbatli  school,  and  erecting  a  library  for  the  improvement 
of  the  public  mind. 

Do  any  ask,  How  is  all  this  consistent  with  that  declaration, 
that,  "  Not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not 
many  noble  are  called  :  but  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of 
this  world  to  confound  the  wise  ;  and  God  hath  chosen  the  weak 
things  of  this  world  to  confound  the  things  which  are  mighty  ;  and 
base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  which  are  despised,  hath  God 
chosen,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not,  to  bring  to  nought  things 
that  are  :  that  no  flesh  should  glory  in  his  presence  V  Now 
let  me  say,  that  men  may  be  wise,  and  mighty,  and  noble,  in  the 
sense  of  this  passage,  and  still  be  as  destitute  of  a  good  taste  as 
their  postillion  or  their  footman.  Mere  wealth  may  procure  the 
wisdom  and  the  nobility  and  the  might  here  spoken  of,  but  it  does 
not  follow  that  there  will  be  the  delicate  imagination,  and  the  keen 
sensibility,  and  the  soundness  of  judgment,  and  the  wise  course  of 
reading  and  of  thinking,  which  indicate  a  cultivated  taste.  We 
have  seen  a  profusion  of  splendor  and  of  equipage,  and  a  disgust- 
ing routine  of  ceremony,  where  there  was  the  total  absence  of  the 
lovely  attribute  we  eulogize.  One  is  virtue's  foe,  the  other  its 
ally.  The  whole  of  that  display  which  wealth  can  purchase  and 
in  which  pride  and  vanity  and  lust  vegetate,  is  the  opposite  of  vir- 
tue ;  but  not  so  that  sense  of  the  mind  which  gives  us  an  eye  to 
see  and  a  power  to  enjoy  the  ten  thousand  beauties  that  God  has 
spread  over  the  works  of  his  hands.  It  is  not  that  we  can  see  love- 
liness in  the  sceneries  of  nature  or  the  productions  of  art,  that  can 
offend  the  Lord,  but  that  we  can  see  it  in  vice.  It  is  not  that  we 
have  the  wisdom  that  waked  in  Eden,  that  God  will  disapprove  ; 
but  that  we  are  wise  in  our  own  conceits,  wise  to  do  evil.  It  is 
not  the  nobility  that  is  generated  by  thought  and  reflection  and 
reasoning,  and  which  is  found  in  angels,  that  operates  to  shut 
heaven's  door  against  us;  but  the  nobility  which  originates  in  mis 
applied  wealth  and  flattery  and  pride. 

But  it  is  asked  whether  a  cultivated  taste  has  not  sometimes 
rendered  persons  unhappy,  as  they  must  often  be  constrained,  in  a 
world  like  this,  to  be  conversant  with  what  is  coarse  and  disgust- 
ing !  I  will  not  deny  that  there  is  some  truth  in  this.  We  have 
seen  a  delicate  woman    bred    to  the  most  refined  enjoyments,  and 


UPON    THE    MORAL    AFFECTION'S.  891 

improved  in  her  taste  till  she  deserved  all  that  the  world  could 
have  done  to  make  her  happy,  yoked  uneaually  to  a  savage;  in 
which  case, 

"  Native  rage  and  native  fear  rose  and  forbid  delight,' 

and  we  were  ready  to  wish  that,  to  make  her  condition  less  un- 
pleasant, her  mind  had  remained  rude.  And  we  have  seen  ano- 
ther picture,  a  false  taste  connected  with  no  native  endowments, 
or  solid  improvements  of  intellect ;  and  it  resulted,  as  we  should 
expect,  in  pride  and  passion,  and  fed  its  fantasy  on  ideal  beauties, 
not  seen  in  nature  nor  known  in  art ;  read  of,  perhaps,  in  the  pages 
of  a  novel,  or  seen  in  the  reveries  of  an  hysteric  imagination  ;  and 
the  result  was  misery,  as  it  should  be.  It  was  a  sieklj-,  feverish 
taste,  adapted  only  to  an  ideal  world,  and  not  qualified  to  be  con- 
versant with  sober  realities.  But  it  was  a  vexation  that  such 
lunacy  should  be  called  taste. 

A  good  taste  must  be  connected  with  intellect,  and  must  o-row 
with  the  growth  of  mind.  It  is  then  sane  and  sensible.  If  we  do 
fear  that,  in  some  few  instances,  a  cultivated  taste  has  diminished 
happiness,  in  most  cases  where  this  has  seemed  the  fact,  there  was 
the  total  absence  of  all  that  deserved  the  name. 

It  is  said  that  taste  is  a  costly  attribute,  and  produces  poverty, 
and  thus  immorality  and  misery.  I  promptly  assert  that  it  costs 
far  less  than  the  appetites  it  restrains.  Would  the  sot  and  the 
epicure  expend  in  the  cultivation  of  a  good  taste  the  fortunes  la- 
vished upon  their  appetites,  the  latter  expense  would  be  saved,  and 
the  amount  would  surround  them  with  ten  thousand  beauties,  con- 
veniences, and  comforts.  It  will  generally  happen,  in  this  country 
at  least,  that  If  men  will  forego  the  pampering  of  their  lusts,  they 
will  not  lack  the  means  of  gratifying  a  good  taste.  It  makes  not 
large  demands  where  there  are  small  resources.  The  lowly  cottage, 
with  its  little  patch  of  shrubbery,  fruits,  and  flowers,  may  be  quite 
as  tasteful  as  the  palace,  with  its  proud  and  lofty  architecture. 

If  it  be  thought  that  taste  consumes  time,  it  may  be  answered 
that  it  saves  more  than  it  consumes.  It  makes  all  its  drafts  upon 
idleness  and  vice.  Its  bed  of  flowers  it  cultivates,  and  has  time 
left,  while  sloth  claims  another  nap,  and  while  envy  slanders  a 
neighbor,  and  while  appetite  is  gorging  its  pernicious  viands  and 
fatal  draughts,  and  while  covetousness  is  counting  up  its  gains,  and 
while  anger  is  rankling,  and  wrath  is  burning,  and  revenge  is  plot- 
ting in  the  bosom  of  fools.  I  even  assert  that  its  tendency  is  to 
enrich.     A  good  taste  will  seek  the  means  of  its  own  gratification. 


892  the  influence  of  a  good  taste 

It  will  aim  first  to  acquire  the  necessaries  and  conveniences  of  life, 
and  this  will  lead  to  enterprise  that  will  nerve  the  man  for  duty 
Besides  the  exertions  made  for  these  purposes,  he  will  put  forth 
another  effort  that  he  may  gratify  his  taste,  and,  other  things  equal, 
will  he  the  more  industrious  and  thriving  man.  He  holds  to  the 
men  about  him  the  high' station  of  a  benefactor,  and  would  make 
any  effort  within  his  power,  and  endure  any  privation,  rather  than 
lean  for  subsistence  upon  their  charity.  Could  you,  by  some  ma- 
gical process,  infuse  a  good  taste  into  that  multitude  of  paupers 
which  brood,  like  the  incubus,  upon  the  bosom  of  community,  you 
would  exterminate  pauperism.  When  did  you  ever  know  a  man 
of  taste  become  a  pauper'?  At  least  when,  except  in  some  rare 
instance's  of  prolonged  disease,  saw  you  a  pauper  who  was  not 
wholly  wanting  in  this  inestimable  endowment  1  When  I  see  the 
new  married  pair  with  no  object  about  them  tasteful,  by  a  kind  of 
instinct  I  mark  them  out  for  ultimate  poverty. 

Let  it  not  be  thought  that  a  good  taste  tends  to  form  a  fictitious 
and  deceitful  character.  It  is  confessed  that  rustic  coarseness, 
associated  with  honesty,  is  preferable  to  a  Chesterfieldian  system, 
founded  less  on  the  principles  of  a  good  taste  than  in  falsehood 
and  infidelity.  A  good  taste  scorns  the  fellowship  of  principles 
so  selfish,  and  contracted,  and  cowardly.  While  it  favors  a  polish 
as  fair  and  rich  as  Chesterfield's,  it  associates  with  it  the  integrity 
of  a  Hale,  the  philanthropy  of  a  Howard,  and  the  Christian  patri 
otism  of  a  Wilberforce. 

We  have  known  the  error  to  creep  into  colleges,  that  taste  and 
genius  are  not  likely  to  be  united  ,  and  under  this  impression  many 
silly  youths  have  feigned  a  carelessness  in  their  personal  appear- 
ance, and  have  accustomed  themselves  to  keep  their  study  and 
their  dormitory  in  a  state  of  disorder  and  filth,  as  the  best  evi- 
dence they  could  give  of  mental  vigor.  And  not  unfrequently  has 
this  error  cast  reproach  upon  our  seats  of  science,  while  parents 
have  been  grieved  to  see  their  sons  return  from  the  seminary,  hav- 
ing unlearned  many  a  lesson  of  decency  that  had  been  for  years 
very  industriously  taught  them.  The  age  had  produced  some- 
where an  eccentric  genius,  who  was  totally  deficient  in  common 
sense  and  common  decency  ;  and  the  opinion  prevailed,  that  to 
have  his  powers  one  must  copy  his  insufferable  negligence.  But 
show  me  the  youth  who  has  finished  his  education  a  very  clown, 
and  I  say,  possibly  he  may  be  a  genius,  and  yet  a  beggar  and  a 
hear  too  ;  but  rest  assured  his  clownishncss  is  a  prognostic  only 
lor  the  bear  and  the  beggar,  not  of  the  accomplished  and  succc.;» 


UPON    THE    MORAL    AFFECTIONS.  Q^3 

ful  scholar  ;  ano  wo  always  fear  there  will  not  be  enough  of  the 
better  part  to  cover  the  worse.  1  know  we  sometimes  see  the  dis- 
gusting  contrast  of  all  this,  the  spruce  and  booted  and  fantastic!.) 
coxcomb  ;  lavishing,  conscience  and  economy  not  consulted,  the 
earnings  of  another  upon  his  vanity;  the  gallant,  when  he  should 
be  the  student,  the  curse  of  colleges,  the  stigma  of  his  father's 
house,  and  ultimately  the  scorn  alike  of  both  sexes.  But  I  turn 
from  this  disgusting  image. 

As  early  as  possible,  then,  I  would  have  the  taste  improved,  and 
would  urge  its  cultivation  among  the  duties  of  piety.  I  would  have 
every  man  lay  the  world  under  obligation  to  him,  because  he  makes 
the  little  world  about  him  more  fertile  and  more  beautiful.  I  would 
have  every  young  man  go  away  from  the  seat  of  science  feeling 
strongly,  that  every  deformity  of  the  natural  world  and  the  moral, 
is  to  be  cured,  as  far  as  possible,  by  his  influence  ;  that  he  is  to 
touch  nothing,  mind  or  matter,  but  it  must  come  out  of  his  hands 
more  lovely  in  the  sight  of  God  or  man.  He  must  contribute  to 
make  the  desert  bloom  around  him,  and  the  wilderness  to  become 
an  Eden.  Let  him  feel,  that  as  wide  as  the  ruins  of  the  apostacy 
is  the  field  of  his  labor,  the  curse  that  fell  on  man,  and  the  mis- 
chief that,  through  him,  fell  on  the  territory  that  he  occupies. 

In  every  department  of  life  a  good  taste  gives  high  promise  of  in- 
fluence and  usefulness.  Does  the  youth  intend  to  excel  as  a  clas- 
sical writer?  a  good  taste  will  furnish  him  with  language  more  co- 
pious, and  figures  more  striking  and  appropriate;  and  a  field  of  il- 
lustration more  wide  and  diversified.  It  will  give  him  a  power  to 
persuade  and  control  that  he  would  not  have  otherwise  attained. 
In  Addison,  what,  a  powerful  instrument  of  good  was  his  taste.  It 
chastened  his  wit,  and  enabled  him  to  shame  into  disuse  many  a 
mistaken  maxim  of  his  times,  and  rendered  him  the  scourge  and 
the  dread  of  proud  and  polished  profligacy.  His  finished  style 
was  the  grand  means  of  carrying  his  strictures  upon  manners  and 
morals  into  the  parlor  and  the  palace,  where  they  operated  in  pu- 
rifying the  character  of  the  nation  and  the  world.  Not  that  a  good 
taste  should  convert  every  writer  into  an  Addison  :  this  would  be 
neither  possible  nor  desirable.  While  his  writings  may  be  rend 
with  profit  by  every  man,  they  may  not  be  safely  imitated  by  any. 
Let  every  man's  style  be  his  own.  Let  him  go  forth  in  his  own 
livery,  and  use  his  own  weapons  in  whatever  cause  lie  would  sus- 
tain. Be  the  bent  of  his  genius  what  it  may,  a  good  taste  will  be 
one  of  its  most  powerful  aids.  Every  excrescence  of  his  genius 
it  will  lop  off.      his  wit  it  will  chasten,  his  rashness  it  will  restrain 


804  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  A  GOOD  TASTE 

nis  boldness  and  originality  it  will  regulate,  his  patriotism  it  will 
purify.  It  will  adapt  his  genius  to  more  nations  and  ages  than 
one.  Hence  it  is  that  works  of  genuine  taste  never  become  obso- 
lete. Homer,  and  Virgil,  and  Milton,  and  Cowper,  will  continue 
to  be  read  through  all  generations. 

Does  the  youth  aspire  to  eminent  usefulness  as  a  preacher  of 
righteousness!  he  will  need  the  guidance  of  a  good  taste;  as 
there  are  polished  sinners  that  must  be  won,  and  accomplished 
believers  that  must  be  guided  home  to  heaven.  In  each  part  of 
his  work  he  will  have  need  of  language  soft  and  chaste  as  angels 
use.  A  good  taste  need  not  enervate  or  secularize  his  style,  but 
will,  if  there  be  genius,  invigorate  it.  It  will  qualify  him  to  handle 
profitably  those  subjects  which  are  in  themselves  disgusting,  and 
from  which  delicacy  might  otherwise  shrink.  He  may  descend, 
accompanied  by  a  good  taste  as  his  guardian  angel,  into  the  low- 
est cells  of  iniquity,  and  make  war  with  it  in  all  its  haunts  of  filth- 
iness,  without  offending  delicacy.  It  will  give  him  that  address 
-which  will  bring  him  into  successful  conflict  with  a  whole  family 
of  vices,  that  would  otherwise  lie  without  his  reach,  operate  be- 
yond his  control,  and  parry  every  thrust  he  made.  It  will  teach 
him  how  to  characterize  foul  iniquity,  and  to  stamp  its  shame  by 
an  indignation  so  full  of  soul,  and  by  illustrations  so  elevated,  as 
to  hold  himself  a  whole  atmosphere  above  the  meanness  and  the 
turpitude  he  depicts.  Seated  on  a  cloud,  he  may,  unharmed,  dart 
his  lightnings  down  into  the  dreariest  and  filthiest  abodes  of  moral 
putrefaction.  As  if  an  angel,  with  sword  pointed  and  burnished 
in  heaven,  and  himself  shrouded  in  celestial  glory,  should  be  sent 
to  still  the  tumults  and  lay  the  blasphemies  of  the  infernal  prison. 
The  better  the  taste  employed,  and  the  more  elevated  the  language 
in  which  admonition  and  rebuke  is  administered,  the  deeper  may 
he  descend  till  he  has  seized  iniquity  in  its  profoundest  caverns, 
and  laid  it  naked,  and  lashed  it  into  agony  and  into  shame. 

Would  the  youth  qualify  himself  to  be  a  teacher!  he  will  have 
irrcat  need  of  a  cultivated  taste, and  that  whatever  may  be  the  age 
at  which  he  is  to  take  the  rising  generation  under  his  instruction. 
It  is  a  grief  and  a  loss  too  when  our  common  schools  are  com- 
mitted to  the  care  of  men  void  of  taste  ;  for  the  hackneyed  pro- 
verb is  still  most  true, 

"  Just  as  the  twig  is  bent,  the  tree's  inclined." 

The  child  of   five   years  old    may,  through    this   deficiency  of  his 
teacher,  receive  a  bad  impression  of  character  that  will  last  till  he 


UPON    THE    MORAL    AFFECTIONS.  895 

dies.  It  is  yet  more  lamentable  when  the  teacher  01  our  youth  is 
destitute  of  this  endowment,  and  cannot  point  out  to  his  pupils 
the  beauties  that  lie  along  the  track  of  improvement.  This  very 
failure  in  the  teacher  has  probably  damped  the  ardor  of  many  a 
young  man,  and  turned  back  to  manual  labor  one  who  might  have 
reached  eminence  in  literature.  It  is  a  loss  not  easily  estimated 
when  the  preceptors  in  our  academies  and  tutors  in  our  colleges 
cannot  point  out  to  their  classes  the  flowers  that  bloom,  and  the 
sublimities  that  open  to  view  as  they  climb  the  hill  of  science. 
And  through  all  the  ascending  grades  of  literary  instruction,  a 
good  taste  becomes  increasingly  important.  There  may  be  much 
in  the  character  of  our  public  teachers  to  admire  ;  there  may  be 
those  talents  and  that  good  sense  that  are  indispensable,  and  that 
amiableness  of  temper  which  in  their  station  is  above  all  price, 
and  that  piety  which  we  most  of  all  revere,  and  still  if  a  good  taste 
be  wanting  the  evil  will  be  long  and  distinctly  seen  in  the  deport- 
ment of  educated  men,  and  be  from  them  spread  out  and  handed 
down  till  it  affect  most  unhappily  the  character  of  our  whole  re- 
public through  many  generations.  On  them  too  it  must  depend 
to  give  American  genius  its  polish  and  elevation  and  influence  in 
the  literary  world,  and  to  decide  whether  in  letters,  as  in  correct 
views  of  true  liberty  and  enlightened  civil  government,  we  are  to 
stand  admired  and  honored  as  the  first  nation  on  the  face  of  the 
earth. 

Would  the  youth  gain  distinguished  eminence  at  the  bar  1  his 
good  taste  must  enable  him  to  chastise  fraud  and  mischief  without 
vulgarity-  The  ribaldry  that  has  sometimes  disgraced  the  legal 
profession,  must,  as  society  becomes  more  enlightened,  fall  into 
the  contempt  it  merits,  and  its  place  be  filled  with  solid  and  dig- 
nified argument  and  eloquence.  The  advocate  should  make  him- 
self respected  by  the  judge  and  the  jury,  on  whose  enlightened 
decision  rests  the  issue  of  his  cause.  And  he  will  so  often  see 
fraud  and  crime  in  a  smooth  and  varnished  aspect,  concealed  be. 
hind  all  that  art  can  do  to  polish  and  baptize  it  into  honesty,  and 
all  that  wealth  and  influence  can  do  to  cover  its  deformities,  and 
all  that  pride  and  impudence  can  do  to  confound  its  opposer,  that 
an  improved  taste  will  be  requisite  to  follow  it  into  the  parlor  and 
the  theatre  and  the  billiard  room,  ami  hunt  it  down,  and  strip  it, 
and  mark  it,  that  no  drapery  may  longer  conceal  its  hideous  and 
accursed  form.  If  his  weapons  be  coarse  and  blunt,  he  will  give 
polished  vice  t ho  vantage  ground,  anil  furnish  it  an  unanswerable 
argument  why  it  should  not  be  willing  to  perish  by  his  sword.     In 


890  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  A  GOOD  TASTE. 

the  hall  of  legislation  too,  and  on  the  bench,  and  through  nil  the 

ascending  grades  of  political  elevation,  a  good  taste  is  increasingly 
necessary. 

The  physician  too,  to  be  respected  and  useful,  must  be  a  man 
of  taste.  He  is  necessarily  conversant  with  the  best  families  and 
the  most  delicate  diseases,  and  cannot  be  coarse  without  offence. 
One  would  not  choose  to  invite  the  rustic  into  his  sick  chamber, 
or  submit  himself  to  his  surgical  operations.  Society  is  abused, 
(and  the  abu^c  should  have  been  long  since  corrected,)  when  the 
clown  is  pronounced  capable  of  practising  the  healing  art,  and  is 
sent  out  to  learn  his  first  lessons  of  decency  from  the  gentle  man- 
ners, the  subdued  accents,  and  restrained  habits  of  the  sick  and 
dying  bed.  Chain  him  to  the  plow  ;  put  a  spade  into  his  hand, 
and  not  a  lancet ;  keep  him  from  touching  the  sacred  casket  of 
the  materia  medica. 

No  matter  into  what  department  of  life  and  action  the  youth  is 
entering  from  the  walls  of  the  seminary,  he  must  every  where 
have  a  good  taste  or  he  will  bring  literature  into  disrepute. 

My  motive,  then,  young  gentlemen,  in  addressing  you  on  this 
subject,  is  distinctly  seen.  God  has  given  us  a  world  in  which  there 
are  many  beauties,  but,  through  the  apostacy,  many  deformities. 
These  beauties  I  would  have  you  qualified  to  see  and  relish,  and 
these  deformities  to  obliterate.  I  would  have  you  employ  all 
your  genius  to  create  other  beauties,  till  every  spot  about  you 
shall  smile,  every  eminence  be  comely,  and  every  valley  verdant. 
I  would  there  should  be  in  your  views  an  enlightened  graciousness, 
which,  if  not  religion,  is  its  handmaid;  if  not  born  in  heaven,  was 
early  in  Eden  ;  if  not  possessed  of  power  to  subdue  the  heart,  may 
mould  some  of  its  rougher  affections  into  milder  forms  ;  and  though 
not  a  radical  cure  for  the  calamities  of  life,  has  abundant  power  to 
soothe.  You  would  then  be  more  useful  and  happy  while  you  live, 
and  we  should  have  higher  hopes  of  meeting  you  in  heaven,  and 
joining  you  in  exploring  the  wonders  of  that  pure  and  tasteful  city, 
whose  walls  are  jasper,  whose  gates  are  of  pearl,  and  whose  streets 
are  paved  with    gold. 

Before  I  conclude,  I  must  be  permitted  to  devote  a  few  words 
to  friendship.  I  see  many  faces  here  that  have  often  lighted  up  my 
own  with  a  smile.  It  is  affecting  to  meet  you  again  in  this  world  of 
change.  It  is  probably  the  last  time  I  shall  ever  see  you  all  until 
we  meet  in  that  country  "  from  whose  bourne  no  traveler  returns." 
1  learn  that  death  has  made  inroads  among  you.  It  is  a  note  of  ad- 
monition to  us  all  to  be  Dre  pared  to  die.     The  pasl  year  his  been 


EXPOSITION.  897 

to  ns  one  of  peculiar  interest.  God  has  deigned  to  display  the 
power  of  his  grace  under  my  poor  ministrations,  and  has  given  rne 
often  the  pleasure  of  sitting  down  by  the  conscience  and  the  heart 
that  his  truth  and  his  Spirit  had  impressed.  And  I  have  rejoiced 
to  hear  that  he  has  been  in  very  deed  with  you,  begetting  everlast- 
ing consolation  and  good  hope  in  many  of  your  hearts.  Thus  it 
appears  that  he  who  is  rich  in  mercy  was  with  me  in  the  way  that 
1  went,  and  remained  with  you.  May  he  still  be  with  us,  and  keep 
us  by  his  power,  and  guide  our  wayward  feet  to  his  heavenly  rest. 
There  may  we  another  day  meet,  and  with  bursting  hearts  re- 
hearse the  mercies  that  bore  with  us  and  brought  us  safely 
through,  and  sustained  us  in  our  trials,  and  managed  our  spiritual 
enemies,  and  covered  our  heads  in  the  day  of  battle,  and  subdued 
our  lusts,  and  planted  our  feet  at  last  on  the  hills  of  promise. 
You  will  let  me  and  my  dear  people  have  an  interest  in  your 
prayers.  And  may  the  Lord  bless  this  people  and  its  ministry, 
and  bless  these  rising  schools  of  science,  and  all  their  guardians 
and  teachers,  and  all  who  come  to  seek  wisdom  at  these  gates. 
From  age  to  age  let  heaven's  richest  influence  come  down  on 
these  hills,  and  flow  out  in  streams  of  salvation  through  the  world, 
and  down  through  all  generations,  till  all  the  curse  shall  be  re- 
pealed, and  God  be  once  more  pleased  with  the  world  he  made. 


EXPOSITION  OF  1  JOHN  IV.  19. 
Wo  love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us. 

This  text  has  been  subjected  to  various,  and,  in  a  measure, 
contradictory  expositions. 

Some  have  supposed,  that  our  love  to  God,  is  mere  gratitude  to 
him  for  having  loved  us.  They  have  gone  upon  the  supposition 
that  naturally  we  imbibe  the  impression  that  God  is  our  n 
but  when  at  length  we  discover  the  mistake,  and  learn  that  he 
loves  us,  it  fills  us  with  gratitude  and  love  to  him.  To  this  expo- 
sition there  are  several  objections.  If  it  were  true,  more  light 
would  change  the  heart.  The  most  depraved  man,  need-;  only  to 
be  convinced  that  God  is  not  so  ancrry  with  him  ns  he  supposed, 
and  in  fact  is  his  friend,  and  the   change   is  effected.     He   needs 


898  EXPOSITION. 

only  to  have  his  mistake  corrected,  and  he  is  a  new  man,  and  ta 
effect  this,  nothing  is  necessary  but  light.  Depravity,  of  course, 
has  itr  seat  only  in  the  understanding.  But  this  will  not  agree 
with  the  testimony  of  inspiration.  Regeneration  is  spoken  of  as 
a  change  of  heart.  The  stony  heart  is  said  to  be  taken  away,  and 
there  is  given  a  heart  of  flesh.  The  new  man  has  passed  from 
death  unto  life.  But  all  this  is  hyperbole,  if  the  change  is  the 
mere  correction  of  a  mistake. 

If  this  exposition  were  correct,  the  gospel  could  have  no  agency 
in  the  conversion  of  sinners,  for  on  the  principles  of  the  gospel, 
no  man  can  have  any  evidence  that  God  loves  him,  till  he  loves 
God.  "  Hereby  know  we  that  we  dwell  in  him,  and  he  in  us,  be- 
cause he  hath  given  us  of  his  Spirit."  Constantly  do  the  Scrip- 
tures teach  us,  that  our  interest  in  the  Divine  affections,  can  be 
known  only  by  our  love  to  God,  our  obedience  to  his  commands, 
and  our  attachment  to  his  holy  family.  But  if  the  exposition  given 
be  true,  none  of  all  this  can  take  place,  till  God  has  loved  us,  and 
has  revealed  to  us  this  fact.  Hence  a  voice  from  heaven,  and  not 
the  Bible,  must  make  known  the  truth  that  effects  our  sanctification. 
The  exposition  given,  supposes  also,  the  truth  of  a  palpable 
absurdity  ;  that  God  can  love  us,  while  we  possess  no  goodness 
for  him  to  love.  Till  we  love  God,  we  hate  him,  and  to  hate  infi- 
nite excellence,  is  to  be  totally  depraved.  This  continues  to  be 
the  character  of  every  man  till  he  loves  his  Creator.  Hence,  till 
then  it  is  impossible  that  God  should  be  pleased  with  him.  He 
assures  us,  "  I  love  them  that  love  me  ;"  implying  that  all  others 
he  does  not  love.  God  cannot  view  with  complacency  the  man 
who  has  no  pleasure  in  the  contemplation  of  infinite  moral  excel- 
lence. A  being  so  depraved  is  not  worthy  of  Divine  regard 
"  God  is  angry  with  the  wicked  every  day,"  and  hence  is  continu- 
ally angry  with  every  man  who  does  not  love  him.  Should  an 
unregenerated  man,  therefore,  hear  some  supernatural  voice  pro 
claim,  "  beloved  of  the  Lord,"  he  ought  to  doubt  whether  the 
revelation  came  from  heaven.  For  God  will  not  reveal  to  him 
that  which  the  Bible  would  contradict. 

The  exposition  which  we  are  noticing,  exhibits  depravity  :is 
confined  to  the  understanding,  and  he  purely  is  not  very  exten- 
sive, y  depraved,  who  1ms  merely  mistaken  a  matter  of  fact.  The 
Scriptures,  however,  exhibit  a  darker  picture.  They  speak  of  the 
unsanctified  heart  as  the  seat  of  malicious  passions,  as  full  of  aW 
bitterness,  as  issuing  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  fornica- 
.  thefts,  false  witness, blasphemies.     We  are  told  that  ''every 


EXPOSITION.  899 

imagination  of  the  thought  of  the  heart  is  evil,  only  evil  continu- 
ally." We  are  assured  that  "the  heart  is  deceitful  above  all 
things,  and  desperately  wicked."  The  errors  of  the  understand- 
ing are  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  the  heart.  "  A  deceived  heart 
hath  turned  him  aside,  that  he  cannot  deliver  his  soul,  or  say,  Is 
there  not  a  lie  in  my  right  hand."  Another  objection  to  this  ex- 
position is,  that  it  exhibits  a  religion  purely  selfish.  He  who  loves 
God  merely  because  he  conceives  that  God  loves  him,  can  be  said 
only  to  love  himself.  But  the  religion  of  the  Bible  is  spoken  of 
as  a  charity  that  seeketh  not  her  own.  It  discovers  in  holiness 
an  intrinsic  value,  which  renders  it  lovely  fur  its  own  sake,  inde- 
pendently of  any  relation  which  it  may  sustain  to  us. 

This  exposition  is  contrary  to  all  the  examples  given  us  in 
Scripture  of  apostolic  preaching.  It  was  the  aim  of  the  apostles 
to  make  their  hearers  see  their  own  vileness,  and  feel  that  the 
wrath  of  God  hung  over  them.  Says  an  apostle,  "by  the  terrors 
of  the  Lord  we  persuade  men.''  But  what  can  this  mean,  if  there 
is  no  other  depravity  than  what  consists  in  a  mistake  of  the  un- 
derstanding? But  no  apostle  preached  a  doctrine  like  this,  and 
DO  man  may  thus  preach  without  the  danger  of  contradicting  the 
records  of  eternal  truth. 

There  is  another  exposition  of  this  text  which  has  a  higher 
claim  upon  our  faith.  It  is  this.  If  God  had  not  viewed  us  with 
a  benevolent  regard,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  we  should 
havt  continued  his  enemies.  Divine  compassion  originated  the 
man,  and  provided  the  means  of  redemption.  The  same  benevolence 
led  him  to  awaken,  convict,  and  renew  us.  We  are  Christians, 
because  God  viewed  us  with  pity,  and  made  us  the  willing  and 
thankful  recipients  of  his  mercy.  Thus  we  love  him  because  he  first 
Loved  us,  because  he  was  led  by  his  good  will  to  change  our  hearts, 
to  give  us  holy  affections. 

The  difference  in  the  two  expositions  is  this.  The  first,  which 
I  consider  as  altogether  incorrect,  represents  the  love  of  God  to 
us  as  our  only  motive  for  loving  him.  The  second,  which  although 
perhaps  deficient,  certainly  approximates  toward  the  truth,  represents 
the  benevolence  of  God  as  that  which  moved  him  to  prepare  the 
way  for  our  redemption,  and  bring  our  hearts  to  love  hiir 

This  exposition  accords  with  the  main  object  of  this  epistle, 
which  dwells  much  on  the  love  of  God,  manifested  in  providing 
redemption  for  our  miserable  world.  Wc  read  in  the  context, 
"In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God  toward  us,  because  that 
God  sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world,  thai   we  mighl  live 


900  EXPOSITION. 

through  him.  Herein  was  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that 
he  loved  us,  arid  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  of  our  siiia.'' 
In  the  gospel  written  by  this  same  apostle,  we  read,  "  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  sent  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  For 
God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world,  but 
that  the  world  through  him  might  be  saved." 

This  exposition  accords  with  other  portions  of  Scripture.  The 
Bible  everywhere  lays  the  foundation  of  the  Christian  Church  in 
the  everlasting  love  of  God  to  our  miserable  world.  In  no  case 
would  a  sinner  ever  love  God,  if  God  had  not  first  loved  him. 
"  But  God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that  while  we  were 
yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us."  And  "  we  also  enjoy  in  God, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  now  received 
the  atonement."  Thus  the  love  of  God  is  considered  as  laying 
the  foundation  of  our  salvation,  and  it  must,  of  course,  be  the  first 
cause  of  our  love  to  him.     But 

It  is  thought  there  is  a  deficiency  in  this  last  exposition.  Cer- 
tainly none  will  deny  but  that  the  great  scheme  of  redemption  has 
its  foundation  in  the  eternal  love  of  God  ;  that  his  grace  furnished 
the  atonement,  and  that  his  Spirit  carries  our  hearts  to  love,  and 
finishes  our  sanctification  5  hence  the  love  of  God  is  the  cause  of 
love  to  him. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  contended,  that  God's  love  to  us  is 
a  proper  motive  for  loving  him  j  not  the  only  motive,  it  is  true  ; 
for  if  we  love  him  only  because  we  apprehend  that  he  loves  us, 
our  affections  are  purely  selfish.  But  why  not  love  him  for 
what  he  is,  and  yet  our  love  increases  on  discovering  that  he  loves 
usl  If  the  question  in  controversy  be  simply  this,  may  God's  love 
to  us  become  a  proper  motive  of  our  love  to  him  \  the  question, 
it  would  seem,  must  be  answered  in  the  affirmative.  Compassion 
in  the  heart  of  God  for  miserable  beings  is  a  lovely  trait  in  his 
character;  and  when  discovered,  is  a  reason  why  we  should  love 
him  :  and  if  we  may  love  him  because  he  felt  compassion  for  other 
miserable  beings,  why  not  because  he  had  pity  on  us  1  Hence, 
when  we  discover  that  the  God  we  have  hated  has  always  receiv- 
ed us  with  compassion,  this  discovery  should  awaken  our  love. 

That  God  can  exercise  no  other  love  to  impenitent  sinners  but 
that  of  good  will,  there  scarcely  needs  an  argument  to  prove.  Ao 
unregenerate  man,  whose  heart  is  at  enmity  against  God,  can  possi- 
bly be  to  him  an  object  of  complacency,  if  then  he  wait  till  he 
discover  that  God  is  pleased  with   him   before  he  can  love  his  AJa- 


EXPOSITION.  1)01 

ker,  he  must  wait  for  ever.  But  the  idea  that  God  is  a  merciful  be- 
ing enters,  or  ought  to  enter,  into  every  contemplation  of  the  Divine 
character.  We  are  no  more  required  to  love  a  God  all  justice, 
holiness,  and  truth,  than  a  God  of  all  mercy.  Why  may  it  not  hap- 
pen, then,  that  a  sinner,  when  he  first  contemplates  the  God  of 
heaven  with  seriousness,  may  think  of  his  good  will  to  our  misera- 
ble world,  and  to  himself,  with  others  1  And  while  he  looks  at 
God,  and  his  heart  is  changed  into  love,  this  very  trait  in  the  Di- 
vine character  may  be  the  first  thing  discovered,  and  may  become 
a  most  powerful  attractive  to  his  affections.  Thus  he  loves  God, 
among  oth*»r  reasons,  because  God  first  loved  him.  The  text  has 
tmquestio'iable  reference  to  a  kind  of  love  felt  by  the  Creator  for 
his  creatures  while  dead  in  sin  ;  and  this  would  be  no  other  than 
mere  good  will.  This  trait  in  the  Divine  character,  and  there  is 
xio  other  more  prominent,  the  sinner  may  discover  as  soon  as  any. 
Nor  would  it  be  surprising  if  this  should  be  the  first  attribute  of 
Jehovah  that  should  attract  his  gaze.  It  would  be  mistaking  the 
true  character  of  God,  if  one  should  conceive  of  him  as  destitute 
of  compassion  for  the  wretched.  Still  the  good  man  will  love  the 
whole  of  the  Divine  character.  If  his  benevolence  engrosses  the 
whole  of  our  affections,  it  needs  no  argument  to  prove,  that  our 
hearts  are  not  yet  right  with  God.  This  is  the  nger  to  be  avoid- 
ed. Many,  all  on  a  sudden,  have  seemed  to  b  absorbed  with  a 
sense  of  the  Divine  goodness,  who  yet  manifested  an  incurable 
enmity  to  every  view  of  God  as  holy,  sovereign,  and  unchange- 
able. One  trait  of  the  Divine  character  had  caught  their  admira- 
tion, and  for  a  time  they  were  filled  with  love  ;  but  when,  at  length, 
they  were  constrained  to  view  God  in  some  other  aspect,  their 
love  subsided.  They  could  not  contemplate,  but  with  a  frown, 
those  doctrines  which  do  honor  to  his  severer  attributes.  We  must 
love  the  Divine  character  as  it  is.  The  God  we  worship  must  be 
holy  as  well  as  merciful,  else  we  do  not  worship  the  Jehovah  of 
the  Bible. 

Probably  with  a  view  to  guard  men  against  a  selfish  religion, 
the  character  of  God  has  been  exhibited  in  false  colors.  It  has 
been  said,  "God  made  man  upright,  and  then  exerted  a  positive 
agency  in  making  him  a  rebel.  He  contrives  a  plan  of  redemp- 
tion, but  reprobates  some  in  the  outset,  fits  them  for  hell,  pliers 
them  in  that  world,  makes  the  righteous  rejoice  while  the  '  smoke 
of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever  and  ever,'  ami  may  do  so 
because  they  are  all  his  creatures."  Now  I  very  much  question 
whether  in   this  exhibition,  we   are  presented   with  a  correct  view 


902  EXPOSITION. 

of  the  Divine  character.  The  Scriptures  do  not  give  us  this  view 
of  God.  While  he  is  there  exhibited  as  a  sovereign,  who  does  his 
pleasure  in  the  armies  of  heaven  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth,  and  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will, 
they  also  describe  him  as  a  God  of  mercy.  He  bears  long  with 
the  being  he  hates,  and  pities  the  very  wretch  he  destroys.  "  How 
shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim"  1  Now  why  should  the  divine  be- 
nevolence be  undiscovered  in  those  perfections  which  constitute 
the  object  of  our  worship  1 

But  on  the  other  hand,  God  has  been  exhibited  as  scarcely  pos- 
sessing any  other  attribute  than  mercy.  This  has  been  spoken  of 
as  his  darling  attribute,  while  his  sovereignty,  his  purity,  and  his 
veracity  have  been  obscured  in  the  dazzling  light  of  the  favorite 
perfection.  Perhaps  such  a  view  of  God  is  still  more  dangerous 
than  the  other.  Give  him  no  desire  to  guide  his  operations,  no 
sovereignty  to  render  his  throne  august,  no  inflexibility  of  veracity 
to  ensure  the  execution  of  his  law,  no  holiness  to  render  sin  hate- 
ful, no  omniscience  to  search  out  the  culprit,  and  no  power  to 
make  himself  respected,  and  the  veriest  fiend  of  perdition  will  pre- 
sume on  his  mercy.  No  man  is  too  depraved  to  love  a  God  like 
this.  But  no  such  God  exists,  and  every  such  hope  in  his  salva 
tion,  is  without  foundation. 

"  A  pardoning  God  is  jealous  still 
For  his  own  holiness." 

God  will  own  neither  of  these  characters.  We  must  leave  hirn 
in  possession  of  all  his  attributes,  and  still  love  him.  Mercy  and 
truth  must  meet  together.  We  must  adore  him  as  possessed  of 
every  holy  and  gracious  attribute,  and  whichsoever  of  these  first 
attracts  our  gaze  should  melt  us  into  love. 

We  see  thus  why  religion  in  different  persons  wears  a  very  dif- 
ferent aspect.  One  has  viewed  too  exclusively  the  mercy  of  God, 
and  hence  his  religion,  though  full  of  praise,  is  deficient  in  solemni- 
ty and  humility.  There  attends  it  a  lightness  which  sometimes 
begets  a  doubt  of  its  sincerity.  Another  has  reflected  too  exclu- 
sively on  the  severer  attributes  of  the  Divine  character,  and  has 
almost  forgotten  that  compassion  has  any  place  in  the  heart  of 
God  ;  hence  his  religion  will  be  likely  to  be  gloomy.  He  will  be 
prone  to  fear  aiu"  adore  his  Maker,  but  will  hardly  dare  to  praise. 
The  medium  of  tliese  extremes  is  the  religion  that  does  honor  to 
the  whole  of  the  Divine  character.  It  is  a  religion,  pleasant,  cheer- 
ful and  humble;  a  religion  which  <vill  render  the  soul  happy,  and 
which  God  will  approve  and  honor. 


A  PLEA  FOR  THE  SCRIPTURES. 

The  Bible  professes  to  be  the  book  of  God,  inspired  by  his 
Spirit,  and  sent  to  be  the  guide  to  life  and  salvation  of  this  ru- 
ined world.  It  would  seem  that  there  could  be  but  one  opinion 
respecting  this  book  ;  but  there  are  two.  While  some  have  ac- 
cepted, others  have  rejected  it,  as  being  a  revelation  from  God. 
Two  questions  then  arise  :  "  Why  do  unbelievers  reject  it  ?  and 
u  Why  do  believers  receive  it  ?"  These  questions,  permit  me  to 
answer. 

Why  do  unbelievers  reject  the  Bible  ?  I  shall  notice  now  merely 
the  more  common  objections. 

I  would  here  mention — First,  The  exclusiveness  of  its  reli- 
gion. All  other  religions,  unless  the  Mohammedan  be  excepted, 
are  more  catholic  than  the  religion  of  the  Bible.  The  worship- 
ers of  Thor  and  Jupiter  and  Moloch  would  have  placed  the  image 
of  Jesus  Christ  in  their  temples  and  worshiped  him,  if  his  disciples 
would  have  reciprocated  this  Catholicism,  and  would  have  wor- 
shiped the  images  of  their  gods.  If  they  would  have  only  yielded 
the  point  that  there  is  no  other  name  given  under  heaven  among 
men  whereby  we  can  be  saved,  there  would  have  been  no  quar- 
rel between  Christianity  and  heathenism. 

And  if  this  compromise  could  now  be  made,  and  Christianity  did 
not  require  a  belief  of  the  whole  Bible  history,  and  all  the  Bible 
doctrines  and  predictions  together,  with  the  deity  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  practice  of  all  the  duties  of  the  Bible,  there  would  be  no 
contest.  But  all  this  goes  to  say  that  men  would  not  quarrel  with 
the  Bible,  if  they  might  disbelieve  it,  and  be  saved  without  it,  and 
pour  their  contempt  upon  it. 

But  is  it  not  reasonable  to  believe  that  if  God  give  a  revelation 
to  this  world,  he  will  give  it  to  the  vjhole  world,  and  require  all 
men  to  receive  it  all,  and  make  it  the  only  way  to  everlasting  life  ! 
If  not  thus  broad  in  its  application  and  its  claims,  it  becomes  a 
partial  salvation,  and  thus  it  must  tell  how  many  and  who  of  the 
human  family  may  feel  themselves  interested  in  its  contents. 

But  the  objector  inquires,  why  has  it  not  been  given  to  the  whole 
world?  why  has  God  published  a  system  of  salvation,  and  left  three- 
quarters,  and  in  some  ages  almost  the  world's  entire  population, 
without  a  knowledge  of  his  will  \  If  this  objection  could  not  be  sat- 
isfactorily answered,  it  would  present   no  formidable  barrier  to  our 


904  A    PLEA   FOR    THE    SCRIPTURES. 

faith.  If  God  pleases  to  make  a  written  revelation,  to  a  part  only 
of  a  rebellions  world,  by  what  law  has  either  part  the  right  to  com- 
plain ?  Or  if  it  claim  to  be  a  general  revelation,  and  is  partially  cir- 
culated, what  then  1  Rebels  may  not  demand  overtures  of  pardon. 
Moreover  the  whole  world,  had  not  the  carnal  mind  been  opposed  to 
a  divine  communication,  might  have  had  the  bible.  Had  the  world 
been  ready  to  receive  it,  as  the  Gentiles  must  have  had  report  of  it, 
no  province  had  been  without  ;t.  The  people  that  God  chose,  as 
the  depositories  of  the  revelation,  were  in  the  very  midst  of  the 
more  enlightened  nations,  and  it  is  rather  difficult  to  account  for 
the  fact,  that  all  nations  did  not  acquire  the  bible  from  that  central 
position  where  it  was  inspired.  How  could  Greece  and  Rome  and 
Babvlon  and  Esrypt  lie  so  hard  by  Israel  and  not  have  opportunity 
to  receive  the  Scriptures.  Indeed  it  did  go  probably  among  all  na- 
tions, and  they  set  so  light  by  it  that  they  lost  it.  And  yet  we  can 
see  wise  purposes  answered  by  many  nations  being  long  without  it. 
They  thus  have  abundan  opportunity  to  act  out  the  native  temper  of 
their  hearts,  and  establish  the  history  of  the  apostacy.  In  the  mean- 
time those  who  have  the  Bible  may  learn  how  basely  they  have 
neglected  and  are  neglecting  their  duty  in  not  disseminating  it. 

But  says  the  objector,  I  learn  from  the  Bible  that  those  are  to 
perish  who  have  never  enjoyed  its  light.  Yes,  if  they  sin  against 
the  light  they  have.  They  perish  however,  not  because  they  were 
so  unfortunate  as  not  to  have  the  bible,  but  because  the  "  invisible 
things  of  God  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being 
understood  by  the  things  that  are  made ;  and  because  that  when 
they  knew  God  they  glorified  him  not  as  God  ;  hence  they  are 
without  excuse."  If  any  assert  that  God  will  destroy  the  heathen 
for  not  knowing  what  they  had  not  the  means  to  know,  their  con- 
troversy is  with  him  direct.  And  if  they  reject  the  bible  because 
they  think  it  so  teaches,  they  may  be  found  to  have  reasoned  false- 
ly, .and  to  have  destroyed  themselves  by  their  inquisitiveness  into 
a  case  they  do  not  understand  and  that  does  not  secure  them.  If 
they  would  contend  that  God  may  not  destroy  men,  unless  he  first 
give  them  a  written  revelation  of  his  will,  and  give  them  opportu- 
nity to  reject  an  offered  Savior,  they  are  to  see  to  it  that  they  adopt 
a  sentiment  like  this,  on  arguments  that  God  will  approve,  else 
they  undo  themselves  by  their  own  vain  philosophy. 

The  discrepancies  of  the  bible,  constitute  a  powerful  objection  to 
its  reception.  The  fact  we  do  not  dispute  that  there  are  some  de- 
tached  passages  which  appear  to  be  contradictory.  But  a  candid 
mind,  acquainted  with  the  bible,  and  willincr  to  see  those  discrep- 


A    PLEA    FOR    '.VHE    SCRIPTURES.  905 

ancies  reconciled,  will  rather  be  strengthened  than  disturbed  in  his 
faith  by  them.  Jesus  made  and  baptized  more  disciples  than  John, 
yet  Jesus  baptized  not,  but  his  disciples.  He  did  it  as  Soloinan 
built  the  temple,  i.  e.  it  was  done  by  his  sanction.  It  is  appointed 
to  all  men  once  to  die,  yet  if  a  man  keep  my  sayings,  he  shall  nev- 
er see  death  :  the  one  means  natural  and  the  other  spiritual  or  eter- 
nal death.  God  will  not  repent,  will  not  change  his  mind  and  coun- 
sel as  men  do  from  want  of  foresight ;  yet  it  repented  the  Lord 
that  he  had  made  man,  and  that  he  had  set  up  Saul  to  be  king  ;  that 
is,  he  changed  his  course  of  procedure  »as  men  do  when  they 
change  their  minds  :  all  said  in  condescension  to  our  weal<  capacities. 
The  genealogies  of  Matthew,  and  Luke  differ,  without  contra- 
diction, because  .Matthew  wrote  in  Hebrew,  principally  for  the  use 
of  the  Jews,  and  therefore  traces  the  pedigree  of  Jesus  Christ, 
downward  from  Abraham  to  David,  and  through  Solomon  to  Jacob 
and  Joseph  the  reputed  father  of  Christ.  Lake's  pedigree  was 
written  in  Greek  for  the  use  of  the  Gentiles  and  traced  from  Heli, 
the  father  of  Mary,  to  David  through  Nathan  and  Abraham  to 
Adam.  As  to  the  order  of  narrating  events  in  the  gospel,  we  arc 
to  remember  that  Matthew  and  John  were  constant  companions  of 
our  Lord,  and  would  be  most  likely  to  narrate  things  in  their  or- 
der of  time,  while  Luke  and  Mark  followed  the  order  in  which 
things  were  narrated  to  them  by  the  apostles,  hence  many  discrep- 
ances in  the  order  of  time.  One  apostle  notices  one  circumstance, 
and  another  some  other  one,  in  the  same  narration  ;  here  an  ap- 
parent discrepancy  in  this  story,  but  no  contradiction.  For  in- 
stance, one  apostle  makes  the  two  thieves  and  another  but  o?ie  above 
the  Savior  as  they  hung  on  the  cross  ;  but  we  see  in  a  moment, 
that  the  one  stated  what  he  saw  at  an  earlier  hour,  when  b  th  the 
thieves  were  impenitent,  while  the  other  gives  us  the  state  of 
things  after  one  of  the  thieves  was  converted,  and  the  other  con- 
tinued to  rail.  When  Paul  was  on  his  way  to  Damascus  and  the 
Savior  called  him,  one  Evangelist  says  that  his  companion  heard 
not  the  voice  that  addressed  him,  while  another  says  they  did  hear 
the  voice.  But  how  easy  to  perceive  that  they  might  all  hear 
the  sound  and  Paul  only  distinguish  what  was  said.  We  should 
gather  from  one  Evangelist  that  Christ's  celebrated  sermon  was 
delivered  on  a  mountain,  and  from  another  on  the  plain,  but 
who  can  be  ignorant  that  when  a  mountain  drops  gradually  into  a 
plain  there  is  a  spot  which  one  might  attach  to  the  mountain  and 
another  to  the  plain.  Two  Evangelists  say,  on  a  certain  occasion, 
that  after   nix  days,  Jesus   taketh    Peter  and    James  and    John  his 


906  A    PLEA    FOR    THE    SCRIPTURES 

brother,  and  brin<reth  them  up  into  a  high  mountain  apart,  another 
says  about  an  eight  days  after.  Now  nothing  ran  be  plainer  than 
that  the  last  of  the  three  includes  in  the  eight  days  the  day  of  the 
disco  irse  and  the  day  of  the  transfiguration,  which,  added  to  the 
six  days  between,  make  the  eight.  Thus  every  discrepancy  in  the 
Bible  can  easily  be  reconciled  by  a  candid  mind.  Instead  of  un- 
settling our  faith  in  the  Bible,  they  constitute  in  fact,  as  we  shall 
see  directly,  a  strong  corroborative  testimony  of  its  authenticity. 

Another  objection  to  the  bible  has  been  drawn  from  its  history, 
especially  the  severity  of* some  of  the  christian  dispensations  there 
recorded.  The  extirpation  of  the  Canaanites  for  instance.  On 
this  subject  let  me  say,  that  the  Canaanites  were  notoriously  wicketi, 
and  deserved  to  be  destroyed.  The  objection  lies  against  Israel 
beiti?  employed  to  inflict  the  judgments  they  deserved.  And  why 
not  employ  men  to  do  it  with  as  much  propriety  as  famine,  or  pes- 
tilence, or  earthquake,  or  wild  beasts  ?  Besides  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  Israel  had  not  a  better  right  to  the  soul  than  the  Canaan- 
ites, and  were  not  its  first  proprietors;  and  if  so  they  had  a  prior 
right  to  the  lands,  and  might  demand  their  right,  and  if  God 
so  directed,  used  the  sword  to  obtain  it.  And  this  answered  most 
others,  that  infidels  have  made  a  handle  of,  are  answered.  If  men 
deserved  to  be  'destroyed,  if  nations  merit  extermination,  God 
may  treat  them  as  they  deserve,  and  may  employ  what  instruments 
lie  pleases  in  the  execution  of  his  wrath.  If  he  command  men  to 
avenge  him  on  his  adversaries,  it  is  impeaching  his  righteousness 
and  his  sovereignty  to  complain  of  his  dealings.  "May  I  not  do 
what  I  will  with  mine  own,"  is  the  only  answer  in  the  case,  that 
should  satisfy  every  honest  mind. 

The  inconsistencies  of  proj :essors  of  religion  have  ever  constituted 
one  of  the  boldest  pleas  of  infidelity.  On  this  subject  there  are  a 
few  things  to  be  said  which  it  seems  must  be  sufficient  to  silence 
every  cavil.  Do  those  who  complain  feel  grieved  that  Christians 
are  not  more  holy  1  Do  they  then  practice  themselves  abetter 
morality  than  the  christian  ?  Are  they  more  or  less  pleased  with 
Christians,  the  more  holy  they  are  }  These  questions  areeasiiy  an- 
swered. We  ask  again;  do  they  blame  Christians  for  not  coming 
up  to  the  Bible  standard  of  morality  1  If  so,  then  it  is  not  the  Bible 
but  the  Christians  they  would  censure.  The  Bible  thus  teaches  a 
good  and  substantial  morality!  Or  do  they  wish  to  be  un- 
derstood that  the  Bible  hears  Christians  out  in  their  sins,  and  is 
of  course  a  bad  book,  and  cannot  be  from  God.  If  so,  and  this 
must  be  the    ground   they  take,  else   how  have   the  faults  of  pro 


PLEA    FOR    THE    SCRIPTURES.  907 

fessors  any  concern  with  the  authenticity  of  the  Scriptures;  then 
we  ask  how  does  it  happen  again, 

'That  the  unreasonable  strictness  of  the  Bible  morality  is  also  made 
to  constitute  an  objection  to  its  authenticity  ?  Perhaps  no  objection 
is  more  common.  Christians  are  the  subjects  of  sneer  and  con- 
tempt, more  probably  than  for  any  other  reason,  because  of  their 
scrupulous  regard  for  Bible  precepts,  forbidding  them  this  and  that 
and  the  other  (as  the  world  says)  innocent  gratification.  Now  the 
enemies  of  divine  revelation  may  not  bring  it  as  one  charge  against 
the  bible  that  it  teaches  so  loose  a  morality  that  the  Christians  who 
shape  their  lives  by  it  are  not  so  moral  as  other  men  ;  and  yet  ob- 
ject to  the  Bible  that  its  morality  is  immeasurably  rigid,  forbidding 
the  innocent  indulgence  of  the  right  affections.  One  of  these  theo- 
ries destroys  the  other,  and  men  should  be  more  consistent  than 
to  hold  to  them  both.  Either  admit  that  the  Bible  teaches  a  bad 
morality,  and  is  to  be  considered  as  the  cause  of  the  sins  of  God's 
people;  or  it  teaches  a  good  morality,  and  God's  people  do  not 
regulate  their  lives  by  it,  and  thus  the  quarrel  is  not  with  the  Bible 
but  with  the  hypocrites  who  pretend  to  believe  it. 

Another  objection  to  the  Bible  is  drawn  from  the  tumults  occa- 
sioned by  its  advocates.  The  charge  brought  against  the  apostles 
was  in  the  very  spirit  of  this  objection  :  "  Those  that  have  turned 
the  world  upside  down,  have  come  hither  also."  And  our  Lord 
predicted  that  this  would  be  the  effect  of  his  religion.  He  came 
not  to  bring  peace  but  a  sword.  His  gospel  would  set  a  man  at 
variance  with  his  son,  and  the  son  with  his  father;  the  mother 
with  her  daughter,  and  the  daughter  with  her  mother  ;  the  mother- 
in-law  with  her  daughter-in-law,  and  the  daughter-in-law  with  her 
mother-in-law  ;  and  a  man's  foes  should  be,  from  that  time,  they 
of  his  own  household.  Now  there  is  one  question  which  every 
honest  man  should  settle  before  he  uses  this  argument  against  the 
religion  of  the  Gospel.  Does  religion  make  war  with  the  peace 
and  happiness  of  the  world,  or  do  the  men  of  the  world  make  war 
with  religion  !  The  angels  went  down  to  Sodom,  and  their  com- 
ing excited  a  tumult,  but  were  the  ansels  the  aggressors,  or  the 
people  of  Sodom  !  The  coining  of  the  apostles  to  certain  places 
raised  a  commotion,  hut  was  the  tumult  excited  by  some  attack 
which  the  apostles  made  upon  their  quietness,  or  an  attack  made 
upon  them  by  their  adversaries!  Jesus  Christ  disturbed  the  quiet 
of  the  world  more  than  any  other  one  that  ever  dwelt  on  its  sur- 
face, but  was  he  a  turbulent  and  warlike  spirit,  or  did  the  world 
without  cause   swear   its   peace   against    bim  1      Is   his  religion  pas- 


908  A    PLEA   FOR    THE    SCRIPTURES. 

sionate,  or  proud,  or  overbearing,  or  selfish,  or  turbulent]  Did  lie 
teach  his  disciples  to  resist  evil,  or  to  be  meek  1 — to  contend  for 
their  rights,  or  take  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their  goods  1  To  as- 
pire after  place,  and  honor,  and  office,  or  to  hold  themselves  the 
subjects  of  a  kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  world  1  When  they 
would  put  him  on  a  throne,  did  he  second  their  measures,  or  hide 
himself  from  their  notice  \  If  the  fault  is  not  in  this  case  with  the 
Bible,  nor  yet  with  the  men  of  the  world  who  we  have  supposed 
waged  the  quarrel,  but  with  the  Christians  who  do  not  imbibe  the 
spirit  of  their  Master  nor  of  the  Gospel,  then  why  are  the  faults 
of  professors  in  this  case  made  an  argument  against  the  Bible  ]  The 
Bible  is  a  good  book,  and  the  calamity  is  that  Christians  will  not  im- 
bibe its  spirit.     And  Christians  lament  this  far  more  than  do  infidels. 

The  hardness  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  constitutes  an  objec- 
tion to  its  authenticity.  Entire  depravity,  which  allows  not  an 
unregenerate  man  the  credit  of  having  one  single  right  affection  in 
his  heart ;  and  the  sovereignty  of  God,  which  gives  him  entire 
control  of  his  creatures  ;  and  the  necessity  of  regeneration,  which 
reflects  upon  men  as  all  wrong  in  their  principles  and  conduct  till 
they  are  born  anew ;  the  necessity  of  the  Spirit's  influence  which 
renders  men  dependant  for  the  agency  that  sanctifies  them  — all 
the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  are  offensive,  and  together  constitute  a 
creed  at  war  with  all  the  native  principles  of  the  heart.  And  the 
enemies  of  revelation  hardly  know  here  what  ground  to  take,  whe- 
ther to  own  that  these  doctrines  are  in  the  Bible,  and  discard  the 
Bible  ;  or  to  accuse  the  Christians  of  teaching  what  is  not  in  the  Bible, 
and  discard  them,  and  become  themselves  the  professors  of  its  reli- 
gion. Hence  the  division  of  the  great  family  of  unbelievers  into  infi- 
dels avowedly,  and  Unitarians  with  all  their  variety  of  subdivisions. 

It  is  not  an  unfrequent  objection  to  the  Bible,  that  its  sanctions 
are  unnecessarily  severe.  The  grand  point  of  attack  here  is,  ever- 
lasting misery,  threatened  for  the  sins  of  this  short  life.  Men  ar- 
gue, that  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  Divine  goodness,  to  make  sen- 
sitive beings,  and  suffer  them  so  to  offend  him  as  to  become,  by 
this  means,  eternally  miserable.  They  do  not  see,  and  will  not  be- 
lieve, that  sin  deserves  so  prolonged  a  punishment.  They  do  not 
see  why,  in  every  case,  God  cannot  freely  pardon  the  sinner,  whe- 
ther he  repent  or  not,  and  thus  save  him  from  so  fearful  a  doom 
But  who  can  say  how  much  punishment  sin  deserves  \  and  who 
assert  that,  that  if  any  less  punishment  was  inflicted  than  is  de- 
served, it  might  not  do  infinite  mischief  in  the  Divine  government] 
Who  can  show,  conclusively,  that  agents  would  have  been  erected 


A    PLEA    FOR    THE    SCRIPTURES.  909 

without  leaving  them  at  liberty  to  undo  themselves  for  ever  1  And 
who  dare  say  that  agents  had  better  not  have  been  erected,  than 
to  have  been  placed  in  such  risk  1  Who  dare  assert,  that  it  would 
have  comported  at  all  with  the  Divine  government,  to  harden  sin- 
ners without  an  atonement,  and  without  repentance,  or  pardon 
them  through  the  atonement,  without  their  voluntary  acceptance 
of  it  1  Who  dares  assert,  that  the  ruin  of  a  part  of  our  race  in  hell 
may  not  be  the  grand  and  the  only  means  that  can  restrain  other 
worlds  from  open  revolt.  Hence,  who  can  be  presumptuous 
enough  to  affirm,  that  the  ruin  eternal  of  some  rational  immortal 
beings  may  not  comport  with  the  infinite  benevolence  of  God  1 

And  the  Bible  ought  not  to  be  rejected  on  mere  negative  argu- 
gument.  Men  should  show,  certainly  and  positively,  that  eternal 
punishment  cannot  be  just,  or  useful,  or  consistent  with  the  Divine 
goodness,  before  they  found  any  argument  upon  it  against  the  Bi- 
ble. And  here  again,  as  in  the  last  case,  we  find  the  same  men 
embracing  both  sides  of  the  alternative.  They  will  both  argue, 
that  no  such  doctrine  is  in  the  Bible  ;  and  also  reject  the  Bible, 
because  it  is  there.  There  is  nothing  more  common  than  to  find  a 
man  a  universalist  and  an  infidel  too  ;  though  inconsistent  as  it  is 
common.  To  make  the  Bible  prove  some  false  religion,  and  em- 
brace that  religion,  and  then  deny  the  Bible,  is  to  industriously  lay 
rocks  under  one's  house,  and  glory  in  its  stability,  and  then  assert 
the  rocks  to  be  mere  clay. 

We  would  name  other  objections  that  have  been  brought  against 
the  Bible,  but  they  are  all  futile,  like  those  that  have  been  noticed. 
The  book  has  been  rejected,  because  men  like  not  to  retain  God 
in  their  knowledge.  The  evidences  that  establish  its  divinity  are 
satisfactory  to  every  mind  that  the  Holy  Ghost  has  made  honest 
Let  us  look  at  them. 

I  promised  to  give  the  reasons  why  believers  in  Divine  revelation 
receive  the  Bible  as  the  word  of  God. 

I  offer,  as  the  first  reason,  the  impossibility  of  accounting  for  its 
existence  but  on  the  supposition  that  it  was  given  by  inspiration  of  God. 
Who  would  write  such  a  book  1  They  could  not  be  good  men, 
unless  they  were  inspired  ;  for  they  declare  that  they  wrote  as 
they  were  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  hence  are  found  liars,  if 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  inspiration.  They  profess  to  have  re- 
ceived their  communications  from  heaven,  and  to  declare  the  word 
of  the  Lord.  Moreover,  good  men  would  have  no  motive  for  writ- 
ing such  a  book,  if  not  inspired.  It  offered  them  no  moans  of 
gain,  or  of  rising  to  power  or  influence  in  this  life  ;  and  if  %lse, 
no  prospect  of  immu  '{ality.     They  must  have  honors,  if  they  were 


010  A    PLEA    FOR    THE    SCRIPTURES 

•ncn  of  sense,  and  their  writings  declare  this,  that  bonds  and  im- 
prisonment, instead  of  honors,  would  await  them,  for  so  condemn- 
ing the  world  as  they  have  in  the  Bible  ;  and  it  would  seem  most 
of  them  suffered  death.  Hence  good  men  did  not  write  the  Bible, 
unless  they  wrote  by  inspiration  of  God. 

And  bad  men  would  not,  for  reasons  that  are  still  more  unan- 
swerable. They  would  not  write  a  book  condemning  themselves, 
a  book  that  bad  men  have  hated  in  every  age  since  it  was  written. 
They  would  h  tve  no  motive.  Suppose  them  convinced  that  the 
book  would  do  the  world  good,  such  men  are  not  desirous  to  do 
good.  And  they  could  easily  see  that  they  could  hope  for  no  re- 
ward in  this  world,  and  they  have  no  idea  of  suffering  now  in  order 
to  be  happy  hereafter. 

And  beside,  we  have  indubitable  evidence  that  it  was  written 
by  many  different  men  in  very  different  circumstances  of  life,  and 
in  different  ages.  Hence  the  necessity  of  a  great  amount  of  con- 
cert, which  we  cannot  suppose  to  have  existed  without  a  miracle, 
more  difficult  to  believe  than  anything  we  are  required  to  believe  in 
the  Bible.    Bad  men  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  writte'n  the  Bible 

There  is  perhaps  one  other  supposition,  that  is,  that  good  men 
wrote  the  book,  under  a  mistaken  impression  that  they  were  in 
spired  by  the  Holy  Ghost:  they  were  self-deceived.  This  how 
ever  is  incredible  ;  for  they  surely  would  know,  if  they  were  sane, 
that  they  were  or  were  not  supernaturally  assisted  in  the  work  ; 
and  the  Bible  wears  no  marks  of  being  the  effusions  of  distraction 

Where  then  did  the  Bible  come  from,  if  it  is  not  what  it  professes 
to  be,  the  word  of  the  Lord.  This  one  argument,  if  there  were 
no  other,  has  always  cured  my  infidelity.  To  doubt  whether  the 
Bible  came  from  God,  I  must  believe  what  is  infinitely  more  in- 
credible than  to  believe  the  Bible  inspired  by  his  Spirit,  and  sent 
to  be  the  guide  and  the  salvation  of  ruined  man. 

The  unparalleled  morality  of  the  Bible  is  a  powerful  testimony 
that  it  came  from  God.  Search  all  the  uninspired  writings  of  an- 
tiquity, and  cull  out  carefully  every  moral  precept,  and  put  them 
together,  and  the  whole  will  not  contain  an  amount  of  sound  mo- 
rality, equal  to  some  insulated  precept  of  the  Bible.  If  a  Grecian 
or  Roman  poet  or  orator  hit  upon  some  wise  saying,  resembling 
even  remotely  some  precept  of  the  Bible,  it  denominated  him  the 
Wiseman.  Their  writings  constituted  no  sufficient  guide  to  holi- 
ness or  happiness,  suited  at  all  to  the  exigences  of  a  ruined  world. 
A  spirit  of  benevolence,  of  forgiveness,  of  meekness,  of  humility, 
we*-  untaught   in  their  writings,  and   evidently  lay   beyond  their 


A    PLEA    FOR    THE    SCRIPTURES.  9H 

conceptions.  And  there  were  wise  men  on  earth,  there  was  talent, 
there  was  the  power  of  discovery,  of  invention,  but  there  was  no- 
thing like  a  sound  morality  invented.  Hence,  how  did  it  happen 
that  all  at  once  there  was  thrown  out  upon  the  world  one  book, 
like  no  other  that  had  ever  been  heard  of,  filled  with  moral  pre- 
cepts, like  nothing  that  had  ever  been  known  since  the  world  be- 
gan. And  this  not  written  by  a  Seneca,  a  Plato,  or  a  Socrates, 
the  wisest  of  antiquity,  but  by  a  company  of  men,  few,  if  any  of 
whom  had  been  schooled  in  the  sciences  of  antiquity.  Some  of 
them  it  is  true,  were  kings;  others  shepherds;  others  fishermen, 
and  tent-makers  ;  none  of  them  celebrated. for  other  writings, 
which  had  attracted  the  gaze  of  a  world.  They  are  not  heard  of 
as  men  of  science  and  literature,  till  they  write  the  Bible,  and  lo  ! 
there  was  never  any  book  like  it.  You  will  find  in  it  ten  thousand 
precepts  so  grand  and  finished  that  the  poorest  of  them  all,  if  we 
may  call  a  heavenly  precept  poor,  outshines  in  excellence  the 
richest  moral  maxim  that  ever  graced  the  page  of  any  book  that 
the  wisest  man  living  had  ever  written.  Now,  how  can  all  this 
happen  without  a  Divine  agency  1  How  can  such  a  book  be  con- 
sidered of  no  higher  origin  than  a  polluted  and  benighted  man  1 

And  what  we  may  properly  notice  here.  The  writers,  though 
born  in  countries  and  ages  far  separated,  and  without  the  possi- 
bility of  concert,  and  taken  from  every  variety  of  station  and  com- 
pany, all  teach  the  same  morality,  with  not  a  single  discrepancy 
that  is  not  easily  harmonized.  Now  to  believe  that  all  this  could 
happen  without  a  Divine  agency,  is  to  exhibit  a  credulity  never 
displayed  in  the  belief  of  truth.  The  infidel  must  here  surmount 
a  barrier  that  he  would  not  meet  with  in  giving  his  full  assent  to 
every  line  of  the  Bible.     I  notice  again, 

The  change  of  character  for  the  better  that  the  reading  ana 
vreaching  of  the  Gospel  produces.  We  have  seen  men  under  its  in- 
fluence putting  off  the  character  they  had  always  worn,  and  charm- 
ed in  their  temper  and  conduct  till  they  were  emphatically  new 
men.  The  drunkard  has  become  sober,  the  profane  civil,  the  de- 
bauched pure,  the  idle  industrious,  the  quarrelsome  meek,  the 
churl  liberal;  from  no  other  cause  that  would  be  seen  but  the  in- 
structions of  the  Bible.  The  Bible  tells  us  of  an  efficient  cause. 
impressing  bible  truth  upon  the  conscience  and  the  heart,  the  Spi- 
rit of  God,  using  the  language  of  inspiration  as  his  sword  by  which 
he  divides  asunder  the  soul  and  spirit,  &c.  But  the  Bible,  were  it 
not  inspired  truth,  would  effect  no  such  change  ;  and  the  Holy 
Spirit,  were  not   the  Gospel  inspired,  would   not    use  it   as  his  in- 


912  A   PLEA    FOR    THE    SC1UPTTJRES 

strument.  Hence  no  account  would  be  given  of  the  astonishing 
changes  which  the  Gospel  produces,  should  we  abandon  the  idea 
of  its  divine  original.  The  Shaster  and  the  Koran,  let  not  the 
sword  go  with  them,  would  produce  no  conversions,  and  if  they 
did  would  change  men  for  the  worse.  And  this  evidence  of  inspi- 
ration is  always  at  hand.  The  effects  I  have  noticed  are  produced 
every  year  in  all  lands  where  the  Gospel  is.  Thus  have  we  a  living 
testimony,  in  every  conversion,  that  the  Bible  came  from  heaven. 

The  discrepancies  of  the  Bible,  while  there  is  a  harmony  of  de- 
sign and  of  doctrine  running  through  all  its  pages,  is  evidence  of 
its  truth.  I  have  noticed  some  of  these  discrepancies  in  the  eirly 
part  of  my  plea,  and  now  refer  to  them  as  I  promised,  as  evidence 
of  the  truth  of  the  Bible.  They  show  that  there  was  among  the 
writers  no  concert,  and  no  design  in  any  of  them  to  deceive.  Had 
the  Bible  been  a  mere  human  fabrication,  framed  with  intention  to 
deceive,  more  pains  had  been  taken  to  avoid  any  appearance  of 
contradiction.  One  writer  would  not  have  made  Jacob's  family 
which  went  down  into  Egypt  to  consist  of  threescore  and  ten  souls, 
and  another  of  threescore  and  fifteen;  though  very  easily  recon- 
ciled. One  Evangelist  would  not  have  fixed  on  the  third  hour  and 
another  the  sixth,  as  the  time  of  the  Savior's  crucifixion.  Care 
would  have  been  taken  lest  their  apparent  discrepancies  should 
have  discredited  the  whole  story.  When  men  utter  only  truths, 
they  have  no  fear  of  contradicting  themselves,  or  of  contradicting 
others  who  utter  the  same  truths  or  other  truths.  In  courts  of 
law,  nothing  sooner  throws  suspicion  over  the  testimony,  than  a 
minute  circumstantial  agreement  between  two  witnesses. 

Circumstantial  variations  are  proof  that  there  has  been  no  ad- 
justing of  testimony  one  to  the  other.  And  honest  men  will  come 
to  the  same  conclusion  in  canvassing  the  evidences  of  divine 
revelation.  I  once  asked  a  confirmed  Deist  what  was  his  best 
evi  lence  against  the  truth  of  inspiration.  He  answered,  the  con- 
tradictions, as  he  termed  them.  He  stated  some  of  the  more 
prominent,  and  heard  my  expositions,  and  my  assurances  that  my 
own  niin  1  once  labored  on  this  very  point ;  but  since  the  trial  of  a 
certain  cause  which  I  attended,  where  two  witnesses  had  collated 
the  circumstances  of  their  testimony,  intending  to  make  out  a  lie 
to  be  the  truth,  I  had  viewed  the  discrepancies  of  the  Bible  as  a 
solid  argument  of  its  divinity.  He  took  a  day  to  think  on  the 
subject,  and  then  declared  that  I  had  sapped  the  foundation  of  his 
infidelity.  From  that  time  onward,  he  espoused  the  Bible  as  the 
book-  of  God. 

'.racy  with  which  the  Bible  describes  the  human  heart  proves 


A    PLEA    FOR    THE    SCRIPTURES  913 

its  divinity  ,  unanswerably,  to  every  man  who  has  had  a  knowledge 
of  himself  1  know  this  argument  can  have  force  only  with  such 
as  have  been  the  subjects  of  conviction — and  most  men  have  been, 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  The  man  who  has  been  merely  con- 
victed, but  has  not  repented,  would  see  in  the  moment  of  alarm 
that  the  Bible,  if  t  may  so  speak,  knew  him  well.  It  described 
the  workings  of  unbelief,  the  resistance  he  made  to  divine  truth, 
the  relucta  ice  with  which  he  received,  on  many  subjects,  the  tes- 
timony of  God,  and  the  bare  assent  he  gave,  when  he  could  with- 
stand no  lo'iger,  to  the  truth  of  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  re- 
x-elation. It  laid  naked  the  self-righteousness  of  the  heart,  its 
mighty  effort  to  be  justified  by  its  own  doings  to  the  neglect  of  the 
righteousnrss  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  told  him  all  things  that  ever  he 
had  done,  and  thus  established  its  divinity.  It  made  him,  through 
the  Spirit's  influence,  to  bear  the  iniquities  of  his  youth,  to  smite 
upon  his  thigh,  to  be  ashamed  and  confounded.  It  caused  his  sins 
to  find  him  out;  and  if,  finally,  he  did  not  repent  or  believe,  yet 
has  he  noi  forgotten,  nor  will  he  forget,  when  he  is  lost,  how 
piercing  w;is  the  eye  of  divine  truth  in  that  period  of  his  alarm  : 
a  reason  here,  perhaps,  why,  of  all  men,  none  become  so  enor- 
mously wicked,  as  those  who  have  once  been  brought  very  nigh 
to  the  king  lorn  of  God.  It  must  require,  in  one  whose  heart  has 
teen  laid  miked  to  his  own  gaze,  a  desperate  resistance  to  enable 
him  to  over  some  the  obstacles  that  block  up  his  way  to  life  and 
salvation.  And  if  his  convictions  resulted  in  his  becoming  a  new 
creature,  he  has  still  more  conclusive  evidence  of  the  divinity  of 
the  Scriptures,  as  they  have  portrayed  the  emotions  of  piety,  and 
shown  their  power  to  melt  a  heart  of  stone.  The  regenerate 
man,  who  alone  is  willing  to  be  searched,  has  discovered  in  the 
Bible  a  kind  of  omniscience.  The  remains  of  his  depravity  are 
there  depic  ed,  as  with  the  brilliant  sunbeams:  the  struggle  made 
by  the  flesh  to  overcome  the  emotions  of  the  spirit,  and  the  fierce 
and  wondro  is  conflict  between  the  old  and  the  new  man,  all  the  exer- 
cises of  his  holy  nature,  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness, 
goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance,  are  there  exactly  described, 
fast  as  his  renewed  heart  puts  them  forth.  Hence  both  the  Christ- 
ian and  the  sinner  that  has  been  awakened — and  those  include 
about  the  whole  of  the  human  family  found  in  Christian  lands 
— have  evidence  of  the  divinity  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  wondrous 
power  it  h:;s  to  enter  and  examine  the  human  heart.  And  all 
men,  if  they  would  suffer  themselves  to  think,  would  find  them- 
selves so  searched  out  in  the  Bible,  that  they  would  want  no  other 
evidence  of  its  divine  authority. 


914  A    PLEA    FOR    THE    SCRIPTURES. 

The  prophecies  of  Scripture  which  have  been  in  a  process  of 
fulfilment,  long  since  the  most  sceptical  will  acknowledge  the  Bi- 
ble was  written,  prove  its  Divine  origin.  That  the  prophecies 
concerning  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  were  extant,  and  exten- 
sively read  while  yet  Jerusalem  was  standing,  is  a  historical  fact, 
which  no  candid  deist  will  doubt.  And  who  but  God  could  so 
minutely  describe  the  siege  in  all  its  minutiae,  even  to  the  picture 
of  one  of  the  Roman  standards  ?  "  Wheresoever  the  carcass  is, 
there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered  together." 

The  prophecies  concerning  the  Jews,  their  scattered,  and  peeled, 
and  persecuted,  and  homeless,  and  enslaved,  and  insulated  condi- 
tion ;  and  which  are  in  fact  a  history  of  their  present  state,  is  an 
overwhelming  evidence  of  the  Divinity  of  the  Scriptures.  What 
other  nation  was  ever  conquered,  and  did  not  soon  lose  themselves 
among  the  conquerors,  so  that  in  a  very  few  years,  they  could  not 
be  distinguished  from  the  mass  of  the  population  around  them  '! 

The  present  exertions  to  spread  the  everlasting  gospel,  the  rea- 
diness with  which  many  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  is  increased, 
evinces  that  one  who  knew  predicted  the  event.  Sabbath  schools, 
and  Bible  classes,  and  the  progress  of  the  sentiments  of  freedom, 
all  say  that  God  inspired  the  Scriptures.  "  Thy  children  shall  all 
be  taught  of  the  Lord,  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy  children. 
They  shall  sit  every  one  under  his  vine  and  fig-tree,  with  none 
to  molest  or  make  them  afraid." 

0  !  who  can  resist  the  arguments  that  establish  the  truth  of  the 
Scriptures  !  How  can  a  sinner  stand  waiting,  before  he  submits, 
till  other  evidence  be  given  that  God  has  spoken  to  him  in  his 
word  1  Is  he  not  afraid  that  God  will  withdraw  the  overture  of 
mercy,  instead  of  giving  other  and  surer  tokens  that  he  has  au- 
thorized that  overture  to  be  made  1  How  long  does  he  think  God 
will  stretch  out  his  hand  to  save,  if  sinners  waiting  for  other  as- 
surances that  it  is  his  very  hand,  will  not  suffer  him  to  pluck  them 
from  the  wrath  to  come  1  Never  has  there  been  any  case  like 
this  under  the  government  of  God,  a  case  where  mercy  was  offered, 
and  the  perishing,  through  unbelief  of  the  offer,  suffered  a  total 
and  irretrievable  ruin  to  ensue.  Devils  had  no  reprieve  offered, 
had  no  overture  made,  and  did  not  put  on  their  chains  of  darkness 
through  the  stubbornness  of  their  infidelity.  Had  they  been  of- 
fered a  return,  and  a  restoration,  who  can  tell  but  every  spirit  of 
them  would  have  come  back  to  loyalty  and  duty,  and  God  had  no 
opportunity  to  show  his  wrath,  and  mnke  his  power  known  in  their 
signal  and  fatal  discomfiture.     And  if  the  inhabitants  of  any  other 


A    PLEA    FOR    THE    SCRIPTURES.  915 

world  have  fallen,  none  can  say  that  they  have  not  perished  as  do- 
vils  have,  without  the  offer  of  restoration,  or  if  the  offer  has  been 
made,  they  have  not  all  put  forth  a  faith  in  that  offer  that  has  se- 
cured their  entire  redemption.  But  our  world  is  to  exhibit,  what- 
ever is  true  of  others,  the  strange  spectacle  of  beings  that,  having 
become  rebellious,  and  then,  to  deepen  the  darkness  of  their  cha- 
racter, have  disputed  the  validity  of  the  pardon  offered,  till  the 
overture  was  withdrawn,  and  remittance  etei'uuuj       -rhheld. 

And  yet  the  admonitions  given  from  the  dying  beds  of  unbcliv- 
ers  have  been  terrible  and  repeated  in  all  the  ages  of  infidelity. 
One  would  not  love  to  die  as  did  Voltaire  and  Paine.  Principles 
that  yield  no  support  in  the  dying  hour,  an  immortal  being  should 
fear  to  indulge.  A  wise  man  would  choose  to  provide  himself  a 
prop  against  the  period  when  his  strength  must  fail  him  ;  would 
choose  to  build  where  no  storm  could  overthrow  his  habitation. 

How  horrid  to  live  sustained  by  the  miseries  of  a  dream,  and  in 
death  wake  to  the  reality  that  a  pardon  has  been  withdrawn,  be- 
cause life  was  spent  in  cavilling  with  the  testimony  that  sustained 
the  validity  of  the  overture  !  And  what  other  evidence  could 
God  have  given  1  Should  he  have  come  down  himself  to  read  the 
pardon  in  our  ears  1  He  did.  Should  he  have  sent  angels  down 
to  tell  the  world  that  their  Lord  had  come  1  He  did.  Should  he 
have  made  the  earth  quake  to  its  centre,  and  put  the  sun  out,  that 
man's  attention  might  be  arrested  to  the  proclamation  of  peace  and 
pardon  1  He  did  so.  Should  he  have  sent  forth  an  influence 
strong  and  mighty  as  that  which  shall  raise  the  dead,  to  subdue  to 
loyalty  some  millions  of  those  deaf  and  infatuated  rebels  '!  He 
did  so.  He  sent  forth  that  influence,  and  called  out  these  millions 
from  their  dungeons,  and  brake  off  their  fetters,  and  they  have 
stood  and  plead  with  others  that  they  would  believe  and  live.  And 
still  this  remains  the  same  infidel  world  that  it  ever  has  been, 
carping  at  the  testimony  of  God,  and  daring  his  anger,  when  they 
should  be  wooing  his  pardoning  mercy. 

"  0  earth,  earlh,  earth,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord  !"  And  if 
earth  will  not  hear,  may  God  speedily  do  his  own  work,  and  gran} 
the  Spirit's  saving  influence  to  mould  this  rebel  world  into  better 
form,  and  cure  its  plagues  of  unbelief,  and  cause  those  waters  to 
flow  out  from  his  sanctuary,  that  shall  carry  salvation  and  joy  t^- 
the  earth's  darkest  and  dreariest  and  farthest  territories.  Benefi- 
cent God,  bless  and  save  them  that  hitherto  would  not  believe  thy 
word. — Amen. 


■MM 


